For the typical game at TGS. a booth staff member will lead you to the game controller for your chance to play for up to 10 minutes. For Metal Gear Solid 4, Konami’s flagship title, you get far more than just a few minutes in front of a random display.

After waiting in line for 30 minutes (while being entertained by booth babes offering a chance to play more Metal Gear Solid on their PSPs), a group of roughly 20 attendees were brought into a theater where a Japanese man dressed as Colonel Cambell and  two others dressed in United States army fatigues were waiting for us.

What followed was a mission briefing-like presentation, “Operation Intrude 2007.” One of the soldiers and the Japanese Colonel Cambell provided a walkthrough of the basic controls for Metal Gear Solid 4.

Mid-way through the presentation, alarms begin to blare and warning lights flash as the soldiers leap to action. There’s a spy within the group and he’s transmitting mission secrets!  Once the soldiers figure out who the spy is -- someone sitting among us and likely a part of the act. He is literally held at gunpoint, taken to the back room away from our sight and “shot,” complete with gun shot sounds and death scream. But it's not over yet! We're still under attack! Suddenly the room starts filling with smoke and the 20 of us are sent off to the game test machines where we got our 20 minutes of uninterupted hands-on game play.

As is fairly well known you play as Old Snake (and it literally says Old Snake above your energy bar as you play). As a veteran of the previous three Metal Gear Solid games one change to the game play mechanics I noticed right away was you do not instantly put your back up against the wall when you push the directional pad in the direction of a wall. Instead, the option to press triangle button comes up, and if you do press the button, your sneaking suit takes on the same pattern as the wall you are leaning against similar to a chameleon. You are provided with a camouflage percentage, the higher the number the more difficult it is to spot you. Overall the other game play mechanics are similar to previous Metal Gears -- the use of rations for healing, the interface for switching items and weapons, and the emphasis on stealth over brute force.

Even with the 20 minutes of straight game play, it seemed nearly impossible to venture any further than what has already been seen in the trailers released on the web and the PlayStation Network. The only thing new for those who have kept up with all the released media is confirmation that the game's controls are still razor sharp.