You might not have heard of Michael Gough, but you’ve definitely heard him.

Not to be confused with the English gentleman who played Alfred in the older “Batman” films, the veteran voice actor has been lending his vocals to cartoons and video games for over 20 years.

Though he doesn’t play video games, he’s done the voices for countless characters, including Osmund Saddler in “Resident Evil 4,” Deckard Cain in the “Diablo” series, Private Carmine in “Gears of War,” Johnny Sasaki in “Metal Gear Solid 3” and “MGS 4,” Heimdall in “Too Human,” Captain Price in “Call of Duty” and “CoD2″ as well as Shrek in the licensed movie games to name just a few.

I recently called up Mr. Gough (pronounced “goff”) to talk about his expansive voice-acting career, what he thought about how much Michael Hollick made for playing Niko Bellic in “Grand Theft Auto IV,” and what we can expect from the return of fan favorites Deckard Cain and Carmine… Read more…

When I was writing our round-up of weekly box art reviews yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice that the protagonist from stealth-horror hybrid “Vampire Rain: Altered Species” looks just like the lead character from a different PlayStation title. Could it be a mere coincidence? Or did the developers of “Vampire Rain” have “Metal Gear Solid” on the brain?

Need more evidence? Take a look at another set of screenshots: Read more…

Solid Snake’s last journey arrived two months ago, and besides concluding an epic storyline, there were promises of ambitious online multiplayer and downloadable content.

Has Kojima Productions delivered?

“Metal Gear Solid 4″ came loaded with hooks for additional music and “Integral” podcasts for Snake’s iPod, more camouflage options and the inevitable upgrades and purchasable expansions for “Metal Gear Online.”

Kojima Productions appears to have delivered on nearly all fronts — five pieces of music, seven camouflage picks (both free) and an $11.99 “Gene Expansion” for “MGO” — but something’s still missing… where are the new podcasts?!

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At a briefing ostensibly about Microsoft’s new dashboard and community gaming initiatives, the company’s director of Xbox 360 product management boasted that fewer and fewer former PlayStation exclusives are remaining PlayStation exclusives.

“We have a white board that lists all of the games people said we’d never get,” he told a roomful of reporters. “That list is getting smaller.”

His pride was well-placed, given that Square-Enix announced today that “Final Fantasy XIII” will be coming to the Xbox 360 when the game launches… whenever it’s coming out.

So I asked Greenberg when Microsoft would be announcing that “Metal Gear Solid 4” would be coming to the Xbox 360. It is the only major PS3 third-party game still exclusive to Sony’s system.

Greenberg laughed and said: “That’s a question for Konami.”

*I finished “Metal Gear Solid 4,” last night, as the game screeched just behind “Snake Eater” as my favorite in the series. Maybe if they shaved the game’s final hour instead of going out Peter-Jackson-”Return of the King” style it would have pulled ahead. Still, the game looked and played really well, and I’m happy to have seen the apparent conclusion to the legend of Solid Snake.

Ranking the acts from favorite to least favorite: Act I, Act 4, Act 2, Act 5, Act 3.

Animals rewards I obtained:

Hyena - Title awarded to soldiers who worked diligently to procure items on the battlefield
Pig - Title awarded to ravenous soldiers with a hunger for health items
Cow - Title awarded to soldiers spotted by the enemy an exceedingly high number of times
Leopard - Title awarded to dedicated soldiers who rarely took lethal action, but were frequently spotted and killed.

Brainstorm: would anyone agree that Kojima Productions could do an amazing job making episodic games? Each act of “MGS4″ stands on its own. Each has a distinct setting, tells a satisfyingly complete chapter and introduces new gameplay elements and styles. I’d buy “MGS” episodes of these sizes. Anyone else?

*I also played a little bit of “Super Stardust HD” yesterday, earning my first PS3 Trophy, a bronze (ding!). I got that 2.40 firmware before Sony yanked it.

*I did miss writing my diary yesterday. For shame!

Next: “Battlefield: Bad Company” gets a test run this weekend. And a preview build of “Pixel Junk Eden” pulls me back to my PS3 debug, guaranteed.

*I spent the past weekend playing several hours of “Too Human,” but that’s public knowledge already.

*I spent about 10 hours playing lots of “Metal Gear Solid 4,” a game of startlingly distinct chapters. Could the people who made Act 3 really be the same people who made Act 4 (which I now think of as the fan-service act)? I just fought a major battle in Act 5 and assume I’m near the end. Looking forward to seeing how this wraps up.

*I spent some time trying “Guitar Hero: On Tour” while doing laundry on Sunday. I appreciate what the developers have accomplished, but I just don’t feel like the kind of physicality required to strum the DS and feel in rhythm with the music is what I want out of a handheld game. Maybe it’ll grow on me?

*I tried a little bit of “Soul Bubbles,” a mellow DS game that reminded me of the never-released-in-the-U.S. “Kururin” games. Instead of guiding an electrified stick through a maze, “Soul Bubbles” asks the player to use the stylus to “blow” a bubble through a maze, breaking the bubble and mending it to fit through narrow passages and past enemies. (Thank goodness there haven’t been a lot of Huff n Puff controls so far). So far, so good with that one. Though the fourth “Harry Potter” is going to be taking over my subway rides I think. Time to read!

Next: If I’m lucky, Snake’s mission ends tonight. But first I need to go for a run.

Tracey John snapped a bunch of photos at the New York City signing for “Metal Gear Solid 4,” and I did the same for the San Francisco event this weekend.

While she spent her time outside, I was on the inside, watching fans have their gear signed by series creator Hideo Kojima. One of them made Kojima laugh for a solid minute — but he wasn’t laughing at him. The guy was genuinely funny.

Dressed up as Old Snake, the fan timed his moment in front of Kojima with a synchronized phone call from a friend. His ring tone? The codec sound effect. The fan moved to the floor and prepared to take the call. Kojima really enjoyed it.

For a few more pictures of his group’s impressive costuming skills, read on.
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Since the last entry..

*I reached the final boss of “P.N. 03.” I’m playing on normal. It’s hard. I’m thinking about giving up.

*I tried “Kung Fu Panda” on the DS and was reminded yet again that development studio Vicarious Visions can harness the DS more impressively than even some of Nintendo’s teams. It’s a side-scroller geared to kids, for better or worse. (Meaning it’s so easy that I don’t feel compelled to play past level two.) The game is presented in graphically sharp 3D across 2D environments. It’s full of accurate mindless touch-screen kung fu and loaded with audio. VV sets the tech standard on the DS yet again.

*I also got near the end of Act 2 in “Metal Gear Solid 4.” But I missed the dolls. Only read about them after the fact online. Should I go back? Can I go back? Onward, Snake. Onward.

Next: I’m off to L.A. for the rest of the week with nary a portable game that I’m dying to play. That could mean a significant gaming drought.

Given how excited gamers have been about Kojima this week, I thought you’d all like to see what his mind looks like.

I took this photo two years ago, when I interviewed “Metal Gear Solid” mastermind Hideo Kojima in 2006 in his Toyko work apartment. He had a lot of interesting stuff in there, including “Metal Gear” sculptures, a little “Boktai” display, and a collection of MRI scans of his brain. (See the full series of pictures here)

Can anyone spot the lobe where La Li Lu Le Lo came from?

Remember that review restriction flap about “Metal Gear Solid 4“?

Well, some “Metal Gear” superfans told me they want more limits on reviews.

Yesterday, when I went to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square to take photos of all the people waiting in line to meet creator Hideo Kojima, some fans told me they avoided reading most coverage of the game because they didn’t want any parts spoiled for them. “I wish there were more restrictions!” said Yascear, the very first person in line to get Kojima’s autograph. “Sometimes reviews tell you too much, and I just want to play it on my own,” he said. The others completely agreed.

Readers, what do you think? Should reviewers have more restrictions to save gamers from spoilers? Or should gamers stop themselves from reading reviews beforehand? Do review restrictions matter in the case of “Metal Gear Solid 4,” where gamers know they want to buy it regardless of what reviewers might say?

If you’re playing “Metal Gear Solid 4,” right now: STOP.

You need to read the instruction manual.

I’ve played for four hours and had no idea that:

• You can give items to other soldiers in the battlefield by holding down L2 to select an item and then pressing circle next to a militia man to hand it over. Apparently they will sometimes give you stuff back. Page 37 told me so.
• Snake can experience a “combat high” if he fires a “certain number of shots in Alert Phase.” This keeps his psych gauge from depleting and diminishes the damage he takes. Page 28 told me so.
• The Kanji characters that appear near soldiers viewed through Snake’s Solid Eye indicate the emotional state of those soldiers. These guys can show fear, sorrow, joy or fury. Page 37 told me so.
• “The best way to hold the controller is to place your left thumb on the left stick and your right thumb on your right stick. Page 14 told me so. WAIT! I knew this one already.

Never underestimate the value of an instruction manual.

With “Metal Gear Solid 4” in stores today ‘120 Seconds’ takes a look back at the other 3D games in the series, to see how they stack up against Kojima’s latest project. With five videos in this post you can really see the evolution of Snake from the PS1 “Metal Gear Solid” to where he is today on the PS3 in “MGS4.” Watch and compare, and remember this is a sneaking mission.

(Videos not viewable by users logging in from Canada or the U.K.)

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