Oh, you Metal Gear fanatics. You can’t be deterred by anything, can you? Sure, the first Metal Gear Solid was amazing, a new type of gameplay (fuck Tenchu!) mixed with an incredible, cinematic feel… but the sequels? The second one was an obtuse mess, fun to play in spurts but not a fraction of the game the original was, and the third, well, the less said about that the better. The PSP games were damn fun, at least… but it’s been 10 years since a console got a good Metal Gear. But that doesn’t deter you, does it?

Can Metal Gear 4: Guns of the Patriots really change things around? You’ve all seen the tons of trailers and screenshots that have appeared for the game over the last few years (Konami sure hasn’t skimped on making new ones for every single event) but I’ll still be damned if I can figure out what new feature the game has that’s got everyone excited. Except for the graphics it looks like more of the same…

Anyway, some details have been confirmed for the launch. The official release date is indeed Thursday, June 12th, 2008. “Blockbuster events and premieres are a tradition of the summer,” said Kazumi Kitaue, Konami Chairman and CEO in a press release. “We anticipate that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots fits that bill perfectly, and consumers will be waiting in line to get their copy of the game just like it’s a hit Hollywood movie.”

That’s most definitely true, especially when you take into account the pre-order program they’ve got running. Starting in April, people who get pressured into preordering it at a game store will get a Metal Gear Saga 2.0 DVD, containing a Prologue that recaps the franchise (cause everyone just loves that story!), a 20th Anniversary retrospective, character bios for Big Boss, Liquid Snake, Solidus Snake, and Solid Snake, plus a collection of international trailers (all 2,000 of them!) of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

The biggest bonus, though, will be a special insert that contains a download code for the Metal Gear Online beta test, which will go live in late April.

Oh, did I forget to mention that online’s been confirmed? The final game will launch with the Metal Gear Online “Starter Pack”. What’s that mean? Well it’ll be barebones, of course, and force you to download new content to get the most out of it. The game will support 16 player online games where you’ll “battle it out using the latest weapons and stealth techniques.”

Those of you without a PS3 to play this apparent system-seller? You’ve got an option to buy this sexy bundle-

It will come with the 80 gig PS3, the brand-new Dualshock 3 controller (bout time, Sony), and the game. All that for $500 bucks, which even I have to admit is tempting.

So there you have it, Metal Gear otakus… your plans for the next few months.