MGS4: Snake Eraser trailer

By now you've probably seen the trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots from the Tokyo Game Show - but turns out there's another one, too, titled Metal Gear Raiden: Snake Eraser.

You may recall that the previous MGS4 trailer shown at E3 back in May featured Snake and Raiden rowing about who would get to be the lead character this time around.

Well, the saga continues in the Snake Eraser trailer on show at Konami's TGS booth, and we're here to tell you all about it. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.

The trailer picks up where the E3 trailer left off, with Raiden jumping into a time machine and heading back to the past so he can kill off Big Boss - and thus ensure that Snake never even comes into being.

Things don't go plan, however - the moment Raiden arrives at his destination, Snake knocks him out whilst parachuting in from the HALO jump that kicks off MGS3.

Next thing he knows, Raiden's appearing in the scene where we're introduced to Ocelot and Eva for the first time - only to be run over by Eva's motorbike.

Time for another teleport, and Raiden now finds himself locked in a prison cell - with Big Boss as his cell neighbour. And things really start to get weird when Colonel Volgin arrives, confuses Raiden with fellow soldier Major Raikov and attempts to feel him up. Where's Ziggy when you need him?

But Raiden's off again, and now he's inside the barrel that contains Granin's dead body, which is being whacked by Volgin. Another teleport and he's up close and personal with Eva's chests as she shows Big Boss her big scar - and getting a big fat slap for his trouble.

Now Volgin's managed to get hold of a Shagohad tank, it seems, and is attempting to run Raiden over, but Big Boss steps up to save the day. After using a rocket launcher to stop Volgin in his tracks he hands Raiden a gun - and Raiden promptly aims it at his back.

But our hero can't quite find the nuts to murder the man who just saved his life, and so he ends up chucking the gun away and watching as Big Boss and Eva ride off into the sunset. Before being crushed by a huge troop of soldiers chasing after Big Boss. And then run over by a Shagohad.

Bored yet? Well, anyway, the story doesn't end there. Quite understandably, Raiden's at the end of his tether now, and he decides it's time to stop messing around with Big Boss and take out Snake directly.

Time for another quantum leap, then - and would you believe it, suddenly we're in the original, 2D, top-down, 8bit MSX Metal Gear game from 1987. Raiden finally manages to get Snake in a corner, only to be shot by a nearby soldier - and sent tumbling back to his own time, shouting, "Big Boss... I know I should have killed you!"

Raiden then receives some loving comfort from lady interest Rose, who sensibly explains that there's no point in trying to change history. "Metal Gear Solid 4 might not be possible," she says - and here's the kicker, folks - "But what about 5...?"

What indeed.

The End. For now...