// Alright, I just realised somehow I'm writting more and more in each review, I don't know why I feel I should explain what I meant. Maybe it's me getting old. Also, before you read on, spoiler alert.

Talking about old, MGS series certainly is. The last major canon was literally about getting old. And it sucked! so hard.
But this game is solid! (see what I did thar)

p.p.s. I don't know why the game keeps titling 'solid' even though we all know the most interesting character in the genre is Big Boss (and maybe Ocelot too).

This review is a comparative opinion on the series, with highlight of this game.

The series spans decades and multiple shifts in style, both in gameplay and story-telling. There are ups and downs. This game, MGS5, is definitely an Up.

The Up is firstly the gameplay, this game plays like a modern action game: with enough degrees of freedom, a sense of streamlined action to consequence feedback loop and impactful tactical elements. Previously in gameplay, either it was too tactical or non-actionable.

Next Up, is story, the essence of MGS. Story is a sum of plots and character. We have plots deepening since the MGS1 but the characters start to shine when the serie take a look at Big Boss in Snake Eater. In TPP we get to witness a few fantasitic, lively characters that previous MGS games don't even have the materials for. In my opinion, the MGS series ended with Sons of Liberty in New York Manhatton. That game was more about philosophy than story, and was certainly entirely about post-modernism. The lack of character was on purpose. However Konami drags on to Guns of the patriots, so Kojima fill up all the plot holes to justify the drag. The TPP, however, has all the freedom it needs because it's not about Solid Snake the uninteresting, but the confounded yet determined 'freedom' warrior Big Boss (alert, there is a catch). So the character is a real person, flesh and blood real: we get to experience the bloody path he walks, understand his mission and give out sympathy as a human being. Drama, is an upgrade to this genre.

Finally, style. The setting sets the style. Blizzard (not the company) sets the tone for MGS1, Ocean and sense of Isolation sets for MGS2, Jungle for 3 and Sand and Savanna for 5. There are limited factors in previous works that those settings are not well presented and resonated in the game but for TPP, with open world (somewhat) mechanism, they form a good synergy and it plays great.

At the end, MGS5 TPP is a fun game to play and thus time flies.

p.p.p.s. I need to bash MGS4 before I hit the submit button. That game tarnished the MGS legacy, although I enjoyed the clichés and the plugged plot holes... But come on, MGS2 was an art. MGS4 was a forced interpretation of the said art.