First Look: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Just days after the first details about Metal Gear Solid 4 were revealed, more information about the game has come to light. First and foremost is the game's full title, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. While cryptic, the title may allude to certain plot details, as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty did, or it may give clues about the gameplay, as was the case with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

More-concrete plot details were revealed by the first trailer for the game, which was screened today at the Tokyo Game Show. It confirmed that, yes, the grizzled and mustachioed old warrior first glimpsed on the pages of Famitsu is indeed series hero Solid Snake. It also revealed the game will take place in the far future, after the events of Sons of Liberty. Otacon will also be coming back, and the game will give Snake a new diminutive robot ally. For a full rundown of all the plot details, check out GameSpot's trailer impressions, direct from Japan.

Also today, publisher and developer Konami released a batch of breathtaking high-res screenshots from Guns of the Patriots. Displaying an incredible amount of detail, the shots show an almost photo-realistic Snake taking cover in a bombed-out city. Other shots show the perpetrators of the urban carnage, an army of masked soldiers manning tanks and towering two-legged mechs. Snake's new robot helper is also shown, as is a well-preserved Otacon.

Last but not least of the day's events was Konami's launch of a full-fledged Metal Gear Solid 4 Web site. Besides showing a gallery of the series' distinctive conceptual art and a considerable amount of Japanese-language information, the site also promises to show the Guns of the Patriots trailer itself. Some reports had the trailer going live as early as Friday morning, though they could not be confirmed as of press time.