When it comes to stealth gaming, there's no bigger name than Metal Gear Solid. Over the years, the series has defined itself on some of the best gameplay out there and a story that'll make your head spin (in a good way).

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain looks to be a continuation of that legacy, only on a much larger scale: the gameplay, the story and the world itself are all bigger than anything else in the series, and with just a month left before the game's release, it's easy to see why fans are so excited.

One unseen side-effect of this is that, with so much information making its way to the public over the course of development, it can be hard to keep track of every new feature and story detail that hits the Web.

The sheer size and scale of Metal Gear Solid V only makes this problem an even bigger issue — fans are basically forced to stay in the dark or wander through incomplete (and sometimes inaccurate) sites just to find out what's going on with the latest game in the series.

That's where we come in. Ever since its GDC 2013 reveal, series creator Hideo Kojima has been slowly revealing more and more of the game, so we've looked back through every trailer, every article and every demo to catalog absolutely everything you need to know about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

The Plot

When it comes to Metal Gear Solid, anyone will tell you that the story itself is one of the biggest draws — however, aside from the storylines present within other Metal Gear Solid games, next to nothing is known about the plot of The Phantom Pain. That's not to say that fans know nothing about what to expect from MGSV ... there's just not much in the way of details. For starters, it's clear that The Phantom Pain is a direct sequel to Ground Zeroes, and by extension, Peace Walker. Players will take control of "Big Boss," a legendary war hero and the "father" of series mainstay Solid Snake.

During the events of Ground Zeroes, Boss is tasked with rescuing two former allies: a young man named Chica and a revolutionary known as Paz. While Boss is successful in rescuing them both, the trip home doesn't end nearly as well. The floating military platform known as Mother Base is completely destroyed, Paz is killed by a bomb sewn into her body and Boss' helicopter crashes — to be frank, things don't look good.

This is where things get a bit murky. Somehow, both Big Boss and his right-hand man, Kazuhira Miller, both survive the crash. From what fans have seen, Boss loses his arm and falls into a nine-year coma as a result, while Miller is merely hospitalized. Next to nothing is known about the following nine years ... though it's highly likely that this is when the "Les Enfant Terribles" plan is set into motion. This is the same cloning experiment that eventually leads to the creation of Big Boss' three "sons": Solidus Snake, Liquid Snake and series hero Solid Snake.

The GDC 2013 trailer suggests that The Phantom Pain will open with Snake's evacuation from the hospital that rescues him. Why exactly the hospital comes under attack is still unknown, and it took years to find out who was behind it. The Parasite Unit, a squad of bio-mechanical soldiers supposedly led by Ground Zeroes villain Skull Face, appear to be Boss' main adversaries ... though it isn't quite that simple (more on that in a bit).

It's soon revealed that longtime series villain Revolver Ocelot is behind Boss' rescue. Despite losing his arm, Boss is able to defend Ocelot as the pair flee from the "Man on Fire" (one of the Parasite Unit members in the GDC 2013 trailer). From here, it's impossible to tell exactly what happens, though many assume that the events of the GDC trailer are soon followed by those covered in the E3 2014 trailer.

During Boss' coma, Miller was captured and brought to Afghanistan; a rescue mission is launched in an effort to rebuild Boss' forces. The E3 2014 demo shows that Boss is successful in rescuing Miller, but not before Miller's arm and leg are amputated. Unfortunately, trying to piece together a linear timeline after the events shown in the E3 2014 demo is almost impossible ... that being said, Kojima has definitely left a trail of bread crumbs for fans to follow.

First and foremost, it seems that allegiances will change over the course of the game. The most notable example of this is the supernatural sniper Quiet: while initially presented as one of the game's villains, the TGS 2014 demo showed that Quiet will become a valuable asset over the course of the game. The same holds true for Skull Face as well; the main antagonist of Ground Zeroes is shown sitting alongside Big Boss in the E3 2015 trailer — and they appear to be on friendly terms. Even Emmerich, the main technician of Mother Base in Peace Walker, seemingly changes sides ... though, considering the fact that he's being tortured in most of his appearances thus far, such a change may not have been his choice.

Then there's Eli: at first, it appeared as if the young, blonde-haired boy would play a minor role in the story, though many fans have begun to speculate that this is actually a younger version of Liquid Snake. The theory first gained traction based on Eli's appearance and apparent age, though it wasn't until the E3 2015 trailer debuted that things really took off. Not only does Eli look like Liquid, but he's seated next to a perfect copy of himself — are fans looking at the teenage versions of Liquid and Solid Snake?

At this point, it's obvious that The Phantom Pain will tackle some serious issues. It's easy to brush off supernaturally-gifted soldiers and giant robots, but child warfare and prisoners of war aren't topics that are tackled all too often in video games. It'll be interesting to see what Kojima will be able to do with such a story in the grand context of the franchise's story — as well as how it wraps up Big Boss' story.

Oh, and Metal Gear REX is back.

Gameplay

If there's anything that Kojima Productions have gone into detail about, it's the game's design: The Phantom Pain will act as a blend of an open-world action game and Peace Walker's mission-based structure. Missions that progress the story will be clearly marked, while side missions can be completed for extra experience and supplies. A free-play mode also exists, so anyone who just wants to wander around the map and explore is free to do so.

That's a good thing, too, seeing as how there will be more than one huge environment for Boss to explore: both Africa and Afghanistan have been the subject of lengthy demos, and it's clear that each locale has its own unique characteristics. Afghanistan is understandably sandy, with massive sandstorms completely changing how Boss can sneak around enemies, while Africa is covered in lush rainforests and inclement weather.

Mother Base is also set to return in a big way: instead of the in-depth menu system from Peace Walker, Mother Base is its own, fully-realized environment: Boss can move throughout the base freely, as well as upgrade its defenses and personnel for more powerful weapons and gadgets. While it's seemingly separate from the "traditional" Metal Gear Online multiplayer, it's possible for one player to invade another's base, though the exact rewards — outside of looting someone's equipment — has yet to be revealed.

That traditional multiplayer is the only piece of the design puzzle that's still missing: while Metal Gear Online is set to return alongside The Phantom Pain, not much is known about it. Players will be able to control both regular soldiers and major characters (such as Big Boss or Ocelot), and it looks like much of the equipment from the single-player story will make the jump to multiplayer ... and that's about it in terms of details.

The Gadgets

When it comes to the core gameplay, it seems as if much of The Phantom Pain will be carried over from Ground Zeroes. Sneaking is still the obvious focus, and the overall pace of Ground Zeroes seems to have carried over: players enter an area, scan for enemies, supplies and objectives, then execute whatever plan they've come up with.

While the basic flow seems to be the same, player options have been greatly expanded upon in The Phantom Pain. Throughout most of Ground Zeroes, players were forced to use a few select guns and nothing else: in The Phantom Pain, players can access a fully-stocked armory of gadgets, many of which are making their series debut.

Boss' new robotic arm is easily the biggest upgrade when it comes to gadgets. Throughout various gameplay demos, the arm has been shown distracting enemies, non-lethally shocking soldiers and even flying through a military base like a rocket. From what fans have seen, it's clear that Boss' arm can be tailored to fit an individual's play style, and there's a good chance that we haven't seen everything it can do quite yet.

The Phantom Cigar, while not as flashy as Boss' robotic arm, is just as important to gameplay. With it, players can essentially control time: while the cigar is active, time speeds up, allowing players to cherry-pick when exactly they play. If you feel like a nighttime infiltration is the best choice, go ahead; if you want to attack at dawn, the choice is up to you. Smaller additions help round out Boss' arsenal, and even the most straightforward of gadgets can be used in a variety of ways. Take the fan favorite cardboard box: true, it can still be used for sneaking around, but Boss can slip out of the box at any time to leave it as a decoy for suspicious enemies.

Better yet, Boss is no longer limited to the supplies with which he starts the mission. Weapons, suits, equipment and even Buddies can be swapped out on the fly. It'll still cost resources, but players won't be left high and dry when they come across the perfect sniper perch without a rifle or find a tank without a rocket launcher in tow.

If there's one single addition that changes how Metal Gear Solid plays, it's the new Buddy system. In prior games, players were always on their own, without any sort of backup whatsoever. That all changes in The Phantom Pain: at the beginning of each mission, Boss can choose who he'll go into battle with. Players aren't forced to use these new support characters (even finding them is optional), though you'll definitely want to take advantage of the individual specialties.

The Diamond-Horse (or D-Horse for short) is Boss' more traditional form of transportation. Essentially, D-Horse is your average horse: he's fast, he's (relatively) quiet — he can even poop on command! That being said, the D-Horse isn't exactly built for tight spaces — at times, it'll be better to head in on foot rather than on horseback.

The D-Walker, on the other hand, is a more modern mode of transportation. While it may look like a miniaturized Metal Gear on the surface, it's actually a lot more versatile: not only can the walker use its arm to hold a weapon and take out enemy soldiers, but it provides Boss with a quick, armored escape. It's a far less stealthy option, true, but for anyone who plays with a hit-and-run style, D-Walker should be the perfect companion.

D.D. (short for Diamond Dog) is a more traditional support option. Boss can't exactly ride on his back, but D.D. is great for distracting and/or attacking guards, as well as sniffing out plants and animals. There's still a lot about D.D. that fans don't know, so expect to learn about his abilities as you play.

Finally, there's Quiet. In regard to the story itself, there's still a lot about her that fans don't know yet, though the TGS 2014 demo proved just how good a sniper she really is. Quiet is the perfect long-range support character: she can tag enemies from a distance, cover Boss with sniper fire ... and then there's the famous Grenade Shot.

However, as powerful as all of Boss' companions are, they're not invincible. While story-essential characters won't outright die, if a character does happen to lose too much health, they're out of the fight for good. It plays into the idea of planning before attacking: sure, Boss can just restart at a checkpoint, but if you finish a mission after losing a Buddy, they're gone for good.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is easily the biggest game in the series. It's a blending of everything that's made the games feel great: with any luck, the sneaking of Ground Zeroes, the missions of Peace Walker, the gadgets of MGS 4 and the story of MGS 3 will come together to make the ultimate stealth gaming experience.

One way or another, fans will find out soon: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is set to launch on Sept. 1.


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