You might have thought David Hayter was back, but it looks like the Deja Vu mission's Solid Snake might still be Kiefer Sutherland

Now that the new video trailer is out showing classic Solid Snake in Ground Zeroes from the first Metal Gear game back on PS1 in the 1990s, the longtime and die hard fans of David Hayter as the voice of Snake are wondering if THAT would be Hayters voice, even if it is along side Sutherland as the main character. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but according to a source that is close to Hayter is saying that he was never approached to do not only the role of the main Snake, but even the role of the classic Snake. When asked about it, David Hayter didn't seem like it was a joke, but a serious matter and that he just wasn't playing around with this whole thing.

I'm just going to draw the line right here. I know there are those of you out there who just can't accept that Hayter is gone, and likely gone for good. But it seems the long time beloved voice of Snake has truly been replaced with Kiefer Sutherland, and that goes for the classic voice of Snake too. Now that's just me throwing a couple of cents in there. I might be wrong, but I don't think that I am.

Now on to your thoughts. Do you think this is all just a joke, or some sort of lead up to Hayter actually playing at least some role in MGS5? I'd like to hear your feedback below.

New english version of the "special mission" daytime video is out for Ground Zeroes, and is narrated to explain things

A new 12 minute English video is out for Ground Zeroes, and explains things in narration for those who still need some help understanding what is going on. Understandably so. For those who are new to the series, or need some extra help, then thanks to a recent interview with Hideo Kojima, a few more things are explained by him to cover your needs. He explains that you can think of GZ as a Hollywood movie where you have 15-20 minutes of footage, and then after the title screen, the main story part starts.

"Ground Zeroes, as far as game play goes, will have the player get used to all these different elements, these different actions that we will have within this open world," Kojima said. "So people can get used to it... as far as Ground Zeroes goes, there's one big mission that leads into the events of the main game, so you can see it somewhat as the tanker mission."

Since Ground Zeroes acts as a prologue to The Phantom Pain, he is using a comparison of the Metal Gear Solid 2 tanker mission that serves as a lead-in to the games plant mission part. Something similar to the way MGS5 is split up into two sections.

"This main mission in Ground Zeroes is what ties strongly to the main part of Phantom Pain. Within that big mission of Ground Zeroes you have several side elements, collecting specific items, doing something within a certain amount of time. In the side-ops you will find several elements scattered, and when you put them together, it will put together a story within the player's mind of what is the next part of the game."

That should she some more light on how GZ plays into The Phantom Pain, and the English narration side mission video below should explain things a bit more. This is the same video you may have watched before, except this time there is some tag along help to go with it to make it more understandable.

Source Kotaku

Kojima explains why Metal Gear Solid 5 is split up into two parts, and that he wanted to release Ground Zeroes after Peace Walker

The surprises just keep coming, and that's fine by you and I. We need all the explanations we can get. After being a bit confused with the timeline for Metal Gear Solid 5, a breather was needed. In a recent interview with Kotaku, Hideo Kojima mentions that he originally wanted to release Ground Zeroes right after Peace Walker, either on PSP or the PS3. Here are some of what he said thanks to a translator.

"Honestly, I really wanted to release Ground Zeroes right after Peace Walker. Whether on PSP or PS3. But then we had development issues, some delays with Metal Gear Rising as well. And then we learned about next generation coming, so it ended up being the way it is now."

Ground Zeroes is expected to be out this coming spring for a small $30, leaving The Phantom Pain to come out what seems like the distant future in a galaxy far, far, away. Sure, the fans are upset about not being able to play the entire game and only the prologue GZ for now, but Kojima assured the Metal Gear fans that he only wanted to do that to not spite the fans, but to accommodate them so they could have something to play now.

"Of course it would be ideal to release Ground Zeroes and the main part of the game all together," Kojima said. "But at the same time given that this week we have the next generation of game consoles coming out, a lot of the fans wanted to play something sooner. And given that the main game is a rather big game and still in development, it will take a little bit more time to get it out. We decided to listen to the fans and put at least the prologue out there so people will get the experience."

Given that in mind, the fans will have to make due for a prologue until the much much bigger Phantom Pain, which by the way according to Kojima will be 200 times bigger than Ground Zeroes will be launched to the world for worshipping.

Source Kotaku

A few new details for Metal Gear Solid 5 have become known, which involve some interesting concepts in the game

Here are some interesting tidbits of information for you. Some new details for Metal Gear Solid V have surfaced, and they do explain at least to some degree about a few elements you might not have known about when you witnessed that E3 video you saw last summer. Apparently you will be able to bring along a "buddy" with you on some of the missions. Does this mean a co-op mode? Perhaps, or perhaps not. The only solid thing known right now about it is that the concept art for it was said to be somewhat "cute". (Could they be talking about the sniper Quiet character?)

Whether this is referring to the rather erotic sniper Quiet character is not a bad guess at this point, but the concept art evidently hasn't been seen by full on public eyes just yet. Next up on the table, is the fact that the Afghanistan map seems to base on the area of Jordon, while the African boy soldier you see in the E3 trailer is named "Julius", who is from Ghana.

Solid Snake's face is apparently based on four different people? Details are still up in the air about that one, but Dr. Emmerich seems to be based on a French model's face. Hideo Kojima did say a while back that he is hiring people from all over the world to play the role of different characters. We do know that Stefanie Joosten is playing the role of sniper character "Quiet". The mute and yet sexy and erotic character that sparked a bit of controversy among Metal Gear fans.

So what about that whole "time of day" issue, and the Seiko Metal Gear watch you saw in the trailer? This is said to be the where the players change the time of day, while Snake smokes a cigar. Yeah, I know what your thinking, that isn't exactly a lucid explanation, but as it stands right now, that's the information floating about out there.

How about some input from you? Point out some elements in MGS5 and tell me what you think they mean in the comment section below. This is the first time Metal Gear Solid has gone open world, and the puzzle pieces are in somewhat short supply. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is set to release after Ground Zeroes on Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360 consoles.

The invention of a new Metal Gear Solid game takes the series in a different direction, and offers it on more than one console

Unlike the "exclusive" PS3 format that Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots had (due to its enormous size) years ago, the next new Metal Gear Solid game will take the series in a different direction. At the same time it will offer its open world setting on more than one format. Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One to name them. While decision to not use David Hayter and replace him with Kiefer Sutherland turned some heads out there, Hideo Kojima took to answering a few questions recently in an interview with IGN. Questions that hovered over your and my heads for quite a while now.

"When making [Metal Gear Solid V prologue chapter] Ground Zeroes. I wasn't thinking along the lines of 'what went wrong last time?' or 'what improvements do i need to make?' That's not really the way I work. I try to think 'what do I want to do?' Then I try to make that happen. With Metal Gear Solid 4 we were somewhat limited technology-wise. At that point, I wanted to work on multi-platform development, which is why I started work on the Fox engine. I wanted to make something in an open world. Snake infiltrating in the rain, all those things I wanted to make six years ago, I think those are becoming a reality here in Ground Zeroes."

"MGS 4 was a turning point: the engine, the multi-platform, and online elements. Moving forward I wanted to have a Metal Gear Solid that you could play on whatever you wanted. And that's how we created Peace Walker. Now we're presenting something again that's console-only, but that's not actually true of Metal Gear Solid V. Metal Gear Solid V will have many more elements that aren't limited to one console. You'll be able to play the game on whatever you want, whenever you want."

Kojima has always had in mind new concepts to introduce with each new Metal Gear game. After all, this is his brainchild we're talking about, one that's been with him since Solid Snake threw his first grenade. Kojima also points out the differences between Ground Zeroes, and its sequel, The Phantom Pain. Adding to that how past games that had a linear experience for the player are now just that, a thing of the past. The newly open world setting Solid Snake resides in will be different, giving the player a more freedom of movement opportunity.

Also stating that even though the new modifications are different, the game will not be any easier. The goal is to keep that level of tension with the player. Keeping you on your toes in Metal Gear is a constant must. If you want a prime example of what he is talking about, simply visit or revisit the last video to grace us from the Tokyo Game Show. Solid Snake goes from stealth, to getting his rear end shot up while escaping for his life. Good thing he manages to get away in the end. Gotta love that convenient jeep nearby.

 

Konami releases the Kiefer Sutherland version of the opening sequence for Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes as the voice of Solid Snake

After listening to the version that came out around this time last year, we now get to hear the Kiefer Sutherland version of the opening sequence to Ground Zeroes. Ever since it was announced that Kiefer was doing the voice of Solid Snake and not David Hayter, it has sparked a bit of controversy among the fans out there. Now you can hear the end product result, and finally get to make a decision for yourself if the new voice of Solid Snake is up to par with you or not. When I conducted a poll a while back about whether or not Kiefer was a good voice for Solid Snake, you responded, and the poll was surprisingly split exactly down the middle. Here are those results if interested.

Yes	13 (39%)
No	7 (21%)
Doesn't matter to me	0 (0%)
David Hayter needs to voice Snake	13 (39%)

Votes so far: 33

As you can see, the results were mixed a bit, with half and half preferring Hayter to Sutherland. But at least now you can get a good taste of Kiefer's voice as Snake and make a new found decision based on it. I've included the other two game play videos from the Tokyo Game Show as well for those of you who might have missed it. I highly recommend all three, as it's worth the time and quite entertaining.

By the way, the one with the voice of Kiefer is the top video. Don't worry I won't waste your time.

 

A second new "special mission" game play video has been released from the Tokyo Game Show and shows more Solid Snake goodies

Here it is, yet another fine game play video from the Tokyo Game Show for Metal Gear Solid 5. This time around, it's a nice long 12 minute "special mission" video which shows Solid Snake being snuck into a military base in the back of a truck. He then starts taking out enemies one after another, followed by a nice gun fight, and then.....well, I had better not spoil things for you. This is somewhat part two of a presentation from none other than Hideo Kojima, who had worried recently that the AI issues that MGS5 was having at the time would affect his performance in demonstrating it.

This demo is also being done via the Playstation 4, as I'm sure Kojima wants the best display possible when showcasing his new brainchild. Good move. If you missed the first demo, you can catch up on your Solid Snake vitamins here. You're gonna love it for sure. Just like the cute girl with the blue hair you see below. On second thought, that looks more like turquoise.

Wow.

No playable torture scene in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, or you might be kept up all night with nightmares otherwise

Have you played Grand Theft Auto 5 yet? If so, you might be familiar with the somewhat, ahem.... controversial torture scene where a guy gets his tooth ripped out by a pair of pliers. Disturbing stuff isn't it, but if you like that sort of thing, hey!, more power to you. (You might need help.) Anyway, there just so happens to be a torture scene in Metal Gear Solid 5 as well. Only this time, according to Hideo Kojima, it will be kept to just that, a scene, and not an actual playable one. Here are some of what he said recently at the Tokyo Game Show when asked a few questions on his new Metal Gear brainchild.

"It's something that needs to be done. As the expressiveness of video games goes up, if you want to go beyond that it's not something you can avoid. Of course not all video games have to do this, and in my case it's not something that I want to go through. If the violence will give new emotions that are important to the game, I want to put it in there, especially with this game where one of the main topics is revenge. I don't want to walk around that."

"I didn't want to go as far as having playable torture, The part of Metal Gear Solid 5 that has torture is non-playable."

"So far the player's been tortured by Ocelot so much that I'm thinking that I might be the one that introduced torture to games, so I'm sorry about that!"

Introduced torture to games? Come now, I don't think that's the case, or is it? Either way, playable torture, or not, what we've seen so far in MGS5 with the latest trailers coming from the TGS is wonderful. Keep pouring the fuel on the fire, as we can never get too much. If not, that just might be real life torture, and I don't want to play that part of the game.

Hot off the grill is over 10 minutes of new game play footage for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, straight from the Tokyo Game Show

At last, we are free. At least we are fixing to be freed, courtesy of Solid Snake. The Tokyo Game Show has taken off, and we finally get a healthy dose of some Metal Gear Solid 5 game play footage. 12 long minutes of it too boot. I and many of you were hoping for a solid lengthy video of Ground Zeroes, and some of what it can do. The concern the other day that I posted about was Hideo Kojima expressing his own concerns about the AI (artificial intelligence) having some issues, and how it might affect his presentation at the TGS this year. The last thing we want to see is a botched performance, after all, this is the first time in Metal Gear history that the series has gone open world.

Not to worry, after watching the video, you will be comforted in knowing that all has gone pretty well. The enemies AI your seeing might not be exactly up to par with what the final product will bring upon its release, but it does showcase the game in a decent manner. The video shows Solid Snake, while it's raining (lovely whether we're having), he takes out some guards, and hops into a truck to get out of a military base, and winds up taking off in a helicopter. Not an incredibly long performance, but enough to leave a good taste in your mouth. Let me know what you think about the latest footage below.

No way, I won't play says David Hayter about whether or not he will take the next Metal Gear Solid game for a spin

Ever since this issue was brought to surface, the very thought of David Hayter not playing the role of Solid Snake in the next Metal Gear Solid game was anything but acceptable. The fans out there hit the ceiling in protest about their favorite MGS voice actor being left out of the picture for the next installment of tactical espionage action. According a poll I took right here at Konami Games News and Information Blog a while back, exactly half of the people that voted on whether or not Kiefer Sutherland was a good voice for Solid Snake voted Yes, while the other half said No. I was surprised to see those numbers.

So how does David Hayter himself feel about even playing Metal Gear Solid 5, and in an interview with Gamer Magazine, he responded by saying that playing a game that uses a voice other than the one he played for 15 years is.......well, "too disturbing". I can't say I blame him, but here is his response word for word.

"Yeah, very much. [And] no. Why? Because it’s too disturbing for me to hear somebody else doing the voice of a character that I played for 15 years. It’s just – I don’t think I would enjoy that."

Now onto you, the gamer. How do you feel about this matter, and will it affect your decision to purchase Metal Gear Solid 5 when it releases? Personally, I've seen posts on other sites of those who say they will not buy MGSV simply because of that. Will that reason apply to you as well?

A change in Metal Gear models, as creator Hideo Kojima talks about the addition of having erotic characters in his Phantom Pain lineup

Ever since the beginning of the Metal Gear series, we've seen changes in the character lineup. Revolver Ocelot, Psycho Mantis, Big Boss and so on. It's been quite a showdown of characters over the years, and they've evolved in the process. Now that we have Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain looming over our heads, Hideo Kojima wants to take his character involvement in somewhat of a new direction. So what could he do that hasn't already been done? How about something, well.....erotic? Yes, something of a sexual nature, and it's not me saying it, it's him Tweeting it. So where should I start?, how about right there?

 

• I've been ordering to Yoji to make the character more erotic, and he did it well. Recently I've been making characters this way."
  
• "I create the setting thoroughly, how he/she spent early life, name, style, favorite phrase, fashion, action to stand the character out."
  
• "The initial target is to make u want to do cosplay or its figurine to sell well."
  
• "Dear all Cosplayers. Will be disclosing 1 of the characters in MGSV, Quiet's CG data (inclu detail of her back) this Fri midnit (PST)."
  
• "Quiet's CG data this Fri midnit (PST) at Kojima Productions portal. Pls refer to that for those planning to cosplay for Quiet at TGS."
  
• "In fact, I was asked by one of the cosplayers. She asked the detail of Quiet as E3 trailer didn't reveal the detail."
  
• "Since I cannot reveal confidential info to individual, I decided to official announce."
  
• "The character I asked Yoji to make it more erotic, this one may not be cosplayable."
  
• "What if no one would do Quiet cosplay at TGS even though giving the info...lol"

 

A cosplay of the pic below? Interesting to say the least. Look, in Japan, there is no such thing as "politically correct". That means people don't get offended by the things others tend to. If Kojima wants to spice up the characters a bit, why not? He's been conversing with art designer Yoji Shinkawa on the matter. It'll be a treat to see the outcome of what he comes up with in the end. Racism and revenge are the central themes behind Metal Gear Solid 5, yet another interesting concept being introduced.