Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots [PS3]

Konami's E3 conference on Tuesday was prefaced by mounds of hype and speculation regarding the possible announcement of Metal Gear Solid 4. With the conference now behind us, we've finally got answers to a few key questions. MGS4 will be on PlayStation3, and we now know that Hideo Kojima's role in the production will be every bit as hands-on as before. But in typical Kojima fashion, these answers didn't come without presenting a million other questions that need to be answered.

Raiden
Other Appearances: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Are we sure this is him?: Yes

Raiden was the surprise hero in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and basically plays the part of a mindless puppet. In Sons of Liberty, Raiden's only motive is completing the mission he's assigned, though he and Snake uncover more truth regarding the Patriots as the mission progresses.

At the end of Sons of Liberty, Snake and Raiden learn that the Patriots kidnapped the baby of Olga Gurlukovich in order to coerce her into helping Raiden through the mission. Olga dies at the end of the game, but Snake and Raiden agree to save the child. The game ends then, so we don't know what happens afterwards, but it's possible that Metal Gear Solid 4 continues the story of Snake and Raiden hunting down the Patriots, both for Olga's child and presumably for other objectives (such as the utter destruction of GW, the information-controlling super computer created by the Patriots).

In the full poster image for MGS4, Raiden is seen holding a baby which we presume is his own—at the end of Sons of Liberty, Raiden learns that his girlfriend is pregnant. MGS4 takes place three years after the Big Shell incident of Sons of Liberty, making his baby around two years old, an age that matches the art. The baby in the picture looks too young to be the stolen child of Olga, who would be at least three years old (and probably older still).

Revolver Ocelot
Other Appearances: Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Are we sure this is him?: Yes

Revolver Ocelot is a very interesting character in the Metal Gear saga. In essence, Ocelot is a willing tool of the Patriots, and is really the only human manifestation of the secret group. Ocelot is the lovechild of The Boss and The Sorrow (both of which played their part in Snake Eater), and was taken from The Boss at the moment of birth into the care of the Patriots. Ocelot has thus been with the Patriots since birth, and despite many complex lies and deception his motive is very basic: serve the Patriots. At least that's what's apparent through the story already told.

His presence in Metal Gear Solid 4 should be no surprise. Ocelot will likely serve as the figurehead of whatever Patriot plot Solid Snake and company are out to stop. However, there's a potential twist. One of the strangest aspects in Sons of Liberty is the continued presence of Liquid Snake. In Metal Gear Solid, Ocelot loses his arm and Liquid Snake dies. However, in Sons of Liberty we find that Ocelot used Liquid's arm to replace his own. Slowly throughout Sons of Liberty, Liquid Snake's arm seems to take over Ocelot and Liquid's own motives show through. Liquid's motives are, basically, to overthrow the Patriots, so it'll be very interesting to see how his continued infection of Ocelot plays out in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Solid Snake
Other Appearances: Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty + original Metal Gear games
Are we sure this is him?: Yes

The Metal Gear Solid 4 teaser trailer shown at Konami's E3 press conference confirms that Solid Snake is the main character of the game. The last we saw Solid Snake was at the end of Sons of Liberty, which is where Snake first really learns of the Patriots. At the end of the game, Snake agrees to find Olga Gurlukovich's son who was kidnapped by the Patriots, and presumably wants to continue his goal of eradicating the Metal Gear project.

Solid Snake is left with a disk that contains the names of the Patriots' Wisemen, but finds out that the names on the disk are those of men that had died two hundred years prior. We don't know how he continues the pursuit of the Patriots, but we do know that finding the Patriots is his objective.

In Sons of Liberty, the Patriots create Metal Gear Arsenal, an underwater fortress with a super computer designed to control the flow of information worldwide. In their effort to destroy all things Metal Gear, Snake and Ocelot aim to take down Arsenal and come to make the Patriots their enemy. Combine this aim with their promise to usurp Olga's child and you've already got a pretty compelling conflict to power the story of Metal Gear Solid 4.