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Konami formally announced Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, the latest game in the long running Metal Gear franchise, at PAX Prime today. Series creator Hideo Kojima was on stage to the announce the game, and even shared ten minutes of footage from Naked Snake's latest adventure.

As was previously revealed, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes will be an open world game, shaking the linear structure that the series has commonly adhered too. In the first gameplay footage, Snake is tasked with infiltrating a prison camp, and is presented with multiple different methods to get he job done. For example, players can sneak in as they always have, or they can commandeer vehicles, like APCs and helicopters. If Snake's in trouble, players can use flares to call in a friendly helicopter, which can also be used to travel between missions.

If there's one thing to take from the gameplay footage, it's that Ground Zeroes looks absolutely gorgeous. Kojima stated that the footage shown is running off a PC build, however the PS3 version will be comparable to what was shown. It is also the first game to use Kojima's prized FOX Engine, which has already shown off some impressive results. The final product will ultimately look similar to what was shown today - and if you're this far into the post and haven't watched the video, you better start scrolling up!

Unmistakable with his eyepatch and scruffy facial hair, Naked Snake (AKA Big Boss) is aligned as our protagonist once again in Ground Zeroes (returning from his role in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater). The trailer also introduced us to who we expect to be the main villain. The mysterious charred face man in the opening cutscene appears to be head of a military force called XOF - which is FOX backwards. There's also some international trouble, however with only a snippet of the story to go by - not to mention the series decade-spanning lore - it's hard to get a good grip of what's really going on.

If there's one thing we know for sure though, it's that Ground Zeroes isn't Metal Gear Solid 5. Kojima called Ground Zeroes a "prologue," - making it all the more likely that MGS 5 will release next gen.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes will release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, likely in 2013. As of right now, additional platforms have not been announced.

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Source: PlayStation Blog