Hideo Kojima's stealth series might have started life with linear, story-driven adventures, but Metal Gear Solid 5 leaves almost everything up to player choice. The Phantom Pain is a stunning example of how giving players an entirely open world can create myriad ways to approach a single objective. I crawl back outside and ride by horse off into the sunset, undetected. Instead, I attach a Fulton balloon to each soldier and send them floating into the sky, ready to be retrieved by my support team. Three shots from a tranquilized pistol put my targets to sleep, but they are too valuable to kill. After crawling through a drainage tunnel I emerge next to the meeting point.
I ride my trusty horse down an unguarded maintenance road, keeping out of sight until I'm right outside the base.
Three Spetsnaz commanders are conducting a secret meeting at a remote Afghan military base.
