Metal Gear Solid a well established series it is now debated whether this will be the last in the franchise now series mastermind Kojima having now left Konami. MGS5 The Phantom Pain was his last game and boy does he go out in style.
Story takes place mainly after the events of Ground Zeroes Big Boss has been in a coma for 9 years and has to rebuild his reputation and Mother Base back and rid the demons of the past.
The game is open world and what you will do is tackle missions that require certain tasks that rate from taking certain people to base or eliminating a certain threat. Also with the game you shall also reach enemy outposts and guardposts every few 100 miles and the task there is to eliminated every enemy in the area to capture it to get places for your helicopter to land by destroying atennas and other signals as well
You get optional Side Missions and they range from clearing Mines to Rescuing a Prisoner to Extracting a Solider and Eliminating enemies and tanks. The gameplay remains more Stealth not having a radar but by searching with your camera to locate enemy targets and by getting in close you can make them spill you information about the target you need to reach and also if you are spotted you get a quick chance by slow motion to try and eliminate the target you were spotted by.
A big feature is a Buddy system and that really pays off before you set off to do your supposed mission you can opt if you are in the helicopter to pick your perferred choice. D Dog can sniff targets, Quiet is an excellent Sniper and D Walker is like a vehicle to get to places fast and using them gets you more loyalty from them giving more uses for them to help you in the field and also you helicopter can offer support if you call for it if you are battling alot of enemies and need help.
Mother Base is like your Hub you can Extract Soliders,Vehicles and animals to add to your supposed units who you can send out on missions later on. The weapons are Developed at Mother Base and Target Practice as well The Base can also be expanded by collecting resources to expand the base adding more people to worrk on your base.
There are a couple of flaws though the bosses really are lacking the quality of say a Metal Gear Solid 3 and also the fact Big Boss doesn't talk as much as in previous games but that might be just a nitpick. Some people might complain about the lack of cutscenes but personally it helps the game much better in my opinion.
The Presentation is simply one of the best things ever seen in a game the view from Mother Base, Africa and Afganhistan are absolutely jaw dropping The voice acting is also very well performed with performances by Troy Baker and Robin Atkin Downes as Miller and Ocelot, Sutherland does a solid job but David Hayter will always be Snake in many people's eye. The music is also as good as you expect from an MGS game as well Sins of the Father ranks alongside Snake Eater and The Best is Yet to Come as one of the best. Also another feature are Sand Storms and Day and Night Cycles affect the enemies vision not just yours adding realism to the game
The game is absolutely huge a massive amount of content shows Kojima has put every bit of Metal Gear past and present into this game making it one of the biggest open world games ever. It is hard to say the right length to beat this game because of this games side missions you are getting alot of value in this game.
The honest opinion is Metal Gear Solid 5 The Phantom Pain is quite simply one of the best games not just in its series but of all time. The massive open world is a treat to explore. The Side Missions add countless hours you could be playing for 20 hours and be not even halfway through the game. The game really does show that Kojima has a magic touch when it comes to MGS and it shall be missed if the series continues. With also an epic soundtrack and a vast array of weapons and support from you buddies this is one game you would be foolish to miss out on
Overall Score 9.8 out 10