During the early days after the Metal Gear Solid 5 public reveal, hardcore fans were outraged when it was announced that Kiefer Sutherland will be voicing Snake. Ever since voice acting was introduced to the series, David Hayter has been the consistent voice behind Snake, and fans were understandably upset over this recasting.

The controversy over Kiefer Sutherland voicing Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5 has died down quite considerably since then, partly due to much bigger problems brewing at Konami stealing its thunder. The company has made numerous questionable decisions to upset their fan base in recent months, including the apparent firing of Hideo Kojima, the creator and mastermind behind the Metal Gear Solid series, and the cancellation of Silent Hills.

However, the Snake recasting controversy was brought up yet again, this time at Indy PopCon by Troy Baker. Baker is one of gaming's most recognizable voice actors, having played The Joker in Batman: Arkham Origins, Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, and Joel in The Last of Us. Now he will be able to add the role of Revolver Ocelot to his impressive résumé once Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain releases this September.

Speaking at Indy PopCon, Baker addressed the fan outrage over Kiefer Sutherland being cast as Snake over series mainstay David Hayter. "Kiefer Sutherland knocked it out of the freaking park," Baker said. "[...] that guy showed up, rolled up his sleeves, and got dirty on this game. So reserve judgement until you play it. You only have like two more months left, and trust me, it'll be worth it."

Given Troy Baker's longevity and quality work within the industry, his stamp of approval for Sutherland may ease the minds of at least some disgruntled fans. However, there are those that are not even completely convinced that Hayter is entirely out of Metal Gear Solid 5, and may even pop up in the game as a surprise.

Hideo Kojima is notorious for pulling elaborate hoaxes in order to trick fans, and having Hayter take over as the voice of Snake at some point in the story seems like a classic example of a Kojima hoax. There are rumblings that a potential twist in the game will deal with head transplants, and that may be able to explain how Snake can go from sounding like Kiefer Sutherland to sounding like David Hayter, or vice versa. Furthermore, Hayter has been extremely public about the recasting, openly mocking the notion that he can't do proper motion capture, which seems oddly unprofessional, perhaps indicating that Hayter is simply playing along.

Conspiracy theories aside, Troy Baker thinks that Kiefer Sutherland has done an outstanding job as Snake in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, and fans don't have to wait long to judge for themselves.

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain is due for release on September 1st for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. A PC version of the game will follow shortly thereafter, releasing on September 15th.

Source: Underground Geek Network