There is no “it must be rats” here, the AI is smart, although still not quite all there. Whether you choose to kill, knock out, or ignore the enemies on your route is up to you, but you can be sure that if you are seen, or if a guard thinks they see you, they won’t give up searching for you for some time. So you can expect a lot of sneaking around, trying not to be seen (as usual), all while trying to make it to a (usually) heavily guarded person or piece of information. If one method doesn’t work, you can try again, and it feels like almost an entirely new mission.

Going loud and participating in an all-out gun fight is also an option, although usually a last resort. In true Metal Gear style you can take on any situation in a multitude of ways: you can sneak past, or you could knock everyone out. After spending a good twenty minutes preparing (then executing) a plan only to be thwarted by an 80s pop-group, the only thing you can do is sit back and laugh then try again.

Moments like this are commonplace in The Phantom Pain, and while they may sound frustrating, they are actually the total opposite. Oh, and it turned out the prisoner was on the totally opposite side of the compound. I had been duped by a tape recorder, and in my confusion had been spotted by a guard through an open door. It’s a-Ha, or more specifically, it’s a cassette tape of their classic Take on Me playing through the radio on the desk. The door swings open, I expect the slow motion bullet time to kick in, but nothing happens, then as I’m wondering what’s happened, I hear it… So I devise a plan to burst through the door and hit them with my tranquilizer pistol before they have time to react.

“This must be it”, I think, “they must be the guards holding the prisoner”. Eventually I hear some voices in the next room. Slowly, but stealthily, I make it into the building, avoiding detection. The only way to proceed is to head in and take a closer look. After five minutes of searching, the prisoner is nowhere to be seen. It’s the middle of the night in northern Afghanistan, I am positioned just outside of a heavily fortified and guarded stronghold, planning my next move, while also trying to locate the prisoner that must be extracted.

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