Japanese game developer Hideo Kojima unveiled a new feature that will be available in "Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain," although not without putting the game's ardent followers through a solid three hours of master-trolling as he made them watch him open Christmas presents.
On Dec. 25, loyal fans of Kojima's action adventure stealth video game series "Metal Gear Solid" watched Kojima Station, hoping Kojima would give them a sneak peek at behind-the-scenes footage into the making of the upcoming title. However, fans spent nearly three hours watching the developer unwrap gifts and talk about movies.
With only 15 minutes left in the broadcast, Kojima introduced a new feature that gamers will only get in "The Phantom Pain," a chicken hat mode. Chicken hat mode is essentially easy mode, with the game's protagonist Solid Snake wearing a chicken hat as he progresses through the different levels of "The Phantom Pain." It is very similar to the golden tanooki suit that the Mario brothers use in "Super Mario 3D Land" to get through the levels more easily.
When a player experiences too much difficulty in the game, such as when he dies too many times or if enemies take him captive too often, the game asks: "Would you like to use a chicken hat? Yes or no?"
If the player says yes, Snake will have to use a silly-looking chicken hat as he progresses through the game. He'll be called a chicken, yes, but enemies will start noticing him more slowly than they would if he didn't wear the chicken hat. They will also react slower, which means chicken hat mode helps players go through the tougher sections of "The Phantom Pain."
The chicken hat also glows in the dark, so users can make their way through the darker portions more easily but without quickly eliciting the notice of enemies. But there's a catch, though. If a player chooses chicken hat mode, he will have to wear the chicken hat all the time, even in cutscenes where there's no place to be silly.
Chicken hat mode will also be available in multiplayer mode and Kojima is reportedly mulling over whether to sell the chicken hat as merchandise.
Gauging on the reaction of gamers who faithfully tuned in to the broadcast, players looking forward to "The Phantom Pain" love chicken hat mode, and they are more than happy to forgive the lovable Kojima's trolling.
"This is almost better than the release date reveal we were all expecting," says one Reddit user named Zabotnic.
"This is the best thing I've heard all morning," chimes Bopsybops.
"This game is just overflowing with things that I never knew I wanted. I'm hoping so badly that it'll show up in cutscenes too" says a third user named Valenza. When another user tells him it will, Valenza exclaims: "Oh man! That's exactly what I wanted, right down to other characters not reacting at all. I want the darkest, most somber Big Boss moment to be undermined by chicken hat."
