I've recently reached the first ending of the game at around 35 hours, note that I restarted a lot since I set certain rules for myself. Overall, gameplay wise, it's a very enjoyable experience. Kojima has managed to broaden out the core MGS gameplay from set levels to an open-world experience and for the most part, only improvements have arisen from this: more opportunities to be inventive with your tools; Motherbase feels more impactful than it did in MGS Peace Walker; and the rise in difficulty due to more factors that the player has to keep track of, all enrich the experience.

However, there were some losses along the way, Camo is stale and the lack of a lot of the features of camo from MGS 3 and 4 have been ignored from what I gathered in my play time. It doesn't really matter what camo you're wearing since they all pretty much function identically and all of this is trumped once you get the Stealth Suit/ Battle Dress. This was one of the negatives of Peace Walker and I had hoped that they would have fixed it by the time TPP was released.

I have to mention the phenomenal Adaptive AI though, it was only a minor point in the gameplay demos they showed us but it's palpable how much of a difference it makes to your gameplay experience. I spent the majority of my early game sneaking in and WU-Pistoling (the sleepz one) every guard I saw. Soon, guards began developing helmets and night vision goggles and armor that negated my tactics. That is not to say it forced me to change my strategy completely, it just meant that if I wanted to stick to my guns, my task would be a lot harder to accomplish.

And that ties in nicely with the Motherbase pillar of the game, it's a hugely expanded version of the Motherbase from Peace Walker that have this really nice tug and pull to its resource management by the mid-point of the game. My only critique of it is the lack of non-lethal take downs overall and the ones that are there are locked behind really high parameters meaning if you're going for a pacifist run, you're going to be pretty bored. There's always something new to strive to get however and it'll take you a long time to gather everything.

Money and other resources will grow pretty tight by the time you're reaching the final third of the initial campaign and that's when they introduce Forward Operating Bases, these act as the hub for Dark Souls-esque multiplayer. Not only do these bases allow you to expand your staff capacity but also allow for faster resource gathering but this comes at a cost, it opens you up to risk of invasions from other players. When you invade someone, your goal is to reach a command room on one of their platform (you choose where to land) and you gain everything on that platform; on the otherhand, you can cherry pick your targets and just leave but that is counted as a lost on your card and on your wallet. It's a thrill to see another player for the first time employ tactics similar to your own but after awhile, a lot of flaws manifest themselves - for one, there's only one way to reach the final objective and it's too easy for players to camp it with C4 and due ot the timer on the attacker's side, and the mirade of defending FOB staff, the odds are often stacked too much on the defender side and it becomes a mad dash to solo the base before the other player arrives.

But you're not alone when infiltrating though (at least for single player) with the addition of buddies, Snake's abilities are enhanced vastly. Each buddy is designed to excel at one thing and it's always a game of gains and losses when making a choice between them - this is great and very well implemented. I especially like how these buddies can be completely missed which really adds to the depth of the gameplay for me.

If you're new to MGS or is just looking for an incredible gameplay experience that you will get nowhere else, I wholeheartedly recommend MGS 5: TPP.

If you're a returning fan of MGS then I would recommend a more thorough search of what you want from the Phantom Pain to see if it's what you want from MGS.

Overall, it's not as tight of a package as the other MGS games prior. The level design isn't there and it certainly isn't as intelligent as priot entries and the lack of interior stealth really hurts the game. The usual attention to detail from Kojima is here in full force but you will definitely feel a loss of some of the charm. The story in this game as well as a lot of the dialogue in it is just flat out laughable and it was hard to see anything that is being presented to us as 'serious'. A lot of the 'bosses' are underdeveloped, with quick HERE YOU GO FIGHT introductions that make me reminisce about those old bosses who would prattle on their philosophy to the player. In fact, this is a very quiet MGS with Snake barely saying anything in game, it feels weird to have him say so little even though some of these events are game-changers for him. Cutscenes don't exit outside of cut-ends for the intro/end of missions and overall, the story is sparse and unfullfilling. A major downside for me. Skull face is boring. Big Boss is boring. It doesn't feel like an MGS game in this regard.

The story is also flat out retarded and a lot of the items brought up in the plot is also ridicolous and turns the game's dark tones into laughable quips. And finally, this won't matter to casual/new players but for fans of the series, the ending will disappoint. A large section of the game has been cut out and a lot of the ties between this and MGS 1 have been severed, leaving us with a half-hearted ending that makes you question how well you spent your time.

Overall, I rate this game a good 7.8

I've recently reached the first ending of the game at around 35 hours, note that I restarted a lot since I set certain rules for myself. Overall, gameplay wise, it's a very enjoyable experience. Kojima has managed to broaden out the core MGS gameplay from set levels to an open-world experience and for the most part, only improvements have arisen from this: more opportunities to be inventive with your tools; Motherbase feels more impactful than it did in MGS Peace Walker; and the rise in difficulty due to more factors that the player has to keep track of, all enrich the experience. However, there were some losses along the way, Camo is stale and the lack of a lot of the features of camo from MGS 3 and 4 have been ignored from what I gathered in my play time. It doesn't really matter what camo you're wearing since they all pretty much function identically and all of this is trumped once you get the Stealth Suit/ Battle Dress. This was one of the negatives of Peace Walker and I had hoped that they would have fixed it by the time TPP was released. I have to mention the phenomenal Adaptive AI though, it was only a minor point in the gameplay demos they showed us but it's palpable how much of a difference it makes to your gameplay experience. I spent the majority of my early game sneaking in and WU-Pistoling (the sleepz one) every guard I saw. Soon, guards began developing helmets and night vision goggles and armor that negated my tactics. That is not to say it forced me to change my strategy completely, it just meant that if I wanted to stick to my guns, my task would be a lot harder to accomplish. And that ties in nicely with the Motherbase pillar of the game, it's a hugely expanded version of the Motherbase from Peace Walker that have this really nice tug and pull to its resource management by the mid-point of the game. My only critique of it is the lack of non-lethal take downs overall and the ones that are there are locked behind really high parameters meaning if you're going for a pacifist run, you're going to be pretty bored. There's always something new to strive to get however and it'll take you a long time to gather everything. Money and other resources will grow pretty tight by the time you're reaching the final third of the initial campaign and that's when they introduce Forward Operating Bases, these act as the hub for Dark Souls-esque multiplayer. Not only do these bases allow you to expand your staff capacity but also allow for faster resource gathering but this comes at a cost, it opens you up to risk of invasions from other players. When you invade someone, your goal is to reach a command room on one of their platform (you choose where to land) and you gain everything on that platform; on the otherhand, you can cherry pick your targets and just leave but that is counted as a lost on your card and on your wallet. It's a thrill to see another player for the first time employ tactics similar to your own but after awhile, a lot of flaws manifest themselves - for one, there's only one way to reach the final objective and it's too easy for players to camp it with C4 and due ot the timer on the attacker's side, and the mirade of defending FOB staff, the odds are often stacked too much on the defender side and it becomes a mad dash to solo the base before the other player arrives. But you're not alone when infiltrating though (at least for single player) with the addition of buddies, Snake's abilities are enhanced vastly. Each buddy is designed to excel at one thing and it's always a game of gains and losses when making a choice between them - this is great and very well implemented. I especially like how these buddies can be completely missed which really adds to the depth of the gameplay for me. If you're new to MGS or is just looking for an incredible gameplay experience that you will get nowhere else, I wholeheartedly recommend MGS 5: TPP. If you're a returning fan of MGS then I would recommend a more thorough search of what you want from the Phantom Pain to see if it's what you want from MGS. Overall, it's not as tight of a package as the other MGS games prior. The level design isn't there and it certainly isn't as intelligent as priot entries and the lack of interior stealth really hurts the game. The usual attention to detail from Kojima is here in full force but you will definitely feel a loss of some of the charm. The story in this game as well as a lot of the dialogue in it is just flat out laughable and it was hard to see anything that is being presented to us as 'serious'. A lot of the 'bosses' are underdeveloped, with quick HERE YOU GO FIGHT introductions that make me reminisce about those old bosses who would prattle on their philosophy to the player. In fact, this is a very quiet MGS with Snake barely saying anything in game, it feels weird to have him say so little even though some of these events are game-changers for him. Cutscenes don't exit outside of cut-ends for the intro/end of missions and overall, the story is sparse and unfullfilling. A major downside for me. Skull face is boring. Big Boss is boring. It doesn't feel like an MGS game in this regard. The story is also flat out retarded and a lot of the items brought up in the plot is also ridicolous and turns the game's dark tones into laughable quips. And finally, this won't matter to casual/new players but for fans of the series, the ending will disappoint. A large section of the game has been cut out and a lot of the ties between this and MGS 1 have been severed, leaving us with a half-hearted ending that makes you question how well you spent your time. Overall, I rate this game a good 7.8