After playing all of the Metal Gears in release order, this is probably the best one.

The sandbox style open-world allows for so much experimentation, whether it be with the staggering amount of weapons and gadgets you can unlock, or the responsive environments and AI. Once it all clicks, each mission feels calculable and the "tactical espionage" aspect shines. Metal Gear gameplay to me has always been about situational awareness and quick-thinking, two things this game rewards pretty well. It feels especially satisfying to gear up, do recon, and infiltrate a huge base, taking it slow and remaining undetected or having to maneuver your way out of potentially being discovered. Even getting caught can be fun when having to adapt to the AI's alert/search phases, although I do think fighting back can be a little clunky sometimes. The way that the enemy force as a whole reacts to how you play the game is also really cool and adds some variety to playing/replaying missions. Do a lot of missions at night, and the enemies gain flashlights and night vision goggles. If you typically aim for the head, the soldiers get helmets. It's a neat way to make my presence in the game world be felt, and its something I wish more open-world games would do. I'm also a fan of the game's bigger set pieces, especially the areas with multiple paths and levels to traverse (Mfinda Oilfield is a particular favorite). There's also a staggering amount of content in the game, with over 150 side ops, like a million different mission objectives (some of which can only be completed if you replay the mission once you've unlocked some late game gadgets), a whole ZOO to populate with animals, and plenty of unlockable items to get. However, the side ops can get repetitive though, with a lot of the later ones boiling down to extracting/exploding tanks and getting rid of soldiers in full armor. Replayability is really encouraged with this game which is a huge plus for me. In fact, at the time of writing I'm still trying to squeeze as much time as I can out of this game. Watching the completion percentage the game displays in your helicopter base go up is really addicting.

I think the story gets a lot of flack, understandably so considering that the story itself is light, somewhat confusing and the cutscenes can be so few and far between. I saw someone say that it feels like the narrative is in a state of always feeling like its about to get good and it just never really hits, which I would kind of agree with. But I think whats here works well enough to act as the middle link between the Big Boss/Solid Snake eras (and to be honest I'm a little biased because after playing MGS4, a Metal Gear game thats more focused on gameplay is welcome). Despite all that, I wouldn't say the story is bad, just not finished and not the main focus. There's some neat fan service moments and the good old Metal Gear memetics are all there. The cutscenes that are in the game are well-directed and stylish with some really memorable moments, and it certainly helps that the game is drop-dead gorgeous.

The original soundtrack is full of John Carpenter-esque, cinematic synth tracks that dynamically change as you sneak around. The licensed soundtrack is filled to the brim with time-appropriate bangers too (even though theres that one song by the Cure that came out like ten years after the game is supposed to take place lol). I do wish there were some more songs from the Metal Gear series as more little collectible tapes, which I think are really fun especially when you zoom with your binoculars and hear a split-second of Hall and Oates in the distance and picking it up becomes a little side note in your mission.

Everyones already said it but yeah it really sucks that the second half of this game is so blatantly unfinished. There's only a handful of original missions after the first half of the game is over, with a lot of reused missions with some sort of modifier on it, and most of the modifiers just kind of boil down to don't get caught or don't get shot. The story kind of just doesn't fully resolve either, although I'd consider the game to have a few endings to certain plotlines, it never feels like it gives as strong of a final send-off like MGS4 does. With some more time, who knows what a full second chapter or even a third would have been like.

Overall, this game really makes me appreciate what I love about playing the Metal Gear games and it reminds me just how much I miss these games. Everything feels like its designed around the idea of letting you be cool and cinematic, and the non-linear sandbox gameplay makes for some really organic, exciting situations. There's a part where Big Boss says "Anyone here can use a knife or a gun. What you're going to learn is how to use your head", and I think it kinda summarizes what its like to really get into this game.

200 Hour Edit: This is still the best of the series and probably in my top 3 games. I'm now throwing this game on when I'm talking to friends or just hanging out, and it's a fantastic timekiller. Now that I understand the AI through and through, there are so many interesting situations that you can fix yourself into, and yet it doesn't feel like I'm smarter than the game, but rather that I'm smarter than the enemy, which fits thematically.

After playing all of the Metal Gears in release order, this is probably the best one. The sandbox style open-world allows for so much experimentation, whether it be with the staggering amount of weapons and gadgets you can unlock, or the responsive environments and AI. Once it all clicks, each mission feels calculable and the "tactical espionage" aspect shines. Metal Gear gameplay to me has always been about situational awareness and quick-thinking, two things this game rewards pretty well. It feels especially satisfying to gear up, do recon, and infiltrate a huge base, taking it slow and remaining undetected or having to maneuver your way out of potentially being discovered. Even getting caught can be fun when having to adapt to the AI's alert/search phases, although I do think fighting back can be a little clunky sometimes. The way that the enemy force as a whole reacts to how you play the game is also really cool and adds some variety to playing/replaying missions. Do a lot of missions at night, and the enemies gain flashlights and night vision goggles. If you typically aim for the head, the soldiers get helmets. It's a neat way to make my presence in the game world be felt, and its something I wish more open-world games would do. I'm also a fan of the game's bigger set pieces, especially the areas with multiple paths and levels to traverse (Mfinda Oilfield is a particular favorite). There's also a staggering amount of content in the game, with over 150 side ops, like a million different mission objectives (some of which can only be completed if you replay the mission once you've unlocked some late game gadgets), a whole ZOO to populate with animals, and plenty of unlockable items to get. However, the side ops can get repetitive though, with a lot of the later ones boiling down to extracting/exploding tanks and getting rid of soldiers in full armor. Replayability is really encouraged with this game which is a huge plus for me. In fact, at the time of writing I'm [i] still [/i] trying to squeeze as much time as I can out of this game. Watching the completion percentage the game displays in your helicopter base go up is really addicting. I think the story gets a lot of flack, understandably so considering that the story itself is light, somewhat confusing and the cutscenes can be so few and far between. I saw someone say that it feels like the narrative is in a state of always feeling like its about to get good and it just never really hits, which I would kind of agree with. But I think whats here works well enough to act as the middle link between the Big Boss/Solid Snake eras (and to be honest I'm a little biased because after playing MGS4, a Metal Gear game thats more focused on gameplay is welcome). Despite all that, I wouldn't say the story is [i] bad, [/i] just not finished and not the main focus. There's some neat fan service moments and the good old Metal Gear memetics are all there. The cutscenes that are in the game are well-directed and stylish with some really memorable moments, and it certainly helps that the game is drop-dead gorgeous. The original soundtrack is full of John Carpenter-esque, cinematic synth tracks that dynamically change as you sneak around. The licensed soundtrack is filled to the brim with time-appropriate bangers too (even though theres that one song by the Cure that came out like ten years after the game is supposed to take place lol). I do wish there were some more songs from the Metal Gear series as more little collectible tapes, which I think are really fun especially when you zoom with your binoculars and hear a split-second of Hall and Oates in the distance and picking it up becomes a little side note in your mission. Everyones already said it but yeah it really sucks that the second half of this game is so blatantly unfinished. There's only a handful of original missions after the first half of the game is over, with a lot of reused missions with some sort of modifier on it, and most of the modifiers just kind of boil down to don't get caught or don't get shot. The story kind of just doesn't fully resolve either, although I'd consider the game to have a few endings to certain plotlines, it never feels like it gives as strong of a final send-off like MGS4 does. With some more time, who knows what a full second chapter or even a third would have been like. Overall, this game really makes me appreciate what I love about playing the Metal Gear games and it reminds me just how much I miss these games. Everything feels like its designed around the idea of letting you be cool and cinematic, and the non-linear sandbox gameplay makes for some really organic, exciting situations. There's a part where Big Boss says [i] "Anyone here can use a knife or a gun. What you're going to learn is how to use your head"[/i], and I think it kinda summarizes what its like to really get into this game. 200 Hour Edit: This is still the best of the series and probably in my top 3 games. I'm now throwing this game on when I'm talking to friends or just hanging out, and it's a fantastic timekiller. Now that I understand the AI through and through, there are so many interesting situations that you can fix yourself into, and yet it doesn't feel like I'm smarter than the game, but rather that I'm smarter than the enemy, which fits thematically.