It's here, everyone. After five years of development and a lot of behind-the-scenes drama, you can finally go to your local store (or digital download service) of choice and acquire a copy . But here's the thing: it's unlike any Metal Gear you've ever played before, with a massive scope including some colossal open environments to explore and a whole mercenary operation to grow and manage. It's a lot to take in, especially if you've never played Peace Walker, Phantom Pain's closest inspiration.

Don't be scared, though. The Phantom Pain is well-paced, unravelling its various systems slowly over time and gradually acclimating you to this positively gigantic beast of a game. But if you find yourself completely lost and you're looking for a little guidance, here are a few handy tips that should help you get your bearings relatively painlessly. It's a big world out there, Boss. It's time to rise up and take your revenge.

Right after the bizarre, mind-melting prologue mission, you're dropped into Afghanistan to seek out your old partner, Kazuhira Miller. Revolver Ocelot goes over a few basics with you before setting you off into the open world, including how to use your Int-Scope - which is just a fancy word for binoculars. Your Int-Scope isn't just a good way to look at distant places; by scouting out enemy and weapon emplacements, you'll tag them, marking them on your heads-up display for the duration of the mission. Tagging is a godlike boon, allowing you to keep track of troop movements even after you die or restart from the latest checkpoint. Use your Int-Scope constantly.

During your first mission, you'll probably get a twinge of wanderlust, as the wide-open deserts of Afghanistan beckon you to explore. But don't worry about that too much at first, because you're missing several vital skills and pieces of equipment to make the most of your excursions into the field. Just focus on your initial mission: find Kaz, and extract him via chopper. Once the mission is over, you'll be introduced to Mother Base, a massive, off-shore military facility, granting you the ability to research new gear and use Fulton balloons to conscript soldiers. That's when The Phantom Pain finally begins to open up, and exploration becomes a little easier.

In previous Metal Gear games, kills were greatly frowned upon, as even a single execution could completely ruin your mission ranking. The Phantom Pain bucks that trend: kills don't affect your final score nearly as much, giving you a bit more freedom in how you approach the game's myriad missions. Speed and stealth are the two things that matter most to attaining the elusive S-rank, so as long as you're quick and don't get spotted, you can usually leave a pile of bodies in your wake and still get a great mission score.

So here's the thing: Big Boss kind of forgot how to speak Russian, thanks to the shrapnel embedded in his skull, and Revolver Ocelot isn't a great interpreter. This is a problem if you want to interrogate any of the soldiers you find milling around Afghanistan, as you won't be able to understand a lick of what they're saying. When you finish your first Main Op (after completing the Mother Base tutorial), you'll unlock the Side Op list which includes a crucial (yet optional) mission: find and Fulton (aka attach a balloon to their torso) a Russian interpreter. Do this immediately; this not only lets you comprehend what they're saying over the radio, but it also allows you to gather intel on hidden items and highly skilled soldiers when you hold them up.

Thanks to the events of Ground Zeroes, Big Boss' military empire has fallen apart, meaning you'll need to help him rebuild his army one person at a time. Now's not the time to be picky; knock out any soldier you can find with a tranquilizer dart or CQC, attach a balloon to their belt with the Fulton, and send 'em back home. Eventually you can upgrade your Int-Scope to analyze soldiers and see their rankings, allowing you to be a bit more choosy with who you Fulton, but don't worry too much about that until Mother Base nears capacity. Oh, and be careful not to Fulton anyone when a patrol's nearby, as enemy soldiers can and will investigate why their friends are being hoisted into the air by a giant balloon.

While you can Fulton smaller animals and people without much issue, you won't be able to snag the many artillery cannons and vehicles you find until you upgrade your balloon a few times. Don't worry about this too much at the start, because it'll take you a several hours before you get to that point. Just keep a mental note of where you find them for later.

There's a cute wittle puppy running around Afghanistan, and once you find him, you can strap a Fulton balloon on him and send him back to base. This pup is DD, and once he grows up, he'll become one of your buddies on the field, helpfully marking enemy locations on your HUD. But he's not always in the same spot for everyone; I found him on a hill as I headed toward base #24 on the map, while someone else I talked to said they found him in a completely different spot. Just keep your ears perked up for high-pitched barks while you explore, and you'll find this friendly canine eventually.

There are a couple ways to incapacitate enemies. You can shoot them in the head (either with a tranquilizer dart or a bullet if you're looking for a more, ahem, permanent solution), you can get up close and CQC them into submission, or you can sneak behind them and hold them up by aiming at them with your weapon of choice. By holding down L1/left bumper, you can extract info from your hostage, make him call his friends over, or force him to lie down on the ground. That last option is a doozy: once they're down on the ground, they won't get up at all unless they're spotted by another soldier or you raise the alert status by getting caught. It's a really good way to keep soldiers out of your hair without wasting any ammo.

Ocelot tells you to use your horse constantly during your time in Afghanistan, but your stallion is loud as hell and can be a bit unwieldy on uneven terrain. Make sure you dismount and leave your horse behind around 150m or so away from your objective, so you can make the rest of the trek on foot. It's slower, but you'll be much more quiet and more maneuverable without him.

Yes, you can tranq and Fulton the animals you see, building up your own personal zoo back at Mother Base. And yes, that even includes bears. No, your starter tranquilizer is probably not strong enough to take one down without a few upgrades behind it. Besides, you can't Fulton it without a more powerful balloon anyway, so it's best to just run if you see a massive grizzly barrelling toward you.

As you acquire soldiers, complete missions, and gather resources and GMP (the game's currency), you'll continue to unlock additional gear and equipment upgrades. If you bring up your iDroid, you can pick and choose what you want to research no matter where you are. At the start, if you see it, and you have the funds to build it, go ahead and build it. Things like smoke grenades, horse armor, and Int-Scope upgrades are vital as you build the foundations for your stealth-based empire.

Everything costs resources, from bringing gear into the field with you and abducting soldiers with your Fulton balloon, to requesting supply drops or even summoning your chopper to exfiltrate you from the field. If you don't have the resources, you can't do any of these very important things, so don't go overboard researching stuff you don't exactly need at the moment. Otherwise, you'll find yourself out of ammo and without the GMP to safely get yourself resupplied.

When you start The Phantom Pain, you can't carry a whole lot of ammo, and your suppressors are incredibly weak, breaking after just a few shots. If you're not too great at aiming and shooting yet, this becomes a problem - especially since the tranquilizer doesn't come with a ton of darts. Luckily, you can hop into your iDroid anywhere on the field and summon a supply drop wherever you are. It costs a little GMP, but it's a great way to top off your supplies without putting yourself in danger. Make sure you get to the box before the enemy does, though, or your drop will be wasted.

You'll likely notice that The Phantom Pain's story feels somewhat sparse in comparison to other Metal Gear games. Sure, the intro's exciting, but once you get through a couple missions, you'll find the focus swings heavily onto its gameplay. If you're finding yourself missing out on all those codec conversations and long-winded monologues, don't worry: just listen to your cassettes. After completing each Main Op, you'll be rewarded with a ton of these recordings, which do everything from fleshing out the political backdrop, to revealing new details about old comrades. You can listen to them while hanging out in your chopper or taking on missions, so be sure to find some time to listen to them all.

You may be laser-focused on completing mission objectives, but don't forget that the various outposts and bases you explore are filled with tons of stuff to grab. Radios play 1980s hits that you can steal and listen to on your Walkman, posters adorn the walls of many buildings around Afghanistan, and rooms are filled with materials you can use to build additional gear and even new platforms for your Mother Base. If you're lucky, you'll stumble across POWs to rescue, or even weapon blueprints to give you an edge in battle. Don't just gun it straight to your objective and bail; take some time to look around a bit, and you'll find a ton of goodies, ripe for the taking.

After you've got a few missions under your belt, and a few upgrades completed, you'll unlock the ability to build new development platforms. These will grant you access to tons of additional features, and upgrading the ones you've already built allows you to assign more soldiers to each station. The first one you'll want is RD, so you can start building bigger and better weapons and items, though you'll also want to build a Base Development platform so your crew can find and process materials while you play. You likely won't have enough materials for any of these when you first unlock the ability to construct them, so keep an eye out while you're sneaking around Afghanistan for additional supplies to bolster your Mother Base ASAP.

Unlike other Metal Gear games, time progresses in a realistic fashion in The Phantom Pain, and guard placement will change as day shifts to night (and vice versa). There are benefits to both - it's easier to see during the day, but you might have an easier time sneaking around at night. You can choose what time you'd like to drop into the field from your helicopter, but if you're already mucking about, there's an easy way to change the time of day: simply puff on your Phantom Cigar. It uses the wormwood plants you'll pick up in the field, and by taking a drag on your e-cigar, you'll cause time to move forward quite rapidly. When you're done, simply unequip it by tapping left on the D-pad. Voila, time travel.

As you infiltrate the encampments strewn about Afghanistan, you'll likely notice some larger pieces of equipment with blinking lights on them. The enemy uses radios to report in with one another, communication satellites to send messages to nearby bases, and power generators to run the lights. These can either be turned off or blown up, and will disrupt the enemy temporarily. Sometimes, you'll also find a giant anti-air radar just hanging out. Destroying it will permanently take it out of commission, and give your helicopter a new landing space nearby. Be mindful of your surroundings, and take advantage of whatever opportunity you get to cripple your foes.

The Phantom Pain doesn't tell you this until you've found your first leaflet, but some of the outposts you come across will have a yellow, triangle-shaped sign with a delivery manifest attached to it. Grab that, and you'll be able to use it as a fast travel point. Simply hop in a box, wait in the designated area, and you'll be whisked away to any other spot on the map you've unlocked. That way, you won't have to hoof it across the hot desert for miles, or summon your chopper if you want a faster way to get around.

Metal Gear Solid 5 is hard. The enemy AI is brutal, and enemies will work together to counter your strategies at every turn. If you get spotted, you can only take a few hits before you're down for the count. So don't be afraid to run away, wait for the enemy's alert status to drop, send for some more supplies, and get your head back in the game before you make another attempt. Or, if you'd simply like a do-over, hit "Restore Previous Checkpoint" in your Options menu.

Just when you thought 2015 had run its course in terms of rereleases, August rolls around with a bevy of worthwhile remasters. Chief among them are technically comes out in September, so... yeah. It's got next month's awards pretty much locked up.

At the end of each month, we look back at the standout games that demand your attention above the rest of the year's releases thus far. That way, you know what to prioritize before you're caught up by all the other amazing . So, without further ado, here's what you should be playing right now to tide you over until next month.

Locksley's a futuristic thief following in the fabled footsteps of Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor. But he has something that old archer never did: a bitchin', high-tech facemask made of luminescent polygons. , from the studio that brought you Thomas Was Alone, is a neon-drenched take on the stealth action of Metal Gear Solid's VR missions, where you carefully sneak past the watchful eyes of guards, cameras, and turrets from a top-down perspective.

Combat's not really an option for Locksley, so you'll have to carefully plot out your path to avoid detection while snagging the valuable gems scattered around each stage. Across the 100 levels included in the campaign (plus the infinite possibilities of user-made challenges), you'll master the art of tiptoeing around danger, avoiding patrols, and blending in with the environment, all taught with just the right pacing. If you're partial to slipping past vision cones or just sticking it to the man, Volume is sure to provide hours of stealthy satisfaction.

There's a lot to see in . You'll even behold things you wouldn't see under normal circumstances, like people who are long gone from this world recreated with swirls of light and retreading memories of times long past. But more importantly, you'll see things in the empty town of Yaughton that you see in so few video games: a real appreciation for life, even in its final moments.

Rapture snags August's Game of the Month award (or rather, calmly drifts over and gently spirits it away) because of its emotional punch, showing not only a way of life coming to an end, but each individual in their own way. Backed up by an eerily serene world and a hauntingly gorgeous soundtrack, Rapture turns the death of virtual strangers into a heartbreaking affair, as you watch them go (gently or not) into that good night. Try to keep a stiff upper lip through this one, but don't expect to maintain it for long.

An entire realm being reborn is a tough act to follow, but aces the trial that is an MMO's first expansion. By expanding on just about every aspect you can think of - most notably, some gigantic zones and three intriguing Jobs - it feels as substantial and vibrant as the revamped version of the base game. Oh, and you can soar through the sky atop a flying mount, including a tubby Chocobo with tiny, adorable wings which you motivate with a slice of cake on a stick. For some, that fact alone will justify a renewed subscription.

Heavensward sweetens the deal with a wealth of engaging, plot-thickening quests (provided you've reached the end of A Realm Reborn's storyline), and the fresh abilities for each class make the journey to the new level cap a joy. For all you living room adventurers, FF14 continues to be the best console MMO on the market - but whether you're playing on a PC, PS4, or PS3, chit-chatting with Moogles, felling colossal Primals, and dancing some merry jigs in celebration is simply delightful.

is what happens when ‘the beautiful game’ is usurped by clusters of rocket-powered battle cars. It’s not quite as intricate or as Messi as football, but Rocket League is sincere in its sports presentation, right down to the chanting arena crowds and cheesy pop music in the menus. It also doesn’t feel derivative, coming to its own cartoonish crescendo when those somersaulting sports cars butt bumpers over an oversized, blinking ball. It takes a long time to master the bumps, the bounces, the jumps and the jukes, but Rocket League is brilliant right off the bat.

Even while you’re learning the right timing for a forward-flip, or when it’s ok to drive on the stadium ceiling (right now, actually), you’ll pull off some amazing stuff. It’ll be the perfect metallic maneuver: clipping the ball with your front left tire in a graceful somersault, sending it straight into the points pen where it explodes with a satisfying KABLOOSH. Wow. Just… wow. And nobody has to know you did that completely by accident. We’ll just keep that between us.

is an absolute marvel of storytelling, making ingenious use of out-of-order video clips to spin out its mystery. Despite the fact that the game’s unique structure means your path to the end won’t match anyone else’s, Her Story is complete and coherent, though its solution is open to interpretation. It’s a detective game that relies on your natural instinct to push its narrative forward, never nudging you in one direction or the other, letting you explore avenues of investigation as they come to you.

Watching FMV clips on a reproduction of a computer from the '90s certainly doesn’t sound terribly exciting, but you’ll be thinking about Her Story for days after you’ve tracked down that last video. You’ll find yourself rolling little details around in your head, mulling over their implications, deciding that you finally know the “truth,” only to realize that another detail makes your assumptions invalid. But then again, does it? One final bit of advice: go in knowing as little as possible, and don’t try to game the system. Be a true detective.

is another biff-pow display of Rocksteady’s exceptional craftsmanship in bringing a classic comic icon to life. Though combat and stealth are again refined and expanded within Batman’s beautifully rain-slick city, the game’s elegant design is reflected not in its individual components, but in how well they connect with one another, like nodes in a web.

Though the Batmobile’s roaring arrogance has made it a controversial addition to the Arkham series, there’s no question about how integral it is to Batman’s latest patrol. Conceptually, it’s meant to be a way to move quickly in a much wider slice of dour ol’ Gotham, and its visual appearance is, of course, inspired by Batman’s history of driving - as The Riddler calls them - rocket-powered hearses. But Rocksteady dives in fully and makes sure the vehicle connects to combat, stealth and every part of Batman. The overall game’s polish and continuity can be seen in one motion, with the Batmobile hurtling down an alley and launching Batman into full flight, right through a window and into a savage display of ne’er-do-well punishment. It’s one move, one world and one of the coolest moments of 2015. It’ll get you pumped to track down every last super criminal, including whoever masterminded the dreadful PC port.

In a sea of multiplayer shooters obsessed with grit, gore, or teabagging, stands out like a brightly colored squid catapulting through the air - which is actually a thing that happens regularly in this game. Nintendo's take on team deathmatch puts the focus on marking your squad's territory with a rainbow of ink rather than racking up kills, but it still delivers the thrilling blend of twitch shooting and coordinated tactics that define the genre.

Even if those human-squid hybrid Inklings are dripping with kid-friendly personality, this is the kind of joyous multiplayer experience that anyone of any age can enjoy. There's still weapon progression like you'd expect from Call of Duty or Battlefield, but with ink-filled Super Soaker facsimiles and colossal paint rollers. You won't hear anyone raging on voice-chat (because there isn't any), but the GamePad provides clear cues for what to do next. And while the selection of maps currently feels a bit sparse, the moment-to-moment gameplay is fresh, exciting, and - most importantly - good fun.

As open-world experiences go, takes high fantasy to new heights with its staggeringly massive world and rich, engaging storytelling. The grizzled Geralt of Rivia finds himself in landscapes that are as picturesque as they are treacherous, where otherworldly beasts and crazed cultists lurk in the wilderness. There are unforgettable side-quests and delightful supporting characters to distract you at every turn, but you best remember Geralt's primary goal: finding his adopted daughter (and witcher-in-training) Ciri before some supremely evil people get to her first.

That's not to say that you need to rush through the main story, because taking the time to stop and smell the eviscerated corpses is well worth it. The sword-and-spell-casting combat looks stunning on new-gen, and the deep upgrade system gives you plenty of options to slay your way. There are a few hitches - notably some framerate issues that can hopefully be patched out - but the sheer depth of the overall experience makes The Witcher 3 a triumph among action RPGs. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got to return to a rousing round of the in-game card battler Gwent.

It takes a lot to make a fighting game appeal to the masses. You need slick graphics, excellent presentation, and the kind of depth that'll ensnare those highly skilled players who people want to watch. has got all that, and more. While the Fatality finishers still pack in more gore than you can shake a disembodied limb at, MKX brings a lot of new, refreshing ideas to the table that really make this fighter stand out.

For starters, there's the variations mechanic: every combatant has three unique movesets to choose from before each fight, letting character loyalists mix things up and giving the roster a wildly diverse variety of playstyles. You'll also have a blast playing through the elaborate story mode, which introduces a swath of likeable newcomers while imbuing familiar faces with . The online play still has a few kinks that could be worked out, but fans of the Mortal Kombat series - or fighting games in general - will have one hell of a time with MKX.

Of all the re-releases that have come out this year, .

Xenoblade Chronicles 3D is massive, sporting one of the most interesting locales ever designed. Its sprawling swamps and rolling hills - all set on the backs of two titan-sized dead gods and filled with beasts both great and small - are practically begging to be conquered. While its lush, verdant landscapes lose a little luster and detail on the smaller screen, what you trade in graphical quality you gain back in portability. Being able to take an adventure of this magnificent scope with you wherever you go is a technical marvel. Don't miss it.

somehow manages to be diamond tough and lovingly tender at the same time, balancing out its demanding difficulty with a story that'll practically yank your heartstrings right out of your chest. Playing this open-world platformer puts you in a wondrous state of conflict: the tight controls inspire you to run free throughout the lush world, but the sheer depth of the beyond-gorgeous backdrop art makes you want to stand still and gaze at the environment for hours.

The protagonist Ori is such a cute li'l critter that it's hard to watch the fuzzball die again and again while you struggle to overcome the many deathtraps and spike pits in this treacherous forest. But you'll get over any bruises to your ego, so long as you remember that you're the one responsible for plunking down checkpoints before delving into the trickier bits. The degree of challenge here may rattle anyone without an affinity for hardcore 2D platformers, but Ori's dazzling presentation has a universal, heartfelt appeal.

You’ve probably heard that is really hard. You might've heard it’s really easy. The reality lies somewhere in between. Yes, it sends an army of writhing, fanged, flayed, terrible, tormented beasts your way, beasts only someone bragging about their perceived gamer cred would ever deem a pushover. But it teaches you how to deal with them expertly, their unique attacks and defenses and behaviors, building you up until you look and feel like a great gothic badass. And when you do, you'll have earned it.

In streamlining some of Dark Souls’ complexities (the weight system, magic attacks, a few character skills here and there), Bloodborne gains a rawer sense of immediacy, with vital combat that require relentless attacking sans the comfort blanket of a shield, and unpredictable bosses that force you to develop reflexes alongside your already honed skills of pattern memorization. Oh, and the world. That mystifying, atmospheric, intricately hewn world. Developed for PS4 from the ground-up, the enigmatic Yarnham looks like a beautiful waking nightmare.

If you've yet to succumb to monster hunting fever, you might wonder what all the fuss is about. Plenty of games let you battle vicious beasties and craft fancy gear - but few can develop the kind of player investment and cooperative dedication typical of Monster Hunter. For the uninitiated, is a great way to educate yourself on its gloriously addictive ways. Not just because it's the most beginner-friendly entry in Capcom's hit series - it's also the best Monster Hunter game yet.

Gathering materials and killing harmless herbivores is really just a build-up to something greater: downing fearsome creatures after incredibly demanding battles that require true mastery of your chosen weapon. Series vets are already familiar with MH's captivating gameplay loop of fighting and looting, but the new Charge Blade and Insect Glaive playstyles offer entirely unique ways to test your prowess. If you're looking to start or join a dedicated hunting party - preferably with an expert as your guide - Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate offers the kind of adventure that can hook you for hundreds of hours.

Majora's Mask is... well, it's a bit weird. Instead of following the familiar formula that Zelda games have stuck to for years, Majora's Mask asks that you play the same three days over and over again, trying to make the world a little bit brighter each time. It's certainly strange, and more than a little stressful - but taking the time to learn its rhythm opens up one of the most intriguing and creative Legend of Zelda games ever made. Perhaps that's why, 15 years and a 3DS port later, it feels even better than ever.

Much of that feeling is thanks to the improvements found in this portable version of the N64 classic. The updated Bomber's Notebook makes tracking numerous sidequests a painless process, boss design has been retooled to make things teresting, and additional save points help make portable adventuring much more palatable. Plus, New 3DS owners even have some improved camera control with the C-Stick. Whether this is your first time playing through those ominous 72 hours or your hundredth, is a master quest that stands the test of time.

Grim Fandango is, without a doubt, one of the most unique video games ever made. The quest of an undead travel agent as he attempts to atone for his sins is a love letter to film noir greats like Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon, but it also transcends its influences to be something truly original. And with , you'll finally get to play this lost classic on your PlayStation 4, complete with (some) updated graphics and a fantastic re-recording of the original score.

Grim Fandango is also one of the most uniquely frustrating games ever made, and the Remastered edition only serves to highlight its many game-ruining bugs. Whether it's glitching out a puzzle, clipping you through a wall, or just flat out crashing, Grim Fandango Remastered actually seems buggier now than it did 17 years ago. Make no mistake: Manny's journey is still definitely one worth revisiting - just remember to save your game. Often.

sounds kinda ridiculous at first - it's literally a remastered HD version of a rebuilt SD version of the original Resident Evil. Turns out the joke's on us, though, because that's all we really needed to enjoy the survival horror staple all over again: the HD Remake gives all the main characters and the Spencer Mansion an enticing facelift but keeps the little quirks that make Resident Evil awesome/a total headache/undeniably unique.

You'll still need to manage eight (at most) inventory slots, and you'll still need to keep your distance from downed zombies - or preferably burn them on the spot. The most major change is the new default control scheme, which makes it handle more like a modern fixed-camera game, but you're free to select the old 'tank' controls if you want. With modern conveniences where it needs them and good old weirdness where it doesn't, Resident Evil HD Remake is a near masterpiece… of unlocking.