Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

I still remember the exact moment I fell in love with MGSV: The Phantom Pain. It was early on in the game's Afghanistan missions and I my mission was simple; extract a scientist who has the ability to upgrade my bionic arm. I had located my target silently, he was holed up in an old bunker that was heavily guarded. Just as I picked him up and began to plan my way towards my helicopter out of there I was spotted by an enemy soldier who came in from behind me. How could I forget to check all of my exits? Before I knew it what seemed like the entire soviet army was rushing to help take me out. I was taking on a lot of damage and running out of options and that's when it hit me - they'll never expect air support. I called back to mother base and ordered a support helicopter and when I heard it start to take out soldiers I made a run for it.

The true allure of that moment and really all of MGSV: The Phantom Pain is that it could have played out in a million different ways. While other sandbox games may have given me larger sandboxes to explore and smaller ways to pass my time none of them compare to how MGSV made me strategically think about every situation I came across. This is the rare game that seemingly promises way too much but somehow delivers on almost all of it. It may not be perfect but it's a stellar action title that deserves to be talked about in the same conversation with games like Half Life 2 and Ocarina of Time. MGSV: The Phantom Pain is something remarkably special and it deserves to be experienced by as many people as possible.

I'm not even going to try to act like I can tell you the story of MGSV: The Phantom Pain and how it fits into the franchise timeline. In typical Kojima fashion, the Metal Gear games take place out of order and as far as I can tell The Phantom Pain takes place after Metal Gear Solid 3 but before the second game in the series. The story is actually one of my very few points of contention with the game though as it builds up to a major let down of an ending. It's just a series of moments that are meant to be big reveals but really just make you question how any of it can be happening in the first place.

The story actually plays a very small role in MGSV: The Phantom Pain and you'll be more than able to enjoy your time with the game without thinking too much about it. This is the most open Metal Gear game yet and the series greatly benefits from it. Each mission finds you dropping into either a massive Afghanistan or Africa and plotting our how to complete your objective in pretty much any way you want. Now, a lot of games may tell you that you're free to play in whatever way you want but few actually deliver in the way that MGSV: The Phantom Pain does but it also requires that you be intelligent about it. Having the entire soviet army coming at you is a dangerous idea regardless of how much firepower you have but hell, you can try it. I tend to play stealth games as you'd expect, doing my best to stay hidden and then restarting when I'm spotted but not with MGSV: The Phantom Pain, trying to deal with being spotted is just as fun and rewarding as a flawless mission. In a way, MGSV: The Phantom Pain is a game about the little moments as it is the giant set pieces.

That's really only part of what makes MGSV: The Phantom Pain so special. There's a staggering amount of depth in the game, so much so that it can be a bit intimidating when you first start the game. You see, the actual missions are only part of the experience. You'll also be tasked with rebuilding your army, the Diamond Dogs and your base known as Mother Base. You'll do this by taking on missions and using the money you receive as payment to build up specific parts of your operation but you'll be able to choose which one. You can bring in new staff members by a device that attaches enemy soldiers to a balloon and sends them to your base (hey, it's Metal Gear and it's always been weird) and then assign them to any division you want. Putting people in R&D gives you more weapons and upgrades sooner but you can also put them in support to help clear out enemies during missions ahead of your arrival. Everything you do costs money and I know how interesting micromanaging such decisions sounds but I was glad I took the time to work with my R&D team on the many occasions when a new development helped me finish a mission.

Nearly everything in MGSV: The Phantom Pain is upgradeable and you're free and clear to make adjustments and decisions that coincide with how you want to play the game. Want to be more stealthy? Put more development into silencers and tranquilizers. Prefer a bit of a louder approach? You can upgrade your helicopter, support team and hell, why not throw in a rocket launcher or two? This is just the beginning though as there are moments in the game that you won't even experience if you play certain ways like how you'll have to extract an enemy who specializes in languages if you want to understand your enemies and interrogate them. There are also buddies you can find in the game and use as allies in missions and yes - they're all completely upgradable.

That depth translates to the rest of the game though as the world around you evolves based on how you play. Let's say for instance that you're really good at taking out your enemies with headshots. The soldiers will start wearing more helmets. Sneaking around in the series's trademark cardboard box? The soldiers will start to be weary of any box that they see. That being said though you're also able to adapt right along with the game. If the enemy starts wearing helmets you can send a strike team out ahead of you to destroy storage bunkers and thus destroy the enemy's supply of helmets. There are a ton of great touches like these that make each mission in MGSV: The Phantom Pain so much fun to play and so different from anything else you've played.

I could go on for hours about how much I loved MGSV: The Phantom Pain and the little things that it does to make it so special but just take my word for it - it's something that you have to experience regardless of what platform you play it on. It's one of the most thrilling and remarkable action games that has ever been made even if the story leaves a lot to be desired. If you like games your year is not complete until you've played through MGSV: The Phantom Pain.