MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots Gameplay Trailer
Last night, Hideo Kojima gave a 15-minute gameplay demonstration for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. As you can see, a lot has changed from previous games in the series. Almost every move shown off has never been in a Metal Gear Solid game before. As many people requested, the camera can now move more freely by using the right analog stick, and there’s a new over-the-shoulder view for quick aiming (similar to Splinter Cell and Resident Evil 4, respectively). This time around, instead of switching between different camo suits, Snake’s suit can be activated to mimic the textures around him. Snake can also (finally) take enemies’ weapons and even frisk them for additional supplies. And after all the talk from Snake about being “on the battlefield,” he’s being thrown into the middle of an actual war zone, where he can influence the outcome of the battles.

I said it after E3, and I’ll say it again: Hideo Kojima just sold me a PS3.

There was much mystery surrounding Konami’s press conference announcement today but as Mark Franklin took the stage there was little hint of what was to come. Initially the company began with the expected – two new DDR titles (Wii and 360) and a next gen entry to the popular Silent Hill series. Interestingly this Silent Hill seems to take a far more active character to the fray in the haunted locale – centering on Alex a former military man who is searching for his brother.

The military character is a break in the series. Silent Hill has always centered on showing the every-person in a dangerous situation reacting to the events in the psychological town. Also it is being developed by Westerners, not Konami in Japan so we’ll have to wait for more information to see how the story develops.

Other titles announced include Hellboy, Contra 4 for DS, Dracula X Chronicles and Silent Hill Origins for PSP,

Hideo Kojima took the stage moments after the general announcements and the crowd exploded. Then the same trailer shown at the Sony event earlier today for MGS4 rolled. Yes, it is the last Kojima MGS game. Yes, it is delayed. Yes, it is still PS3 exclusive at the launch of the title. Oh and Kojima wants the old E3 back, he says this year is all business and boring.

So what was the big mystery? Silent Hill 5. As psyched about this as I might be it doesn’t have as much impact as the build up insinuated.

MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots E3 2007 Trailer

Earlier in the day, we covered Metal Gear Solid 4’s presence during Sony’s press conference at E3 2007. Well now we actually have the brand new trailer that director Hideo Kojima unveiled at that show. As you can see, it’s nothing short of amazing. Kojima also promised that he would reveal some actual gameplay footage next week, so keep your eyes open for that.

The Sony conference has just ended and not surprisingly a sizable chunk of the show was devoted to the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Hideo Kojima, the famed director of the series, took the stage to discuss the game and unveil a new trailer, along with a tentative release date of “Early 2008.” We should have the trailer up here soon, but it mostly revealed some more of the story with the usual vague references and foreshadowing. Unfortunately, the trailer did not have any gameplay footage — just a cut scene — but Kojima stressed that he would be showing off a demo in Tokyo next week. It seems the plot will revolve around Snake and some pals (including Meryl from MGS1) being hired to assassinate Liquid, who of course seems to have taken over Revolver Ocelot’s body entirely. There was also a surreal fight scene between a ninjafied Raiden and Vlad from MGS2, in which they both get horribly sliced up and broken, but still continue fighting. One noteworthy surprise during this scene too was at one point when Raiden slashes off the leg of a smaller Metal Gear, exposing flesh and blood. Be sure to check back here to see the trailer; it seriously gave me chills.

Sadly, Kojima also made the announcement that this game will end the story of Solid Snake, and that it will be the last game from him in the series. I doubt this is the last we’ve heard of him in the gaming world, but it’s still unfortunate to lose such an influential visionary from the ground-breaking franchise.

Metal Gear fans should rejoice, because MG Solid may be coming to the Nintendo Wii in the future.  This is obviously speculation and theories at this point, but could be a realistic one in the near future.  It’s obvious Konami is not happy with Sony right now, so some moves could be made in the near future.  Personally, I think the Wii would be a great system for the Metal Gear franchise, so we’ll just have to sit back and see if anything happens.

Source:  Reports suggest that Metal Gear Solid publishers Konami are unhappy with the current rate of sales of Sony’s PS3, leading to speculation that Metal Gear Solid could find it’s way onto Wii.A quote from Kazumi Kitaue, a man with possibly the best name I’ve heard all day and coincidentally the head of Konami’s operations in America and Europe, reinforced these rumours somewhat:

“I wonder if Sony can win back user support by the price cut of just $100. I don’t expect a substantial impact … With $500, you can buy a personal computer.

Since Metal Gear Solid was born for the PlayStation, we would like to keep it a PlayStation game. But we might have to take some steps.”