Play Arts Kai Venom Snake - Sneaking Suit Version Review - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

On a previous article, i shared my reactions to the much hyped Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain game so i would assume that we are all familiar with this character already and what he's all about in the game. I guess i won't be needing to add SPOILER ALERT Warnings here anymore, right? I mean, come on! It's been a month or so already, don't expect to see Big Boss from Snake Eater, or Peacewalker or Ground Zeroes... ALRIGHT? Alright!
Hey, this review is made possible by my new vehicle CLANDESTINE TOYS via The Convergence Brotherhood, and yeah we sold a lot of this figure. Hit me up if you're looking to Pre-Order the new/upcoming Play Arts Kai figures.

Pic Courtesy of Kevin Constante since our (mine and Bryan's) pics suck. lol

Don't get me wrong, i love the game though not as much as its contemporaries and i love "Venom" Snake (cough, cough, cough), he's a vital part of the Metal Gear canon (Hello Metal Gear 1, we haven't forgotten you!) and also, i simply love this figure. Check these out...

He's got a pretty good arsenal to begin with and the attachments can be customized  just like in the game though i didn't have time to fiddle with them yesterday since we're doing another outdoor review and Bryan silently threatened me should i break a piece or something - also, i apologize for the lighting, i didn't expect it to be so bad. Anyway, i forgot what those guns are called but i'm pretty sure that's the suppressed rifle we used all game long. 

Venom Snake's details are just outstanding as expected though we were treated again to that dark facial details and oily finish. I understand he's pretty grimy in the game so it's not a really big deal. The "sneaking suit" looks like an early, (though weirdly) - better version of the one popularized by Solid Snake later on in the series. In the MGS timeline, this game was supposed to be a flashback but Venom's suit is noticeably way, way better design-wise compared to the PAK Solid Snake suit from 4 years back. On a similar note, I'm missing the repackaged I-Droid, they should have included that in this version as well.

SWEEEEEET Diamond Dogs patch you got there Boss.

Of course you can pull off some CQC poses with Venom though in the game i don't think i caught him doing some signature CQC moves, well, he's not the real Big Boss anyway - i imagine his technique would probably be branded a "cookie-cutter" imitation, and yes, you can look it up on the MGS Wikia if you're not familiar with the term i just used.

I love the bionic Myoelectric prosthetic arm design, i think it's pretty much game-accurate. I wish though that it can be detached or at least they could've included an alternate one in the package, "Hand of Jehuty" anyone?

Overall, the design and form of PAK Venom Snake is good except for 1 or 2 major flaws which i heard complaints about so i had to see them for myself. First, those knee-joint gaps are unsightly and second, this one's big, the loose torso with a large noticeable gap in between. I believe that particular design is to enable more flexibility on poses but unfortunately the gap was just too big and the top part too short to cover the bottom portion of the torso. Yeah, it looks annoying indeed especially on some poses. Major oversight SQEX.

A minor gripe also is his annoying cord, it gets tangled up yesterday with his head and i suggest you be very careful since the wire is all thin and flimsy.

"It's the Final Countdown, tenenenen tenenetenten tenenenen tenententententen..."

I don't know if it has something to do with the fact that Venom Snake here is just a body double of Big Boss but i've heard of MGS collectors passing on getting this figure or not wanting to keep theirs. I would still suggest you keep him and/or get him simply because, like i mentioned earlier, he's an important character in the MGS canon and to be fair to "Medic" Snake, he's still a total badass in the game if you think about it. He may not be the "Real" thing but to go up against a resurrected Volgin, angst-ridden teen psychic (Kid Mantis?) and angst-ridden not-my-son ELi(quid Snake) piloting a scarier, more technologically advanced, albeit earlier version, of Metal Gear Rex, WOW, you're a worthy body-double Medic. However, "The Man Who Sold the World" played us all.

Finally, I really, really adore the 80's Soundtrack in the game and for that Walkman detail alone he's worth getting, trust me.