Alright. The spoilercast is out and I've done very well to avoid spoilers beyond, "My, this story is light and/or disappointing". Curiosity might get the better of me but, for now, I'm going to collect my thoughts on the 'known knowns' I've got so far. Firstly, let's go into the war itself.

Whose Side are You On?

It's a question I often ask of Ocelot who, at this point in time is a Russian in Afghanistan fighting (directly?) against the country he effectively has a long-standing military association with. An association that will continue long into the 21st century. Why the hell are you on Mother Base? Shouldn't you be working? I'm assuming by now his decades of service with the GRU and beyond have landed him a rank of some significance. Why isn't he leading troops against us? Why isn't he providing us with more intel? If he's doing the double - triple agent nonsense he always does, why isn't he explicitly doing it in this instance?

Is this whole thing like his gap year before he takes up ranks with the Spetsnaz? What is up with you, man? He drops a lot of knowledge about local matters so I can assume he has had some action during the conflict. Maybe in the conflict's infancy when Big Boss was trying to break out of his third coma or whatever. Maybe I'll let it slide.

Whilst we're at it, Big Boss and his comrades have definitely picked a side so far. Every mission has been against Soviet aggression whilst, at this point in history they might be the more willing candidates to pay handsomely for Diamond Dog's services. Heck, an eight year campaign of fruitless endeavor against US-backed fighters would seem like the perfect opportunity for Miller to approach the Soviets and offer support. And they'd pay more than whatever clients he has in his portfolio. I mean, I understand Diamond Dogs is a fledgling new starter but, once they noticed your growth, they'd be eager to sign you up.

It does offer up an interesting question about where mercenary loyalties lie but Miller's always been a business-orientated guy since he started MSF. Is he backing the underdog to prolong the conflict and gain more jobs that way? Back in Peace Walker he and Big Boss seemed more picky about the stances they took. Seems like they're just going against the Soviets because history has them down as the bad guys.

Quiet (and by extension, Cipher)

So, having finished Mission 11 I now have Quiet involved with proceedings. She's immediately holed up in a cell and being given the Guantanamo treatment in an effort to get her to talk. Nobody likes Quiet. A Quiet lookalike tried to ice us in Cyprus. Apparently, she's in league with Cipher. I'll have to revisit that tape because I've only really heard Miller's word on that. It's true that she's immediately against us when we come into contact with her but she's had an opportunity to deal with us and, for various reasons, hasn't followed through.

I'm convince that she could do this at any time, though. She has mad magic powers that seem to involve invisibility, flight (or at least, gliding) and I wouldn't be surprised if she just teleported out of her cell at some point. As for her bigger picture, I kinda already know some of that. The title of the song she hums implies some shameful 'words and deeds' whilst her character is basically The End from Metal Gear Solid 3. I can draw some conclusions from that. Also, if she talks by the end of this, I'm walking away.

Miller Time

Miller's not stoked about any of this. Having a perceived enemy on the base, after the events of Ground Zeroes sounds like a bad situation waiting to repeat itself. I agree with him. He lets Big Boss bring her in but, let's be honest, Big Boss should, by rights, be a vegetable. He is in no condition to make smart decisions. He's lucky he can even walk or breathe on his own terms. He has a condition where frequent hallucinations occur so his ability out in the field should be hampered but the game seems real choosy about when to acknowledge any of this. Particularly with regards to the option thing on the medical platform. Actual spoiler tags for this one, as you may have missed it:

I feel like this is the game where the split between those two happens. A split which should (but probably won't) land Big Boss back at Foxhound because of his services against the Soviets in this very game. Miller struggles to run Diamond Dogs on his own (despite being the capable candidate for years) and Big Boss picks that up under the guise of Outer Heaven. Or not. I can't honestly second guess Kojima and it's difficult to see how much influence he has over a troubled project such as this.

Whilst we're taking about Miller, I really, really hate the hatchet job done to retcon him into things. Master Miller. Benedict 'Kazamura' Miller. McDonnell Miller. Which is it? Are they different Millers? He's had like, three different faces in the fiction all to facilitate some shock twist in Metal Gear Solid. In fact, the timeline confirms Kaz and McDonnell are the same person as he gets killed in Metal Gear Solid. WHAT THE FUCK, KOJIMA!? WHY DOES HE HAVE TWO NAMES!?

Ocelot's not even Russian any more. He's gone from look like Lee van Cleef to sounding like him as well. And he sounded like an American teen in Snake Eater. Filthy American DAWG!

A Word on Mantis and Skullface and I guess Huey

I'm not sure where I stand on his appearance. He's effectively a child soldier but, at this point in time he already has the psychic powers that'll make him famous. He's another one I'm not sure about his allegiances. I mean, he's with Cipher but the backstory in Metal Gear Solid indicates he, like Ocelot is a Soviet soldier at some point. And he hasn't even met the serial killer that'll trigger him to go nuts yet. He doesn't like his Dad. Or sex. I remember that much.

Anyway, he's at the centre of Phantom Pain's cooler set-pieces. All so far have been fully acknowledged as being real as shit rather than being hallucinations. That kind of depresses me. Man on Fire should be a mind trip and not some unstoppable Terminator. Mantis also seemingly can control Metal Gear Something which makes its entrance during one of the Skulls sections. God, I hate the Skulls. Remember the Frog Unit from MGS4? Well, they remade those 25 years earlier. Keep track of your fucking fiction, Hideo! Also, another thing about the Metal Gear reveal is how Miller doesn't initially acknowledge it's Metal Gear.

What is that thing? Oh, that thing we used to have. The robot which were going to use as a nuclear deterrent. The one that probably got knicked from us when Cipher blew Mother Base out of the water. REMEMBER THAT, KAZ!? Except now it looks exactly like Rex. Hal, you stole Daddy's notebook, didn't you? Huey's involvement with the story really irks me. We get a throwaway line in Metal Gear Solid about Hal's Dad being born on the day of the Hiroshima bomb. Somehow, after years of thought, this has now extrapolated into Huey following in his father's footsteps and being a nuclear weapons designer. What was supposed to be an unkind coincidence is now, "like father, like son". There's no need. There are other scientists you could make up. You did that in Snake Eater.

Oh, Skullface. I don't get him yet but then I've barely seen him. He wears a Zorro mask and a hat. Hopefully he's got some quality motives. Apparently he's in league with Cipher but, again, those are Miller's words.

Well, I guess that's all I've got so far. See you in another 12 missions. The annoying thing about this is that I'm prepared to be disappointed in this game's resolution. I'm still hopeful of some surprises but, if I never play through another Kojima story, I'll live with it.