Microsoft's press conference at E3 2009 featured the surprise reveal of "Metal Gear Solid Rising," which would be coming to the Xbox 360, in addition to the PS3. Since then, though, we haven't heard a peep about the game from anyone. All we've really had to go on is the above image, which shows series-regular, Raiden, in full cyber-ninja gear. And, surprisingly, neither has David Hayter, who is the well-known voice actor of Solid Snake and his pops, Big Boss.
Speaking to MTV News in a recent interview regarding the stalled "Metal Gear Solid" movie, Hayter mentioned his work on "Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker," the PSP-exclusive which released this week. "The story is great," he said of "Peace Walker," "It's a very in-depth telling of the Big Boss storyline." When asked about whether he's begun work on "Metal Gear Solid: Rising," however, Hayter admitted that he's out of the loop. "I don’t know if I’m doing 'Metal Gear Rising,'" he explained. "Nobody’s contacted me about it, so I have no idea."
"Metal Gear Solid 4" was an obvious conclusion to the Solid Snake mythos, and the artwork above certainly implies that the focus of "Rising" will be on Raiden, but Hayter has been involved in every major "Solid" game since 1998, and for Kojima to excise him from the series entirely would undoubtedly upset fans of the nicotine-addled super spy.
Hayter is quick to point out that not all hope is lost, though. "They usually call me once the Japanese game is done and they’re starting to get into the English translation. So we’re not completely done, but it's on its way by the time they get in touch with me." Safe to say that Snake's familiar rasp isn't going to be heard at E3 next week, but there's still a chance he'll be able to pull out the walker for a cameo or two in "Rising."