Yeah, the cassettes are... OK. Not as good as a proper Codec, the trouble with the tapes is they feel more like the optional 'mission briefings' in MGS1 where you saw Snake on the CCTV getting his nanomachine shot and so on. Which is OK, but a) they're not as interesting without the visuals and b) they're also not as good as the old CODEC chats because they don't feel live in the mission. Also Snake doesn't talk enough in them.

What I DO like is the 'tap L1 for intel' stuff when you're looking through the scope. That kind of live interaction with your radio as you play is great, I just wish they made more of it and got a bit of a two way conversation going in these situations. The scope in general is very cool, marking things is very intuitive and I love finding high ground to recon and observe, finding holes in the defences and then executing on that plan. Very satisfying, and while guards patrol like they always have they feel less predictable than in earlier games. So I've placed unconscious bodies in what I thought was a safe area for example, only for someone to decide 'Ah, let's trek through the grass for a bit' and stumble over him. That's cool; forces you to adapt.

The cover system is a bit weird, I haven't got a feel for it yet. I'm not sure if I prefer it to the 'Press Triangle To Stick To Wall' system of MGS4, but I keep accidentally leaving cover when I just want to peek.