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Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain now available in New Zealand
Thu, 3rd Sep 2015
FYI, this story is more than a year old

The summer's blockbuster games season is now well and truely upon us with the launch of the long-awaited Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is the series' largest and most ambitious edition to date, expanding upon themes and content seen in its predecessor: Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros.

Set within huge open-world environments, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is brought to vivid life with realistic weather patterns and day/night cycles. Thus, players can adapt their tactics to match the changing environment, creating an intuitive and non-linear gameplay experience.

Similarly, a host of acclaimed Metal Gear Solid features return in hugely advanced forms, including expanded CQC (Close-Quarter Combat) skills, vastly improved enemy AI, online elements that complement the single player campaign, and an all-new version of Metal Gear Online, a competitive multiplayer mode, included within the main game and which goes live on October 6th.

Mountain climbing

Tactical elements are also added to the game via the new Mother Base system. Players begin with a small-scale off-shore rig that serves as a base for your recruits – the Diamond Dogs. The Mother Base can be customized and expanded using liberated items and personnel. Players use an enhanced version of the innovative Fulton extraction system pioneered in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker to airlift guards, vehicles, weapons, raw materials and kit to their base, where the staff will use these resources to develop the base to the user's specifications.

The game also includes a massively multi-player online mode - the Forward Operating Base (FOB) system. FOB's act as an extension to your Mother Base and can increase profit, resources and manpower.

Additionally, Metal Gear Online - the game's dedicated competitive multiplayer mode - will go live next month. The online element represents the third iteration of the popular multiplayer game, newly redesigned with the familiar gameplay and aesthetic styling of its companion single-player campaign. Metal Gear Online features a “class system” that more uniquely defines the strengths and abilities of player characters on the battlefield. Key characters from the series including Venom Snake and Ocelot will also make appearances in the anticipated multiplayer feature.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is available now in stores and online for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The game includes Metal Gear Online which will be available for download on October 6th.

Watch out for the full NetGuide review soon.