MGS digitally stripped for PSP

SAN FRANCISCO--The 2006 Konami Gamers' Day in San Francisco had more than just games on display today. Wilson Cheng, product manager at Konami Digitial Entertainment, said, "I am very happy to announce that Konami will be introducing a new type of genre that combines different types of media onto one UMD disc."

Thankfully for longtime Konami fans, the subject of the "new genre" is something gamers will be very familiar with. It also appears to answer questions raised by legendary designer Hideo Kojima, who recently told Famitsu that he was working on a non-game project for the PSP called Metal Gear Solid BD.

Metal Gear Solid Digital Comic (working title) is an interactive comic book-style story from franchise creator Hideo Kojima and producer Noriaki Okamura. Artwork will be provided by Australian comic book artist Ashley Wood, who fans may know from his work on Todd McFarlane's Spawn and the Metal Gear Solid comic books.

"MGS Digital Comic goes way beyond just clicking through scanned comic book pages," said Ryan Payton, international manager of Kojima Productions. "It provides an involved interactive experience as players must investigate the MGS story, link together plot points, and complete the puzzle of the Metal Gear narrative through multiple play throughs."

It's unclear just how interactive the comic will actually be, but a trailer shown at the event certainly confirmed it will be animated. Voice bubbles appear in sequence with the game's audio, and static images slide across the screen as comic-style effects like "Bang!" or "Pow!" appear onscreen when characters fire bullets.

Konami has not announced a release date or price for Metal Gear Solid Digital Comic.