Despite cyborg-samurai Raiden stealing the limelight over recently released href="/arts/02metal-gear-rising-revengeance-review19">“Metal Gear Rising: Revengenace,” the series’ other heroes started feeling a bit neglected. Cue the release of the “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” trailer at last week’s Game Developer’s Conference. An atrophied, struggling semblance from the “Solid” series, Snake is roused out of a lengthy coma to a hook for an arm and assault rifle fire all around him.

Conversing with the audience only through white text on otherwise empty screens, he laboriously limps through firefights. That is, until he comes face-to-face with a burning Pegasus, which is shortly thereafter followed by a ginormous, flying, flaming whale.

Culminating ominously with a gun between the protagonist’s eyes and a soldier with a dominatingly Russian accent relaying the message, “V has come to,” “The Phantom Pain” teases a story likely to be high on military intrigue and morally gray decisions.

This acid-trip-slash-trailer was accompanied by promises of an open-world environment, the first of its kind in the series.