Confirming previous speculation, the mysterious trailer for The Phantom Pain, which teased audiences last December, has been revealed as Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Videogame auteur Hideo Kojima took the stage today at the Game Developers Conference to officially announce that both the mystery game and the previously-announced Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes are actually part of Metal Gear Solid 5, accompanied by a trailer that shows off the photorealistic FOX Engine.
As usual with any Kojima production, tons of tantalizing and cryptic imagery abounds. We see a glimpse of what looks to be a female version of Psycho Mantis, lots of horseback riding, and... a flaming pegasus? Hallucinations are said to play a role in the game, which begins as a disabled Snake awakens from a nine-year coma and must drag himself across the floor to escape. The trailer, set to music by resurgent '90s grunge-rock band Garbage, alludes to a conflict between Snake's FOX unit and the "XOF" splinter group, and ends with a teaser of Snake (who is disappointingly no longer voiced by David Hayter) wearing the uniform of a group called "Diamond Dogs," followed by a mysterious message: "V has come to." The credits screen shows logos for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but gives no hint at a possible release date.