Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain vs Watch Dogs 2
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an FPS open-world game (2015) while Watch Dogs 2 is an action-adventure FPS game from Ubisoft Romania (2016).
Quick answer: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain rates higher, 8.2 to 7.3 on the GamingPickz Score, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the cheaper at $19.99.
What each one is
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is filed under FPS and Open-World. In contrast, Watch Dogs 2 under Action-Adventure and FPS.
Ushering in a new era for the METAL GEAR franchise with cutting-edge technology powered by the Fox Engine, METAL GEAR SOLID V: The Phantom Pain, will provide players a first-rate gaming experience as they are offered tactical freedom to carry out open-world missions.
Welcome to San Francisco. Play as Marcus, a brilliant young hacker, and join the most notorious hacker group, DedSec. Your objective: execute the biggest hack of history.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting In the aftermath of the events of Ground Zeroes and the destruction of Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF), Big Boss ( Kiefer Sutherland / Akio Ōtsuka ) falls into a coma. Nine years later, he awakens and helps lead a new mercenary group, Diamond Dogs . Adopting the codename " Venom Snake ", he ventures into Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War and the Angola Zaire border region during the Angolan Civil War to track down the people responsible… (Wikipedia)
Characters
See also: List of characters in the Metal Gear series In contrast to previous Metal Gear installments, Kojima Productions conducted the voice acting and motion capture with English-speaking actors and stuntmen first. While facial motion capture was used before for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots , it was done separately from the actual voice acting. The Japanese voice acting was dubbed over the English cast's performance afterward, in contrast… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic . Reviewers considered it to be one of the best Metal Gear games. It has also been cited as one of the greatest stealth games, and one of the greatest video games of all time . (Wikipedia)
No Wikipedia detail on file.
At a glance
| Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Watch Dogs 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.2/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (92%, 107,873) | Very Positive (82%, 101,471) |
| Critic aggregate | 91/100 | No aggregate |
| Price | $19.99 | $49.99 |
| Install size | 28 GB | 27 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | unsupported |
| Released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Developer | — | Ubisoft Romania |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain vs Watch Dogs 2, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainFPS open-world gameWatch Dogs 2Action-adventure FPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom PainStealth, Open World, ActionWatch Dogs 2Open World, Hacking, IlluminatiThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ✓Score 8.2 · 92% on Steam · 91 criticWatch Dogs 2Score 7.3 · 82% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain107,873 reviews · 13 add-ons · 28 GBWatch Dogs 2101,471 reviews · 30 add-ons · 27 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ✓$19.99Watch Dogs 2$49.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ✓PlayableWatch Dogs 2UnsupportedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueMetal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Watch Dogs 2 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
- The cheaper right now: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (playable)
- Lighter on storage: Watch Dogs 2 (27 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
StealthOpen WorldActionStory RichThird PersonSingleplayerAtmosphericAdventure
Where they differ
TacticalCinematicGreat SoundtrackHorsesReplay ValueDark
HackingIlluminatiParkourCrimeCo-opMature
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Watch Dogs 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | Watch Dogs 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (2GB) | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 with 2 GB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i5-4460 (3.40 GHz) | Intel Core i5 2400s @ 2.5 GHz, AMD FX 6120 @ 3.5 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Install size | 28 GB | 27 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain · Watch Dogs 2.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and 1 for Watch Dogs 2. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and Watch Dogs 2 in scope?
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has drawn 107,873 Steam reviews, ships 13 add-ons and installs in 28 GB. Watch Dogs 2 has drawn 101,471 Steam reviews, ships 30 add-ons and installs in 27 GB.
Is Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain or Watch Dogs 2 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain rates higher (8.2 to 7.3). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain or Watch Dogs 2?
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $49.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain or Watch Dogs 2?
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain rates higher, 8.2 to 7.3 on the GamingPickz Score, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the cheaper at $19.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.