The trailer begins with a slightly baffling clip of first-person gameplay

All the while, the letters "FPS" are appearing on the screen, forming phrases like "Finally a Policy Shift?"--perhaps indicating that Metal Gear Solid 4 is in fact a shooter.

But then the camera pulls back to reveal the soldier caught in the death grip of none other than Solid Snake, who proceeds to dispatch the hapless guard with characteristic aplomb. Then we're treated to the words we've hoped to see "Not FPS - MGS!"

After the little first-person fake-out, the trailer fully reveals Snake, still wearing his classic sneaking suit but deeply lined, grizzled, and even sporting gray hair and a rough-looking moustache [GAY]. He's also got some kind of wicked-looking future eye patch. Shades of Big Boss? At least the mullet is intact.

He quickly ducks into the blasted-out shell of a nearby building to avoid the attention of an approaching caravan of foot soldiers accompanied by an imposing line of armored personnel carriers.

Snake appears to be uncharacteristically intimidated by this advancing column, a point that's driven home by a title that flashes on the screen: "A new enemy created in battle."

He then engages his eye patch, which we can see is actually labeled the "Solid Eye System," and we get a glimpse of Snake's own enhanced perspective, which is overlaid with a busy tactical display analyzing the armament and threat level of every major target in the area.

Yet, Otacon looks to have aged very little since MGS2. Has he been drinking at the fountain of youth? Or could it be that Solid Snake's genetically engineered background may have accelerated his aging, made him sick, and rendered him dependent on drugs to maintain his health? This will certainly be one of many mysteries yet to be revealed in MGS4.

When it debuted at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show a few days ago, the Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer got a similar reception to the Killzone trailer at E3--almost universal awe. But when the initial shock wore off, the same question was raised by skeptics--was it a real-time demonstration of the PlayStation 3's in-game graphical power or a prerendered trailer?

After Kojima finished off his technical demonstration, Kojima explained why he decided to age his characters. "Old characters are better because their wrinkles can be used to show the rendering capabilities of the PS3," he said. "Young characters have silky skin, so it's not as challenging."

Like past installments in the MGS series, MGS4 will have a specific theme it will focus on. "We've gone through 'Gene,' 'Memory,' and 'Scene' as the main themes for the past releases [of MGS]. This time, it's going to be 'Sense.' We're going to try and depict the essence of people, like their heart, mind, and psyche," commented Kojima. He added that his objective with MGS4 on the PS3 is to create things that can't be seen by the naked eye. For example, he said he aims to make soldiers' mental states an element in the war zone.

Kojima gave some information on MGS4's enemies as well. The mechs that are seen walking together with soldiers and tanks in the trailer are a new type of Metal Gear called gekkou, which means "moonlight" in Japanese. They're a mixture of mech and creature; the upper half of the body is mechanical, but the legs are organic. "They're extremely fast, but they'll bleed and fall down if Snake shoots their legs--though of course, it's difficult to actually hit them," revealed Kojima. "There's nobody on board that's controlling them, since they move with AI."

"As you could see in the trailer, MGS4 allows different weapons attachments to be swapped in and out. We made it so players can customize [their weapons]," said Shinkawa. "This is going to be a game for equipment lovers.

Given the shift to the PS3, the soldiers in MGS4 have new characteristics as well. Unlike soldiers from past installments, the soldiers in MGS4 will have individual appearances, including individualized clothing. Kojima referred to them as "Mr. Solider" rather than enemies, since they are neutral toward Snake unless he attacks them. "There are no friendly soldiers or enemy soldiers this time," he said. "It's a war zone, so whether they'll become allies or foes is all up to the player."