Grave Gamer News & Views — the phantom pain

Did Keifer Sutherland Just Konfirm a New Mortal Kombat?

Hollywood actor Keifer Sutherland, Son of Donald, famous for such films as Young Guns and Young Guns II – and nothing else… I SAID NOTHING ELSE – let slip that production on a brand new Mortal Kombat game may be well underway.

Equipped with the stunning ability to convey pretend emotion better than you convey actual emotion, Keifer is no stranger to video game voice work, having already laid down his signature gruff vocals for 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War.

More recently, he’s taken over the role of Big Boss (aka Naked Snake, aka Punished Snake, aka Faintly Reminiscent of Snake Plisken Snake) in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. In discussing his latest gaming gig with IGN, Keifer nonchalantly mentions his involvement in a new Mortal Kombat.

“I did Mortal Kombat, and that’s such a huge game, but it’s so not like [MGSV],” said the Son of Donald. The Mirrors star also said working on MK was a breeze compared to over a year of effort on The Phantom Pain (as well as its prelude Ground Zeroes).

Warner Bros. and NetherRealm were unavailable for comment – did you expect anything less? The general assumption was that NetherRealm would return to their brutally beautiful fighter given the positive reception 2010’s Mortal Kombat reboot garnered. Whether its next-gen, cross-gen, or even a direct followup – remember, the series is prone to more spin-off’s than fucking CSI – is up in the air.

What’s series co-creator, er, “ko-kreator” Ed Boon got to say on the matter?

I’m so glad I have friends who will Stand By Me.

— Ed Boon (@noobde)

February 22, 2014

That’s better than a konfirmation.

“I’m already exhausted from being involved in the console war (laughs). Metal Gear Solid V is being basically developed on PC. That’s the meaning of multi-platform, multi-generation, multi-device. It was originally planned to be made for the current machines.”

– Hideo Kojima, translated from Dengeki Online

This early out, more than several third-party titles slated for both the PS4 and Xbox One are being developed on high-end PC’s first. Some publishers, like Ubisoft, say the PC counterparts of PS4/Xbox One games will undoubtedly house “next-gen features.”

In Metal Gear Solid V’s case, Kojima admitted the game’s presence on both current and next generation systems may cause the game to look somewhat…dated. “Fox Engine was created with the current generation in mind,” said Kojima. “Maybe with other games that are being created exclusively for next-gen it might look a little behind.”

Kojima Productions still managed to squeeze out 60fps for MGSV on next-gen, so high fives all around.

Not Your Kind of People by 2KairiS

You Called It, Internet - The Phantom Pain is Metal Gear Solid V

Before you do anything else, watch the eye popping, spine tingling, FOX engined debut of Metal Gear Solid V right here.

It was a poor kept secret that The Phantom Pain, a new title from complete unknowns, Moby Dick Studios, was somehow related to the next installment of Metal Gear Solid.  The announcement of Ground Zeroes, an open-world continuation seemingly starring Big Boss, only served to cast confusion on matters, though, making certain no one but Hideo Kojima and company knew what the hell was going on (as per usual, that sly bastard).

That’s not to say there isn’t a huge cloud of “What the hell?” hovering above today’s news, but at least I can tell you this: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain debuted today and it looks crazy good.  MGSV is slated for current gen consoles (yes, both the PS3 and Xbox 360 – the first time a title in the main series has launched simultaneously on different systems) and runs off of Kojima Productions’ newly created FOX Engine – a foundation capable of some…well, put plainly, really goddamn gorgeous visual effects.

After debuting the trailer and some gameplay at GDC, Hideo threw some vagueness in the form of answers our way, confirming that the game is definitely open-world, another first for the series, and that both Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain make up the whole of Metal Gear Solid V.  Ground Zeroes was described as a prologue to MGSV to begin with, but how fans experience it – whether digitally, a full retail release, or packaged with The Phantom Pain – is still frustratingly not known.

Also, a bit of a downer for fans (though we were warned this might happen): David Hayter won’t be reprising his role as Snake, a part the actor has voiced since 1998.  And, you guessed it, his replacement is as of yet unnamed.

But we’ll end on a high note today, kids.  Enjoy some Phantom Pain gameplay hereabouts.  That should de-salt the wound nicely.

The Phantom Pain (PS3/X360)

Purported as supernatural thriller being developed by the unknown Moby Dick Studio, The Phantom Pain just may be the oddest, most evasive piece of marketing ever created for a video game.  How’s that, you ask?  Well, a bevy of evidence being gathered by fans and sleuths alike point to the game being none other than Metal Gear Solid V (!).

Honestly, there’s way too much imagery in the premiere trailer that just screams Metal Gear.  The amnesiac amputee featured throughout is practically a dead ringer for the Big Boss design introduced in the recently announced Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (right down to the scar).  Pair that with the fact that Moby Dick Studio and their website appear to be a hoax.

So what in the name of Fox is Kojima up to?  Is this Ground Zeroes in disguise or is MGSV in the cards?  Hard to tell what with Konami denying a connection and Hideo happily feeding off of our confusion, but it is important to note that Ground Zeroes is intended as a precursor to part V.  Perhaps both are being developed in conjunction and, given that MGSV is certainly a while out, we’re merely being introduced to the game’s core concepts in a bizarre, yet very Kojima-like fashion.

Hey, I totally get it.  Hyping up a 25 year-old franchise can get boring.  Fucking with fans, though?  Always enjoyable.

Check out The Phantom Pain trailer hereabouts.