Metal Gear Solid 5 News: Ground Zeroes Box Art Released, Kojima Talks About Keifer Sutherland's Performance, and the Future of His Involvement in the Franchise

There's a virtual smorgasbord of information today on the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V. After we heard about the Ground Zeroes DLC coming as an exclusive DLC and peeking a new trailer earlier today, Konami decided to finally unveil the box art for the first half of MGS 5.

The image, seen above, is what Konami tweeted earlier today. It's what the box will look like for Xbox 360 versions, but I can't imagine it'll be too dis-similar, if at all, to the other versions.

Also today, Hideo Kojima talked about actor Keifer Sutherland's performance as the cycloptic super spy. Sutherland had big shoes to fill, stepping into the role that's been performed by voice actor David Hayter for 11 games in all (12 if you count Super Smash Bros. Brawl), ever since the first Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation in 1998.

Fans were disappointed when it was first revealed back in March that Hayter wouldn't be reprising his role, so much so that they even started a petition to have him return. Hopes were high that the news was some Kojima styled trickery, but the man himself confirmed the news, announcing "24" star Keifer Sutherland as the new raspy voice for the longtime MGS hero / villain shortly thereafter.

At the time, Kojima spoke of the game's darker tone and themes, and how he wanted an actor who could bring a more "subdued performance expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice, rather than words." Kojima continued, "Further more, the game takes place in 1984, when Snake is 49 years old. Therefore, we needed someone who could genuinely convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late 40's. It's different from anything we've done before, so I asked a producer friend of mine in Hollywood, Avi Arad, for advice. He's the one who introduced me to Mr. Kiefer Sutherland, and I was like, 'why didn't I think of that?'"

Arad thought that Sutherland's "rich voice...maintains a level of history," and Kojima agreed, saying Sutherland "was the perfect fit in terms of age and performance."

Kojima's plan is that Sutherland's performance and vocal delivery alone will be enough to convey aspects of the game's story that were normally reserved for dialogue.

The creator echoed those sentiments recently with Xbox Wire, and spoke quite highly of Sutherland, saying the actor's performance is helping to "raise the bar."

"It's no longer just about the words that a character speaks," Kojima explained, "it's about the depth of their facial performance and the expressive tone of their voice. As technology evolves, it's vital that the expressiveness of the characters in the game evolve to match the capabilities of the hardware. Kiefer is helping us to raise the bar in that respect, and I'm looking forward to the final result."

Kojima is obviously quite pleased with what Sutherland's brought to the table, but it remains to be seen if the fans feel the same way. If we learned anything from Hayter's dismissal (and even more so from the Raiden surprise in MGS2) it's that MGS fans don't like change. But change is inevitable, and Kojima feels the franchise will go on with or without him.

He told Xbox Wire, "The only thing I can say for certain," Kojima mused, "is that I personally will not be able to carry MGS forward for another 25 years. However, with new talent at the helm guiding the series through each new stage, I can easily imagine a world 25 years from now where a new MGS franchise continues onward into the future."

Maybe Kojima can, but after all he's done for the series in the last 30 years, I doubt the fans can. Perhaps a Big Boss styled Les Kojima Terribles science project is in order...