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UPDATE: Text smoothed, gameplay video added above

At PAX 2012, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima showed off 15 11 minutes of gameplay footage from his upcoming PS3 game Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. The demo began with an in-engine cinematic set in a rain-drenched prison camp. The sprawling camp showed off FOX Engine’s advanced shader, lighting, and particle effects. Mud glistened and rain danced amidst the pervasive, bone-chilling gloom. As the cinema continued, we met a mysterious man with a mutilated face and wide-brimmed hat who later led troops away from the base, kicking the footage into a gameplay demo as Naked Snake (Big Boss) moved into position.

The prison camp – a huge open-world environment riddled with entry points – pointed to an evolution of MGS3 and MGS4’s sandboxes. As Snake made his way closer, Kojima pointed out nearby APCs and helicopters and confirmed that Snake could commandeer and pilot them if the player desired. As if to prove the point, Snake then hopped into a Jeep to gain access to the base, evading a roaming tank in the process. Snake then deployed a flare to deploy a friendly helicopter, something Kojima said that players could do “at any time.” The helicopter will enable you to fly between missions and even to other countries. Kojima also even mentioned that the player will be able to customize the music played by the helicopter, which in the demo blared out Ride of the Valkyries.

“We’re not going to say that it’s Metal Gear Solid 5,” Kojima said after the demo, “but it is a prologue.” Kojima explained that the demo video was a recording of gameplay rendered on PC hardware that was similarly equipped to a PS3, and that the final game should closely resemble the video.

Kojima also mentioned that he is personally overseeing the creation of Ground Zeroes. Watch the video demo at the top of this post to see Ground Zeroes in action.