Regaining consciousness after nine years in a coma, Big Boss returns as the protagonist of the next Metal Gear Solid.
Metal Gear Solid V, announced by Hideo Kojima at GDC today, is a combination of the previously revealed Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, the mysterious game teased during last year’s Spike Video Game Awards. The two games are actually one and the same, carrying the full official title of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
According to a tweet from Kojima, the Ground Zeroes portion of the game will serve as a prologue to the main events of The Phantom Pain. Okay, this whole thing seems unnecessarily confusing to me. The announcement trailer is completely bonkers, too. A flaming whale devouring a helicopter, some dude riding a flaming Pegasus, Big Boss with a shard of something sticking out of his forehead like a horn, a Garbage song in the background–what in the world of Kojima is going on!?
As the gameplay demo begins, Snake awakens from his coma with a shiny new arm. Ishmael, a man whose face is completely shrouded by bandages, has been watching over Snake all these years, and while Snake shakes off the effects of his long slumber Ishmael helps to sneak him out of the hospital.
One mystery left unanswered after today’s announcement is who will be voicing Snake. Unless there is more misdirection going on, it appears that David Hayter will not be reprising his long-running role as Snake. From the demo, it sure sounds like Kiefer Sutherland is the voice behind Ishmael, and to me what little Snake says also sounds like Kiefer talking with a softer tone.
So, is Jack Bauer the new Snake? I have no fucking clue, just like everything else with this game so far. Kiefer is definitely Ishmael, but it’s hard to tell with Big Boss since he barely speaks. It could very well be Richard Doyle, who voiced Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 4.
The other thing that seems a bit curious is how the demo was played from a PC while the game has only been announced for PS3 and Xbox 360. I’m calling more misdirection as the FOX engine looks far too high-end to be running on modern consoles. If Kojima doesn’t eventually announce that the game is really coming out on PS4 and next-gen Xbox, I’ll be shocked. Or perhaps it’ll launch on the current systems before eventually going next-gen, similar to games like Diablo III, Watch Dogs, and Assassin’s Creed IV.
I can’t recall a new game announcement ever leaving so many questions unanswered. But hey, that’s Hideo Kojima for ya!
[nggallery id=2857]
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
The only Metal Gear game I’ve played was the original NES. Seeing how bat shit crazy the GDC trailer is, I think now is a perfect time to get completely lost in the fiction, letting the crazy, zany, flaming Pegasus fly me away.
To get ready for MGS5, you’d really only need to play MGS3 and Peace Walker since those directly precede it on the timeline. The MGS HD Collection is the perfect place to start if you’re new to the series.