Thoughts on the Metal Gear Solid 5 Trailer by an MGS Diehard

Hideo Kojima, you never cease to amaze me…

I have been a self-professed Metal Gear Solid fanatic for 15 years now. It has been a staple of my gaming life, like bread is to a duck, always searching for a crumb to salivate, obsess and devour. I was amazed at the presentation of MGS for the Playstation 1, “This is like a movie!” I announced quietly to myself. I remember the 2:45 am freak out my friend Zach and I had when the post credits dialogue featuring Ocelot finished off what was an incredible game. I remember downloading the debut trailer for MGS 2 over the course of 48 hours on a 56k modem and staying up until near midnight when I could watch it. I watched it about 50 times. By the time that game came out, I was house sitting  for a friend and who had a PS2, and a massive Costco pack of Chimichanga burritos and Coke. Needless to say, my ass was not so much planted as it was cemented on the couch. The storyline was batshit crazy, with a lot of philosophical poppycock that at times felt more like filler than subsistance (see what I did there?), but I remained fixated on my mission on that large offshore complex known as “Big Shell”.

Metal Gear Solid 3 was the first game I had ever pre-ordered. It was in MGS 3 that I had learned the value of good camouflage sense, that some snakes tasted better than others and that apparently, one can harness the power of an army of goddamn hornets. And of course, Metal Gear Solid 4, had for me, blown away the other games (that being said, I still find MGS 1 a better told story, MGS 4 is simply better in every other department). Hideo Kojima had as early as 2005 said that MGS 4 was going to be the last game featuring Solid Snake and as a result, the last game featuring Kojima at the helm of a series he has been involved with since 1987, a game that came out when I was 2 1/2 years old.

I can’t imagine a world without a Kojima directed Metal Gear game.

Thanks to Metal Gear Solid 5:The Phantom Pain, I won’t have to.

If you haven’t seen the extended cut trailer, here ya go. WARNING IT GETS A LITTLE GROSS!

Excited yet? I sure as hell am. So here are some thoughts on the footage.

1. A brand new story? Or a modern retelling of an old one? Snake is back! Ocelot is back! And Hal! and Miller (or some dude who looks like him!)! Simply put, this game will have the staples of the Metal Gear franchise. Everything from the bosses-one of them on fire- to the codenames. Don’t be surprised to hear one of the bases be named “Zanzibar” or “Outer Heaven”. Time will tell if these are simply more modern versions of the same characters, or if these are the actual dudes themselves. It is possible it will be a mix of both. Why? Because you should just accept it for what it is, stop asking questions and roll with it! That’s why!

2.You can stealth on a horse!

3. KOJIMA HATES CHILDREN! Well, maybe not, but the kids in this trailer look like they are going to be more like casualties than anything else. The scene where they are extracting that package out of that one kid’s insides really bothered me. I have my faith that this will be used for more than shock value, and will be helpful in offering meaning to the plot at hand.

4. The open world stuff could breathe new life into the stealth genre. As great as MGS 4 was, it was still a very linear game. Oh sure you could take multiple paths towards your objective, but it all lead to the same bottleneck, and I hope that this may be in the back of the minds of the guys and gals at Kojima Productions.

5….Seriously, a goddamn horse?

6. Lots of dialogue about pain and demons and stuff. It does seem the over elaborate and inlovewithitself dialogue will be back. I am really hoping Kojima reins it in a little bit this time. Quality over Quantity Hideo! Also, get a damn editor, I don’t need a 90 minute cutscene…again.

7. Snake is being voiced by Keifer Sutherland this time around, instead of series’ mainstay David Hayter. This has caused mixed reactions in the internet (Are you sitting down? There are some angry people!). I for one am kind of excited to see what Jack Bauer Kiefer brings to the character. Now some people are suggesting that this may actually be a sign that you are actually playing as Big Boss, and that this is somewhat of a modern version of a prequel which would make sense considering the eye patch. But it was Snake who rescued Miller, which would make this a modern version of the first game. Oh damnit I don’t know anymore.

8. I hope they open with that awesome vocal track like they did in MGS 3. Loved the hell out of it. I have always liked the more ambiance heavy soundtracks that Metal Gear brings, with the MGS 1 being my favorite.

9. There is a scene that has someone being water boarded (spoilers, there is torture in this game) and it pans to a man who looks suspiciously like Liquid Snake, Solid Snake’s twin brother. I could be completely wrong, either that is Liquid, or this reeks of a retcon something fierce.

10. This is a game that has touches that only Kojima could have the resources and ambition to implement to the fullest. The real-time weather as well as the realistic passage of time could mean that when you play will help or hinder your playthrough. Wonder if Kojima will have an achievement for those that DON’T manipulate their system clocks. I wouldn’t be surprised.

So these are just some of my thoughts. Needless to say, I am personally excited and will be waiting patiently for when I can reacquaint myself with a world that I have grown up with and still enjoy to this day. If you have any thoughts, please post in the comments below, and share this story with a friend!