It has been 7 long years since Solid Snake brought down the Patriots in 2008's Metal Gear solid 4 Guns of the Patriots. A lot has changed in gaming since then, can the famous stealth action series still provide an amazing story with stellar gameplay? The story starts where the prologue game "Ground Zero" ended, with Snake being on death's doorstep after a helicopter crash. From here we expierience what I believe to be one of the greatest game intros ever. The player wakes up as returing series hero Snake (or "Big Boss as he is also known as) where we are informed that Snake his been in a coma for 9 years. With spectacular timing, the hospital comes under attack by a mysterious para-military group known as XOF. During his escape Snake encouters a strage charecter called "The Man on Fire" a mysterious man with the abiity to controll fire at his own will. After a daring escape sequnce is when the real fun begins. We are dropped into the open world of 1984 era Middle East controlled by the Soviet Union. After uniting several familiar faces from previous games. The game ditches the liniar mission system of the previous titles for an open ended non liniar system. You are dropped into a mission zone with the gear selected by the player. After this you can untilize all the resources at your disposal including airstrikes, air support or gear drops if your current loadout isn't preferable. You can now bring a buddy charecter into battle with you. Each of the games 4 buddys can provide a tactical advantage. There is a horse simply named D-horse which can provide quick transport around the massive game world, D-Dog  who is a dog you raise on your own who can distract enemys leaving them open for the perfect shot. There is even a tiny metal gear walker you can get your hands on and customize. But my favorite buddy (and the favorite of many players) is a mysterious mute sniper named Quiet who can pull of long range shots with an almost supernatural talent. At first charecters may assume from her revealing atire that she is simply the game's sex apeal. But as you progressed further the more you learn about her complex back story. I found myself constantly wanting to discover her back story and wanting more answers. The game also has a large base managment system. You are rewarded for not killing enemys and kidnapping them via a special weather balloon called a fulton. Eventually you can abduct entire vehicles such as jeeps, cars or tanks with the upgraded fulton. You also manage staff in different specialty areas such as combat support, research and development and many more. The stronger your base is the better weapons and gear you can unlock. Also returning to the series is Metal Gear Online, a sub game which you can fight other players. You can attack their base and steal there resources or just engage in PVP style deathmatch across a normal map. Going up against other players requires skill and a tactical approach. It's hard at first but it makes every kill all the more satisfying. I was also impressed by the amount of post game content. Your Metal Gear adventure doesn't stop and the credits roll, there are tons of post story missions that will get even more out of the game. You can also replay story missions to get access to the best items in the game. The graphics on the game's new FOX engine are amazing and are at their best on newer consoles, however it still looks amazing on older systems. It also has a theme song by Mike Oldfield called Nuclear which will get stuck in your head and you will have to have on your Ipod Overall Metal Gear Solid 5 the Phantom Pain is a true modern classic, it has an engaging and open ended story and gameplay style, beautiful and details and graphics, interesting charecters, a catchy soundtrack and a deep and interesting multiplayer and post story content. I would highly recomend this to Metal Gear fans or gamers who want to get in on the expierience.