I’ve been playing the NES Metal Gear series since the beginning. In the ’80s Metal Gear 1 and 2 were top down view action games. Then in the ’90s on the PS1 market was the release of one of the best story and action games of all time, Metal Gear Solid. Now on the new generation of consoles markets the most technologically advanced and biggest MGS game to date “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (MGS V).

Released last year “Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeros” was a prologue to the “Phantom Pain” it was supposed to be the opening of the game and MGS V is not only the continuation of the story it is a huge open world sandbox of things to do. Up until now the MGS games were straight forward narrative-driven experiences, yes, you could pick your path through a level but now the level of exploration and the amount of ways to tackle a problem are unprecedented.

Even though the world is bigger there is still a lot of story to be told, you still play as Big Boss (Snake), only this time you are building your army and collecting resources to build your base to stand against the forces of Skull Face. Unlike the last MGS game there isn’t as many huge movie scenes. Most of the story is found in audio logs that you collect. The only problem with this is you might miss some and won’t hear chunks of the story. Just like the previous games, the story is great but still confusing and convoluted, especially if you miss sections. I didn’t mind the cut scenes in the other games. I think the cut scenes are better than the audio clips.

The lack of story scenes make the exploration and base building stuff more interesting. “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” has an incredible amount of missions and content to find. The missions are varied and you get to choose which ones you want to do. The missions include infiltration, stealing resources, sabotage and more. The most compelling and addictive thing is the base building. If you didn’t play Ground Zeroes you are probably unaware of the “Fulton System,” which is essentially a balloon you attach to items and it floats them to your base. Once you subdue guards and other obstacles you can Fulton them and they will appear at your base as your ally. Everything you do contributes to your base and your army, each mission earns you gear and experience. Depending on what you Fulton you can get scientists to research better weapons and all sorts of new gear to use. Your base represents your character progression and your military might. You can create extra forward operating bases to use online. This feature allows you to create an extra base but it is open to attack by other online players. You can have your security system try to stop them or you can defend it yourself. There isn’t a ton of online play but it is an interesting game mode.

The best thing about acquiring allies is the “buddy system,” which lets you take an A.I controlled friend into the field with you. There a bunch of fun buddies to collect like Quiet she is a sniper, and there is a dog like character called D-walker and a horse.

Overall I love “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.” It’s the best game in the series gameplay wise and it is a huge open world with a ton of content to explore. MGS V is one of the most technically impressive games and is a must play for fans of the series.

“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” has joined the ranks of one of the best games of all time.

System: PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC

Rated: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes

Genre: Action / Stealth

Publisher: Konami

Robbie Vanderveken is the digital operations specialist at The Times Leader. E-mail him at rvanderveken@timesleader.com.

By Robbie Vanderveken

For Weekender

“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” is now on the new generation of consoles markets and is one of the most technologically advanced and biggest MGS games to date.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_mgsv11.jpg.optimal.jpg“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” is now on the new generation of consoles markets and is one of the most technologically advanced and biggest MGS games to date. Submitted photos

“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” is now on the new generation of consoles markets and is one of the most technologically advanced and biggest MGS games to date.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_mgsv21.jpg.optimal.jpg“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” is now on the new generation of consoles markets and is one of the most technologically advanced and biggest MGS games to date. Submitted photos