14 DAY TRIAL // As the release date for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is approaching fast and as we have our brains tightly wrapped around the question of which "special edition" of the game to pick up, there's good news coming regarding the future of the very acclaimed franchise.
Ryan Payton is an associate producer on the current project and he says that the series will definitely exist after the current iteration, mainly because of the fact that fans would never forgive Konami if they were to never again release a Metal Gear game. While talking to MTV Multiplayer, his exact words on the matter were: "I think there's been some misconceptions that this is the last 'Metal Gear'. This is really just the last chapter of the saga of the Solid Snake story."
In other words, more Metal Gear? Definitely yes. More Solid Snake? Most probably no. The now visibly aging commando will surely not take center stage again in another game, but no one says he cannot appear as a behind the scenes character, maybe teaching another young promising hotshot or special ops operative, through a wireless radio, the tricks of his trade.
Payton emphasized the way the story of Solid Snake wraps up in Metal Gear Solid 4 without creating any of the suspense that previous games counted upon. He thinks that "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."
The big question now is whether Hideo Kojima, who has been the heart and soul of all the Metal Gear games, will still be at the helm when a new, non-Solid Snake game enters the development phase. That's one question that is still up in the air, with no clear answer coming from Konami or Kojima himself.
On June 12, get your PlayStation 3 out of the closet and get ready to once again save the world as Solid Snake.