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Hideo Kojima has been following up Metal Gear Solid V's E3 showing by explaining more about how the switch from scripted action to free-roaming open gameworld has impacted the traditional stealth elements of the series. In short: it's made it even more in depth.

"It's not just a matter of following the rules of the game anymore," he told Japanese website 4Gamer, translated by DualShockers. "You can decide to just walk to your destination or ride a car. There are less sentries during the night, but you'll be easy to spot if you turn on the headlights. Of course there are a lot more sentries during the day."

"I think the definition of 'real stealth simulator' is appropriate. Previously when the game was on rails players knew what to expect, because designers just put an explosion there, a collapsing wall there. It was like a haunted house. Now weather and time will change. I wanted to make this game allowing a million of different players to play in a million of different ways."

Ever the experimental type, Kojima has also expressed interest in incorporating Microsoft's Kinect sensor and Smartglass app into the game. Anyone who remembers the joypad-swapping, memory card-reading trickery of Metal Gear Solid will no doubt be intrigued as to what he'll do with that technology. Not that Kojima is resting on his laurels. After seeing some of the competition at E3, he's pulling out all the stops. "I thought it received a good reaction," he said, "but after seeing Ubisoft's The Division I felt I have to work harder."

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is due for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 next year.