David Hayter, the voice behind Solid Snake (and so much more besides), has just been confirmed as the voice of the lead antagonist in upcoming VR-exclusive Phantom: Covert Ops.
In the run-up to the announcement that Hayter will play maniacal military man General Zhurov, we had the opportunity to talk with the actor about his latest role, as well as some of the projects that he has worked on in the past. Starting out on that front, we quickly pinned him down when it comes to his favourite Metal Gear game.
"I often say that Snake Eater is my favourite, Metal Gear 3 - it's so uniquely amazing and perfect. But I also love the first one, Metal Gear Solid. I have great nostalgia and affection for that one as well."
But really, we were there to talk about Phantom: Covert Ops, a game that Hayter describes as "the next generation of stealth gaming," adding that the title "takes it to a different level."
You spend the entirety of this innovative adventure in your kayak as you infiltrate enemy bases and work to take down Hayter's character, a general with an axe to grind. It turns out that we don't get out of the kayak and all the action takes place from a seated position.
"You are gaming from your own chair," Hayter explained, "which is similar to most games except you feel as if you're moving across vast spaces and like I say, the mechanics of it are spectacular."
We asked the actor whether there was any mo-cap involved, but he confirmed that "it's just voice over. But it was pretty physical, the guy is fairly insane and so the performance itself is pretty big."
You'll be able to see just how big the performance is when Phantom: Covert Ops lands on Oculus PC on June 25, but the trailer below should give you some idea.