In 1984, nine years after the destruction of MSF, Big Boss awakens from a coma in a hospital on a British military base in Cyprus. Quiet, a Cipher assassin, attempts to kill him, but he is rescued by a heavily bandaged man called "Ishmael". The pair escape the hospital while evading pursuit from Cipher soldiers and two superhumans, the "Third Child" and the "Man on Fire". Big Boss loses Ishmael, but is recovered by Revolver Ocelot and brought aboard Diamond Dogs, a new mercenary group founded by Kazuhira Miller on an offshore platform near Seychelles. Big Boss adopts the code name "Venom Snake" and begins searching for Cipher. Snake becomes involved in the Soviet–Afghan War and the Angolan Civil War.
Gameplay elements are largely unchanged from Ground Zeroes, meaning that players must stealthily traverse several areas in the game world, avoiding enemy guards and remaining undetected. Included in Snake's repertoire are binoculars, a variety of weapons, explosives, and stealth-based items such as cardboard boxes and decoys. Following one of the series traditions, The Phantom Pain encourages players to progress through the game without killing, using non-lethal weapons such as tranquilizer darts to subdue enemies. Players may traverse the game world with vehicles such as jeeps and tanks, in addition to traveling on foot or on horseback, and as certain locations are mountainous, players may opt to go rock climbing as a shortcut. They may call for helicopter support against enemy soldiers or request airstrikes that can bombard the target area or change the weather. Snake can call on one of a few AI "buddy" companions: D-Horse, a horse capable of wearing armor and hiding Snake during travel; D-Dog, a wolf pup raised to assist Snake in the field; Quiet, a mute female sniper with supernatural abilities; and D-Walker, a manned, highly agile mobile weapons platform that can provide heavy weapons support. The companions' abilities and their effectiveness depends on the player's relationship with them.
Source: Wikipedia, "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain", available under the CC-BY-SA License.
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