It seemed downright silly that Metal Gear Solid 4 was going to have a cutscene which lasted 90 minutes. I mean, that’s ninety-fricken-minutes, as in an hour and a half. That’s absurd. I’m as interested in the Metal Gear storyline as the next person, but I don’t really feel like taking a 90-minute break in the middle of gameplay, even if I can choose to pause or skip it.

As it turns out, there might not be any cutscene that lasts 90 minutes. At least, that’s what GamePro’s Sid Shuman is saying. He’s played through the game twice now and says, “Ninety-minute-long cinemas in MGS4 sounds like an exaggeration. Like the other MGS games, MGS4 definitely has a cinematic quality. And yes, some of the cut-scenes in the game are elaborate and occasionally lengthy. But not a one, to my recollection, even approaches 90 minutes.”

Of course, an hour-long cutscene wouldn’t fit the definition of “approaching 90 minutes,” to me, at least, so there’s still hope for those of you out there who are craving a feature length movie in the middle of MGS4.

The Metal Gear Solid games have a reputation for having some really long cut scenes — I still remember being forced to shut down MGS2 partway into a 45-minute long one to meet up with some friends, only to come back later and have to watch it all over again. But apparently the cinematic sequences in MGS4 are topping even those in terms of length. PSW magazine has played through the whole game and notes that there are some cut-scenes in the game that play for about 90 minutes. I’ve seen feature films that were shorter than that. On the plus side, you’ll be able to pause and skip through them, which a lot of people may opt for after about ten minutes. People like me though will probably be compelled to sit through the whole movie just to get the full story, not to mention most of the cinematics we’ve seen so far have looked just plain awesome. The thing that really scares me though is that PSW neglected to mention whether there’s only one cut scene this long or if there’s more. In other words, when you finally do settle down to play MGS4, be sure to clear your schedule.

Via CVG

Whether or not Hideo Kojima is leaving the Metal Gear series behind, Metal Gear Solid 4 is not the end of the series. Associate producer Ryan Payton clarified the misunderstanding about where the series stands with MTV Multiplayer, explaining that this isn’t the last Metal Gear game.

“This is really just the last chapter of the saga of the Solid Snake story,” Payton said.

“[Solid Snake] was a burden [for Kojima] because of all those loose ends,” he continued. “So when you play Metal Gear Solid 4 and when you get to the end, I think you’re going to feel that ‘wow, this is a nice closure.’ All of the weird stuff that’s gone on in the past, it’s all coming to an end. All those weird questions — everything is answered.”

As for that Assassin’s Creed-Metal Gear Solid 4 crossover, it began as a mutual admiration between Kojima and Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond last year. From there, talks of a collaboration took place, and that ended up coming in the form a bonus Altair costume in MGS4.

It’s strange that you’d see such a thing happen between two rival companies — Konami and Ubisoft — but they somehow managed to work it out, which Payton attributes to the efforts of Ubisoft Montrael.

Payton assures us that MGS4 will close things up nicely for the story of Solid Snake, with all of the loose ends being tied up and all those questions being answered.

Hideo Kojima, acclaimed director of the Metal Gear Solid series, seems to have a hard time making up his mind. He’s stated numerous times that Metal Gear Solid 4 will be his last entry in the series and even mentioned that he might turn his creative eye to Zone of Enders once more. But now he seems to be saying that he’s already making plans for Metal Gear Solid 5, even though MGS4 isn’t even out the door quite yet. In an interview with Famitsu, Kojima said:

I gotta start thinking about MGS5…that would be something that Kojima Productions would have to make, I think.

Wait, what? Didn’t he pull this with MGS3 too? Dang it, Kojima, stop toying with our emotions.

Via Kotaku

Fans of MGS and PS3 owners alike cannot wait for June 12th to arrive. Who could blame them though? MGS4 looks amazing, is a great series, and this is the last time we will ever get to play as the venerable Snake. Supposedly.

As someone who has loved playing these games over the years and who unfortunately does not own a PS3 yet, all I can do is just gaze in awe at the gorgeous screenshots and very cinematic trailers. These new screens are no exception. Enjoy.

Konami has announced the availability of a limited edition Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 bundle for North America. Featuring a Gun Metal Gray 40 GB PS3 with matching DualShock 3 wireless controller and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition game. The bundle will be exclusively available at Konami’s website for $599.99.

Pre-sell for the bundle begins on May 19th and limited supplies are available.

Here are the stats pulled from the Konami site:

• Due to limited quantities, orders will be limited to 1 (one) bundle per household
• Shipping costs are higher than normal on this item, due to product size. Please review the shipping costs, during your order process
• Please review our Return and Warranty policies before purchase
• Gun Metal Gray PLAYSTATION 3 with a 40GB Hard drive
• Gray DUALSHOCK 3 wireless controller
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Limited Edition
• The Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots game, which includes Metal Gear Online, enabling you to take part in the ultimate multiplayer squad based tactical shooter
• Exclusive Blu-ray disc including over 2 hours of additional content – “Hideo Kojima’s Gene” a behind-the-scenes vision of Hideo Kojima’s production team & game and “The Making of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” documentary
• The official Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots CD Soundtrack, including 16 never-before-released tracks by Harry Gregson-Williams (Shrek, Armageddon, The Rock), Nobuko Toda, and Ennio Morricone

To order, get more information, or just salivate over it, click here, and under “find products” click game platforms, and then PS3 and you should see it right away. For some reason I cannot get any of the links directly to it to work. Or, you can just click the link Rick posted in the comments section below. HTML is a cruel mistress sometimes.

A few weeks back, a story circulated that Hideo Kojima had said he was being limited by the hardware of the PlayStation 3. As it turns out, it was merely a poor translation that led to this. Kojima has clarified his comments and tried to better explain what he meant the first time around.

“I am Japanese, so I try to be modest. I’m an especially modest person. I don’t wish to brag about it and say, ‘I am the amazing Metal Gear guy’, or say, ‘This is the best one’, just like how Americans brag [about] stuff like this,” Kojima explained.

“Westerners do not have a tradition of modesty, so the statements are translated correctly but the original meaning is totally different.”

Why, thank you, Mr. Kojima. I like you, too.

He goes on to explain more of what he really meant. You can find the full translation at Kotaku.

Konami Digital has announced that they are seriously trying to move forward with a feature film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid, but they aren’t just throwing it out into the depths of Hollywood to let just anyone take on the job. After all, this is one of their most cherished franchises, so they’re choosing who gets the film rights very carefully. The man currently working on the film project at Konami, Aki Saito, explains his views on the matter:

Often Hollywood adaptations have the original game creator involved at the beginning, but somewhere along the line they fall out of view. This is why it’s very important for us to carefully pick the studio for this project.

On this note however, he did mention that Hideo Kojima would not be directing the movie. All he did manage to say really was that Paul Thomas Anderson, director of There Will Be Blood, had expressed interest in helming the feature film. Personally, I hope he does end up directing, at least so I can make a “Snake Drinks Your Milkshake” t-shirt, and have it make a little sense.

Via QJ

Hideo Kojima, the man behind the Metal Gear Solid series, has always acted like a Hollywood movie director. So it kind of makes a lot of sense that this new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4 looks like something you might actually see in a theater, right down to the “movie trailer voice.” The trailer basically sums up the general story behind the game: Liquid Snake (through Revolver Ocelot) has found a way to control soldiers mind, and Snake is sent to stop him. Okay, that’s like the most incredibly basic way I can explain the story; if I went into further details, I’d probably have to write a full novel. As always though, the game looks awesome and makes me even more excited to finally get my hands on it.

Konami has revealed the first ten minutes of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, and I think this goes without saying, but still: SPOILER WARNING. Obviously if you want to wait to get the full experience when the game comes out, don’t watch the video above. But if you’re more like me, then you’re too excited to wait that long. The video shows the opening cut scene along with some short gameplay moments, which sets up how Old Snake made his way to the middle of a raging battlefield. The footage also reveals that hiding in boxes will most likely just get you killed this time around (particularly if you’re Hideo Kojima, apparently). This game just cannot get released quick enough.