Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the newest instalment of the long-running stealth series from Konami. This is Hideo Kojima’s last game in the series and what a way to end.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an open world game where you are given an objective to complete and a wide area where to operate. How and when you complete the mission is up to you. As the player, you get to choose the method with which you meet your objective, what time of day you meet it and just about everything else to do with the mission.

While this isn’t the first open world game to deliver such freedom, it’s one of the best games to deliver it. And you also get to play with a pet dog, which is always a bonus.

The Metal Gear Solid series is all about stealth. Game purists will want to be as stealthy as possible and this is great. It poses a significant challenge given the terrain, good AI and game mechanics. However, if you prefer shooting your way through missions, you can do that too.

The game runs through story missions based in two main locations: Afghanistan and Angola-Zaire. You are given a mission brief and can then outfit your character Snake with two primary weapons, a sidearm and some explosives. If you need to change weapons during the mission, you can choose to have new items delivered in theatre. This allows you to adapt and overcome, adding a new dimension to play.

Alongside the first person game is a deeper management game. You run a mercenary outfit called the Diamond Dogs. How you play your own missions has an impact on the resources available to your crew, adding an extra layer of complexity to proceedings. Side missions, intelligence and resource gathering and research all happen within this layer.

As if Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain didn’t have enough going on, there is also an accurate day and night cycle, as well as weather and environmental conditions to consider when planning missions.

This game looks fantastic, plays well and offers almost limitless possibilities. The depth of the game is admirable but not as impressive as how everything ties together into a coherent whole. The main downside is the amount of time you’ll end up investing in it without realising.

Jesmond Darmanin is a technology enthusiast who has his own blog at www.itnewsblog.com.