The Phantom Pain (PS3/X360)
Purported as supernatural thriller being developed by the unknown Moby Dick Studio, The Phantom Pain just may be the oddest, most evasive piece of marketing ever created for a video game. How’s that, you ask? Well, a bevy of evidence being gathered by fans and sleuths alike point to the game being none other than Metal Gear Solid V (!).
Honestly, there’s way too much imagery in the premiere trailer that just screams Metal Gear. The amnesiac amputee featured throughout is practically a dead ringer for the Big Boss design introduced in the recently announced Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (right down to the scar). Pair that with the fact that Moby Dick Studio and their website appear to be a hoax.
So what in the name of Fox is Kojima up to? Is this Ground Zeroes in disguise or is MGSV in the cards? Hard to tell what with Konami denying a connection and Hideo happily feeding off of our confusion, but it is important to note that Ground Zeroes is intended as a precursor to part V. Perhaps both are being developed in conjunction and, given that MGSV is certainly a while out, we’re merely being introduced to the game’s core concepts in a bizarre, yet very Kojima-like fashion.
Hey, I totally get it. Hyping up a 25 year-old franchise can get boring. Fucking with fans, though? Always enjoyable.