What Splinter Cell MUST Learn From Metal Gear Solid 5

The Legendary Big Boss

My initial reaction on MGSV going "open world" on its announcement wasn't a good one. Being a creature of habit, and long-time fan of the series, I had grown accustomed to its linearity. Peace Walker took a while getting used to with its hub-based gameplay. That Metal Gear was going open world made me wonder how the sneakabout gameplay it was famous for could be implemented.

Turns out: very well, and I was wrong to doubt it.

Making Metal Gear open world was to be expected, from a series perspective. Levels in MGS games had been expanding from the linearity of the early Metal Gear days, right up to the bigger areas in MGS4. Peace Walker added a mission-based hub, so the only logical step was expanding on the gameplay itself.

Allowing Venom Snake to mark out, plan and infiltrate strongholds and bases however you saw fit was a masterstroke of design on Konami/Kojima's part (someone's got to take credit for it). Whilst you could still go guns blazing, the absolute bliss came from ghosting your way in and out: never getting spotted, not killing anyone, just reaching your objective and exfiltrating or carrying on to the next mission.

The heavy emphasis on keeping your Mother Base ticking over aside, Metal Gear Solid V is a beautiful example of how to implement stealth into an open world game. Other games may have dabbled, such as added the "obligatory stealth level" into games like Grand Theft Auto and Watch Dogs, but MGSV was pure [optional] stealth for those that wanted it.