Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Summer Game Fest
  • New games for 2025
  • Upcoming Switch 2 games
  • Switch 2 stock

Recommended reading

A boss fight against a crocodile with a gattling gun in Mouse: P.I For Hire
Action Games Mouse: P.I for Hire just revealed some of its experimental new weapons, including a 'Self-Aware Attitude Changer' that could come in handy in real life
SpyraGravity being used by men in t-shirts and wearing goggles
Toys & Collectibles This absurdly OP water gun "packs as much power as legally possible," is basically a grenade launcher
SpyraThree hanging on a metal wall bracket
Toys & Collectibles SpyraThree review: "Makes all other water guns look ridiculous"
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Assassin's Creed Shadows has an early secret weapon that's easy to miss, but you have to get: "I haven’t even been hit once since I found it"
Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta
Metal Gear Metal Gear Solid 3 teases what certainly looks like a Metal Gear Online homage, complete with its adorable Kerotan frog figurines
Snake stands next to a giant ape mech in the Mesal Gear Solid crossover between Metal Gear Solid 3 and Ape Escape
Stealth Games "My first line was 'Snake Vs Monkey'", says Metal Gear Solid 3's David Hayter: "I could only ask, 'Why am I saying this?'"
A selection of the best water guns, with the GamesRadar+ cross in the middle
Toys & Collectibles Best water guns 2025: Save on must-have Super Soakers and water pistols
  1. Games
  2. Stealth
  3. Metal Gear
  4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Wait, MGS 5's water pistol isn't useless?

News
By Leon Hurley published 10 September 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

It can hold up guards

It can hold up guards

Look, Johhny Soldier can't tell if you're using a water pistol or not when you jump out and tell them to stick 'em up. It means the squirt gun is a viable way to shake them down for info, or make them get on the floor.

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
It works as a distraction

It works as a distraction

Like tranqs and other silenced weapons, the water pistol will alert guards if you shoot near them. It doesn't register as an attack either, so you can fire away and drive them nuts.

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
It soaks, it stuns

It soaks, it stuns

The range can make this tricky but a direct shot to the face will stop an alerted guard. Giving you precious seconds to get in and hammer them with CQC

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
It can put out fires

It can put out fires

What, are you surprised?

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
You can take out electronics

You can take out electronics

Destroying enemy radar and radio equipment can make your life a lot easier by making it harder for the enemy to organise. But it does tend to make a lot of noise. Not a problem with the water pistol, which can short out delicate electronics with no more than a few quiet sparks.

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
It can blow up mines

It can blow up mines

Just in case you don't want to get too close.

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms
Leon Hurley
Leon Hurley
Social Links Navigation
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website. 

Don't worry, there are no spoilers here. Just a nod of respect to Akutare on Steam for discovering that the water pistol you can unlock in MGS5 isn't a joke weapon - it has uses. From holding up guards to taking out enemy electronics with out alarm-raising explosions, the thing actually looks like it's asset, not just a goofy novelty.

Check out how in the gallery (picture credits to Akutare).

Seen something newsworthy? Tell us!

You may like
  • Mouse: P.I for Hire just revealed some of its experimental new weapons, including a 'Self-Aware Attitude Changer' that could come in handy in real life
  • This absurdly OP water gun "packs as much power as legally possible," is basically a grenade launcher
  • SpyraThree review: "Makes all other water guns look ridiculous"
See more PC Gaming News
Read more
A boss fight against a crocodile with a gattling gun in Mouse: P.I For Hire
Mouse: P.I for Hire just revealed some of its experimental new weapons, including a 'Self-Aware Attitude Changer' that could come in handy in real life
SpyraGravity being used by men in t-shirts and wearing goggles
This absurdly OP water gun "packs as much power as legally possible," is basically a grenade launcher
SpyraThree hanging on a metal wall bracket
SpyraThree review: "Makes all other water guns look ridiculous"
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows has an early secret weapon that's easy to miss, but you have to get: "I haven’t even been hit once since I found it"
Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta
Metal Gear Solid 3 teases what certainly looks like a Metal Gear Online homage, complete with its adorable Kerotan frog figurines
Snake stands next to a giant ape mech in the Mesal Gear Solid crossover between Metal Gear Solid 3 and Ape Escape
"My first line was 'Snake Vs Monkey'", says Metal Gear Solid 3's David Hayter: "I could only ask, 'Why am I saying this?'"
Latest in Metal Gear
A screenshot from the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake.
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is getting online in the form of Fox Hunt – which Konami wants you to know isn't Metal Gear Online: "The landscape of multiplayer games has changed a lot"
Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta
Metal Gear Solid 3 teases what certainly looks like a Metal Gear Online homage, complete with its adorable Kerotan frog figurines
MGS
Borderlands and Horizon voice actor Ashly Burch says Metal Gear made her realise voice acting could be a job: "I think it did open up to me what the possibilities of performance in games could be"
Metal Gear Solid collection
Hideo Kojima says Solid Snake's "silent 'tough guy'" personality in Metal Gear 1 was the result of technical limitations
A brightened screenshot from Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes.
Hideo Kojima knows fans thought Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes was too short, as he thinks back to negative comments: "'Why would they sell a trial version even at a low price?'"
Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta screenshot
Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater – Everything we know about the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake
Latest in News
REPO
REPO devs apologize for teasing cosmetics we'll never get, confirm other cosmetics are actually coming and "old levels will get updated" eventually
A cockroach fight in Grounded 2
Obsidian explains Grounded 2 was born from technical limitations of the Xbox One: "This is our opportunity to build the world from the ground up"
the bird-headed guardian blocking behind a greatshield as fire swirls all around
Elden Ring Nightreign's worst character is The Guardian, or he might be one of the best depending on who you ask: "Guardian is top 3 you can’t change my mind"
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy
"I want Hundred Line to be like Shonen Jump – a single game packed with all kinds of stories": Danganronpa creator isn't done with his new tactical RPG, even after 100 endings
Fallen Tear: The Ascension
Hollow Knight: Silksong has its own GTA 6-like release date blast zone – "I hope Silksong will release this year coz we are avoiding them," says boss of lovely JRPG-flavored Metroidvania
Elden Ring Nightreign playing solo Executor starting expedition
Elden Ring Nightreign's notorious Bell Bearing Hunter mini-boss is more trouble than some Day 3 bosses, but one player has found a classic cheese: body blocking
  1. A crop of the MindsEye key art for a review header
    1
    MindsEye review: "An uninspired and forgettable sci-fi action adventure that feels like a Netflix movie you watch while on your phone"
  2. 2
    The Alters review: "More tactile and story-heavy than the Frostpunk dev's earlier games, but the fight for survival is just as fierce"
  3. 3
    Splitgate 2 review: "A slick and enjoyable free-to-play FPS, but a disappointing sequel"
  4. 4
    Date Everything review: "A masterclass in character design full of wonderful faces I love meeting, but juggling so many means sacrificing depth"
  5. 5
    Deltarune review: "This Undertale successor is an unapologetically weird RPG epic, where each chapter is a new canvas that doesn't have to conform to any rigid rules, style, or logic"
  1. The Yautja in Dan Trachtenberg's animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers
    1
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  2. 2
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  3. 3
    Karate Kid: Legends review: "Better than Karate Kid (2010), nothing on Karate Kid (1984)"
  4. 4
    Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning review: "Wraps up this spy franchise in spectacular style with Tom Cruise in peak condition, even if its villain lacks terror"
  5. 5
    Final Destination Bloodlines Review: "Meticulous murderous mayhem"
  1. Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim, Ruth Madeley as Shirley, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge Stewart, Varada Sethu as Belinda, Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, Millie Gibson as Ruby, Bonnie Langford as Mel, Susan Twist as Susan Triad, and Yasmin Finney as Rose Noble in Doctor Who: 'The Reality War.'
    1
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  2. 2
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision
  3. 3
    Rick and Morty season 8 review: "Largely plays it too safe after years of crossing boundaries"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 6 spoiler review: 'The Interstellar Song Contest' is "a blast and sets the stage for a thrilling season finale"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 5 spoiler review: 'The Story & The Engine' is "one of the most original and ambitious episodes this show has produced in years"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...