Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain: The Complete Official Guide Paperback – 1 Sept. 2015

Fantastic guide. The illustrations contained within for each mission and side op are concise and well written with map locations and details for each one included. The guide even includes a few pages for Easter eggs that can be found within the game,it also gives a great lowdown of each character past and present within the Metal Gear Universe along with a breakdown of the Metal Gear story up to V. The guide also includes some great concept artwork contained within the guide and also comes with a very nicely detailed lithograph for your wall and a massive in game world map with key locations etc on it. Besides all that the guide also has a nice introduction from Kojima himself which was a nice little touch. For anyone thinking about buying this guide I can assure you that you will be getting value for money along with a fantastic and must have purchase that will make your life much easier navigating the in game world and it's intricacies. 5 stars,go and buy folks.

This book is another well done guide. The mission walk-throughs seem a little "go here, do this, wait for this to happen, then do this" and... to be honest that's fine if you're out to 100% this game. But I find that MGSV is a game where you have to just let things happen and play your infiltration by ear, as you go.It's not the book's fault that the game encourages experimentations and exploration, however. It's a great source of info and the EXTRAS chapter is fun. The book came with a large fold out map of Afghanistan and Africa, with all plants, wildlife, resources and bases marked. Also, a Lithograph of Venom Snake which looks like a Yoji Shinkawa painting.Save this book for if you want to completely see everything the game has to offer, I wouldn't use it's advice on my first playthrough because it assumes you want to finish EVERYTHING in one run of the game. Then you'd just be done with the game after about 40 hours.

Why are people saying this guide is bad when there are so many variables to this game? Plus the game itself isn't exactly difficult to play once you've got used to the open world mechanics. You have no idea if the enemies will be wearing bulletproof helmets or armour or night vision goggles if you do too many night time infiltrations, or planting minefields, they mention it is near impossible to cater to everyone in that regard. It gives you the points you need to be aware of, and then lets you carry out that task.Have to say the lithograph is excellent, as is the art gallery near the back, and the storyline wraps the whole series up for those who beat TPP and struggled to understand most of it apart from the biggest parts. It even tells us how the Cobra unit from MGS3 got their powers. Its a no brainer to buy this version of the guide for long term fans like myself.

The depth and scale of this book rivals MGSV itself. Anything you could possibly wonder about the game (with the exception of one mission Konami asked them to leave out) is in here. It's almost like the missing manual to the game. I'd list the contents of this book, but it would take too long. Complete walkthroughs for every mission, along with S-Rank tips. The authors are truly on your side and know exactly how best to present the complicated mechanics of the game.I thought I might buy this, use it for a week, and then put it on eBay. No chance, I was so impressed with this book I will be keeping it. It's absolutely indispensable for MGSV (which is both massively complex and at times a very confusing and poorly explained game). Don't think about it, just buy it. You will NOT regret it!

This guide is a must buy if you are new to Metal Gear Solid as a whole, as a newcomer to MGS V, or even needing hints from this guide to sharpen your skills with Snake like skills. This guide gives you a great walkthrough of each mission, how to play the game and the backstory to the franchise. It gives you everything and more. I whole heartedly recommend this book. The hard back book can be a handful of you're using it on your lap, but it's a better bet than the paperback edition. Don't let that put you off, the book will give you so much more advice that you will be glad you've got it...and it's a great momento to keep hold of in later years too.

The MGS4 guidebook was written ALOT better. Bad if not completey wrong advice is given in some cases,400pages is extreme for a game guidebook! Bizzare, it in my opinion is most definitely needed to get the maximum out of the game as it's very bad at direction,guidance,plot,AI,the Phantom Pain I mean.The maps only have so much detail, MGS4 guidebook has much more useful info in them,it looks very good on a shelf next to other game books & the pictures are very good,some of the print is very, very small so a magnifiying glass will help.As this is the very last MetalGear game it's worth getting this guidebook for that alone .Does have some thorough parts which will be of use.Unfortunately it does'nt have anything on MGO. It has some really cool drawings & paintings! It also has ALOT of MG lore, lots of story points but obviously they are talking about previous MetalGear games as this Phantom Pain has ZERO story,zero characters, it can also be incredibly boring.One of the best 2hrs of a game I have played in along time but after hospital it goes downhill rapidly ,I have lost alot of respect for Mr. Kojima, he ruined it,not Konami.

A really good companion to the game, it definitely helps you get the best chunks out of what is a quite complex MGS!It does contain spoilers so it's probably best not to read the book in one go, rather just pick up as you need. It's a game in a huge open world so often a book like this can help you pick up the best aspects. I remember 'completing; a game once but I'd missed loads of stuff due to rushing through it!I'd recommend this - perhaps it's a little over priced though.