Damn it 343.... and here I was hoping that they had learned their lesson with the story in Halo 4. The extended universe is nice to have, but it shouldn't be a crutch to constantly lean on.
@elheber: I disagree; MGS5's side ops are literally numbered copies of each other. The names of the missions are differentiated by numbers, ffs! The main quests are decently set up, but the side stuff actually feels more generic than anything Ubisoft ever did.
@grin89: MGS is famous for that, but in reality the gameplay is not like that most of the time. The usual routine is: sneak up on guard, tranq to the head, hide body, rinse/repeat.
Regarding the MGSV comparison: I actually don't see how MGSV's world is any better. It's a great, big, mostly empty sandbox full of repetitive chores (eliminate tank unit 12!). There's no life to it; while there is supposed to be a war happening, you only see one side (seriously, where are the Mujaheddin? And where are the people that all the African PMC's are fighting?). The NPCs (russian/african soldiers) are lifeless puppets that just wait around for you to invade and do absolutely nothing else. It's a dead world that only pretends to wake up when the player is around.
For me, a mark of an open world used well is when it feels like it's alive when you're not around. Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Witcher games have nailed it. AC and MGSV, not so much. Although, I will say that I was very absorbed by AC2 and Brotherhood. The cities of those games felt like they were just there for you to admire and pass through, instead of acting like great big shopping lists.
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