For those of you holding your breath over the impending release of another Metal Gear Solid game, the time to exhale has come.

While the Konami booth did not present anything in the form of a demo or movie, they were handing out brochures giving away some tantalizing details about the development of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4, which will be a PlayStation 3 exclusive title.

First and foremost, despite giving some the impression he would not be in charge of another Metal Gear Solid game, Hideo Kojima appears to be back in the driver's seat as the premiere for game design, production, and direction of the new MGS project. Furthermore, Kojima has reorganized his development team into a new entity called Kojima Productions, who have adopted the Foxhound insignia as their logo.

At this point there is a great paucity of information surrounding the game, but the brochure describes that this game will involve a completely different kind of infiltration, unlike the man-made environments of the first two games, and the jungle setting of the third.

In addition to this brief description there is some accompanying character art in the MGS style we have all become accustomed to. From the artwork, it is easy to discern the stoic figure of Solid Snake, who now appears a bit more wizened, as he has donned a beard and mustache. Revolver Ocelot (what MGS game would be complete without the double/triple/??? agent) is mixed into the group as well, and a man that bears a resemblance to Otacon can be seen in the lineup. Of further interest is one female figure bearing a likeness to Meryl from the original Metal Gear Solid and another male who could pass for Vamp (didn't that guy get killed more than once in MGS2?!). It seems Raiden will play some role in the upcoming game, as he is prominently displayed in the picture next to Ocelot, though his arm seems to be in some kind of sling, as he holds the HF blade from MGS2 in the other.

At the end of the cast of characters are two unrecognizable people, one an emaciated male of old age wearing an eye patch over his right eye (some kind of Big Boss wannabe?), and a female garbed in a full-length hooded trenchcoat.

Even though the information we have is minimal, there is already a good deal of intrigue that this game has generated, and it will definitely remain on the radar screen throughout its development cycle.

For more information about Kojima Productions and to view the brochure described in this article you can visit the website here.