A good character can represent an entire generation or just a game genre that is powerful. No matter how far back we may go in gaming there is always a connection to be found and an experience that others can share with you. These mascots of the gaming world are much more than a person in a rubber suit representing our colleges or favorite sports teams. They represent a feeling, an idea and most importantly the power of the human mind.

1. The Mario Brothers:

Well this one is obvious, they’re basically the little Italian men that started it all. Hell, Mario is the guywho is dodging barrels and saving the damsel in distress before he even had a game himself. His nemesis is a guerrilla with an identity crisis who thought he was a donkey and there were more ladders than most of us would care to ever actually climb.

Then he met up with his brother and they went on to fight Bowser and save the Princess as well as the Mushroom kingdom. Mario and his brother Luigi are the most iconic characters in video game history and probably the most popular plumbers to never actually unclog a pipe. They’ve had cartoons, a movie and merchandise named after them. The Mario Brothers are where many of us started as gamers. We will always have fond memories of these brothers no matter what platform we’ve chosen as our favorite.

Kojima stated that he wouldn’t reveal if Solid Snake was in the game – because quite simply, what fun would that be? As it stands, he wants these kinds of things to be a surprise for the player. As to the identity of Eli, who may be a younger Liquid Snake, there’s still no confirmation according to an interview with Jeux Video Magazine,.

The Phantom Pain will center around themes of race and vengeance, along with tackling the subject of child soldiers in a more forceful way. The PS4 and Xbox One apparently help in advancing the story and better conveying Kojima’s message.

You’ll be able to play missions in any order you want, with the story flowing naturally and adapting to this. You can even make choices within the game, deciding on the deaths of certain characters – it’s all up to whatever actions you take. Of course, one must keep in mind the overall arc of the story in the series and Kojima is ensuring that no time paradoxes are created with the death of certain characters.

Also, according to Game Reactor, Kojima isn’t too keen to reveal who the main antagonist in MGS5 is. “I can’t say who it is. But it’s probably exactly who you think it is.” While that could mean Skull Face is the one, there’s every possibility that it’s Zero aka Cipher.

Kojima also stated that even if he ever stops working on Metal Gear Solid, Konami will make sure to continue the series.

Kiefer Sutherland, an actor in Hollywood films such as Melancholia, Phone Booth and Mirrors but most famous for TV roles such as Jack Bauer of 24 and The Touch, will be the new voice actor for Snake. Sutherland has experience voice acting for video games having voiced characters in Call of Duty: World at War, but this would obviously be a big step up for anyone.

Surprised? Former voice actor David Hayter seemed to anticipate a sort of backlash to the decision, and even posted on Twitter “Look, I tried to warn you..” and “Ah well, can’t fault @RealKiefer. Great actor, good man. The game will probably still be excellent. Like New Coke!”

Given the almost instantaneous nature of his reaction and the fact that it IS Kojima, we’re inclined to disbelieve just about anything right now. As for Metal Gear Solid V, no new gameplay trailer was showcased so we’ll need to wait till E3 itself for more details.

However, even if this is true, what are your thoughts on Sutherland as Snake?

David Hayter needs no introduction. The stylish voice actor for Solid Snake has been doing this job for decades now and Metal Gear Solid fans no doubt have a lot of respect for him.

He recently set up a poll on Twitter asking whether people will miss him if he isn’t the voice actor for Snake. The results of the poll weren’t surprising because it shows the fans still want him as the voice actor for Solid Snake.

Informal Poll:How would you react if I didn't play Snake in the next Metal Gear?@hideo_kojima_en@konami

— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) March 2, 2013

Poll Results:Sad/Angry: 64%No Big Deal: 12%(You're all dead to me, btw.)Would Not Buy: 24%303 ppl srveyd@hideo_kojima_en @konami

— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) March 3, 2013

He tweeted: “Informal Poll: How would you react if I didn’t play Snake in the next Metal Gear?”

“Poll Results: Sad/Angry: 64% No Big Deal: 12% (You’re all dead to me, btw.) Would Not Buy: 24% 303 ppl srveyd”

The sample was around 303 people which is decent considering it’s Twitter. As someone who is known more as the voice actor for Solid Snake than anything else, Konami won’t be thinking of replacing him.

Metal Gear fans are very smart and know a lot about the series so such a move wouldn’t go down well with them.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.