The iconic "!" of the Metal Gear Solid series was almost dropped from the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5, series creator Hideo Kojima revealed in an interview with Weekly Famitsu, Joystiq.com reports.

Staff working on the game warned Kojima that removing the "!" would cause an "uproar," and Kojima opted to keep it- in the same interview, Kojima also expressed a desire to embrace another series staple: "I want to include the cardboard box," Joystiq.com also reports.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain director Hideo Kojima revealed some new details which could add to the replayability of the experience as it relates to  he forma of post-mission analysis and "No Kill, No Alert" challenges, GamingBolt.com reports.

"In some missions there are 'No Kill, No Alert' challenges, and all those challenges are connected by social [rankings] and can be played any number of times. In addition to that, even in the same mission there will be different situations, like different ways to attack and different weather conditions," Kojima informed the website.

"Everything you do will eventually be evaluated at the base. For example, if you bring back the wrong target in a hostage rescue and you should do it again to improve your result. That's the (non-linear) replay value due to the freedom enhanced by an open world."

Komami announced that Metal Gear Solid 5's The Phantom Pain will be 300 times larger than its predecessor Ground Zeroes, opening the prospect of boosts in sales.

Konami, the Metal Gear Solid 5's developer, released a nine-minute trailer headlining the game, revealing the opening to Ground Zeroes, the still unexplained 'prologue' to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Metro.com reports.

The developer has not announced the exact storyline of Ground Zeroes and has not given much information about it, but implies that it will be available before The Phantom Pain.