Kiefer Sutherland gets mo-capped for Metal Gear Solid

Actor is to play Snake in the next instalment of the video game series

Solid... Kiefer limbers up to play Snake in new Metal Gear Solid game (Copyright: YouTube)

Well, we'll never know who would win in a scrap between Jack Bauer and Snake from 'Metal Gear Solid', because now they are one and the same.

Games giant Konami has announced that Kiefer Sutherland has been brought on board to play the grizzled special ops type in the next instalment, 'Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'.

Sounds painful.

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Sutherland won't just be providing the voice for Snake, however, having been thoroughly motion-captured for the role as well.



Now Snake's features will also be bolstered by Sutherland's mannerisms.

“It’s an honor to be able to play this character,” Sutherland says in a video of the early making of the new game.

“This character has an unbelievable legacy, but there’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to.

“I’m not a gamer and even I knew about this game.”

Said game creator Hideo Kojima: “The game takes place in 1984, when 'Snake' is 49 years old. Therefore, we needed someone who could genuinely convey the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late 40s.”

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The character's voice has been provided by voice actor David Hayter since 1998.

Tweeting about his replacement, he said: “The game will probably still be excellent. Like New Coke!”

Ouch. For those not schooled on his barbed remark, New Coke was the marketing disaster of 1985, when Coca-Cola decided to bring out a new flavoured Coke to replace the original version, causing a huge backlash.