The first minutes of Metal Gear Solid 5 promise bliss and beauty. With a heavy focus on cutscenes and over the top action seen in previous entrees, however once you start the core gameplay it becomes somewhat of a chore.

Not a preview but I just wanted to say that Hideo Kojima (the director) has stated that the trailer is current gen graphics! meaning it will look even better on the PS4.

I had planned it all very carefully. There were way too many guards still looking for me, and with sunrise coming shortly, I had almost no chance of making it out to the nearest safe landing zone with an injured prisoner on my shoulders. But I wouldn't have to.

Exceptional sandbox gameplay; Meaningful complexity; Stealth flexibility; Tons of gadgets and abilities

Sparse story

It's the middle of the night in northern Afghanistan, I am positioned just outside of a heavily fortified and guarded stronghold, planning my next move, while also trying to locate the prisoner that

Great soundtrack; Compelling; varied gameplay; Stunning visuals; Amazing value for money

Occasional story padding

Metal Gear is a member of video gaming's old guard. It has been consistently popular since its inception in the ‘80s, which is a rare distinction it shares with revered names like Mario and Zelda.

Epic conclusion to one of the best Series out there.

Metal Gear fans have been waiting for this a long time, and now Snake is finally back to kick more ass. When I played Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots on PlayStation 3, I remember thinking how it would've been cool if the mission areas were a bit more open.

Pays proper homage Snake and to the franchise; awesome atmosphere; great soundtrack and superb voice acting; interesting characters; extraordinarily intelligent AI behavior; unpredictable mission structure; a lot of content to keep you hooked for days

The GUI will take some getting used to; the open world feels a bit empty most of the time and you might be returning to the same spots more than youd like to (especially during side-ops)

Review copy was provided by the publisher. For information on scoring, please read our Review Policy here .

It's a shame that this will be Kojima's last MGS game, but for what it's worth he set aside whatever ill feelings he might have against Konami to create one of his most ambitious games yet.

Hideo Kojima has never been what you would call a conservative designer. From the very start , he strained against the limitations of the medium, often with brilliant results. But with Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima has taken a different approach.