Five minutes isn’t nearly enough to represent a video game series that has spanned three decades and ten canonical titles, but Game Director Hideo Kojima does a stand-up job with this epic and nostalgic launch trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Utilizing the pixelated face of Solid Snake much like the dream sequence in Guns of the Patriots, the footage opens with our super-soldier lifting up those classic night vision goggles (kept you waiting, huh?) before delving into the convoluted, medium-defining timeline of Metal Gear. From the Shadow Moses incident all the way through to Guns of the Patriots, Kojima has arranged the sizzle reel in the order of release – Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 notwithstanding – as the perspective flits between Big Boss and his cloned son, Solid.
It is Big Boss (aka Venom/Punished Snake) who we will be controlling for The Phantom Pain, though. After slipping into a nine-year coma after the events of Ground Zeroes, where Skull Face and his rogue XOF unit sabotaged Mother Base, Kojima’s latest – and likely final – entry into the esteemed franchise will open with a damaged and heavily-scarred protagonist. Upon escaping the hospital thanks to help from Revolver Ocelot, Big Boss sets out on a mission for revenge, and to help rescue his old ally, Kaz Miller, in the process.
As today’s trailer showcases, Skull Face and the XOF have been experimenting with new forms of Metal Gear – the bi-pedal war machines that have served as a cornerstone of the series. Couple this with the expanded open-world setting and a whole host of gameplay elements that build upon those laid out in last year’s Ground Zeroes and you have one of the most anticipated releases of 2015. The fact that it’s getting stellar reviews across the board helps, too.
At long last, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will bring the story of Big Boss to a fitting conclusion when Kojima’s sequel arrives for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on Tuesday, September 1. Metal Gear Online, meanwhile, has been postponed until early October.
