There has been a lot of talk about the new Metal game and what is now being called Metal Gear Online or MGO so I think it is time to shed some light on what exactly it is.

MGO is the multi-player portion of MGS4, which will feature original online maps and game modes and in the future even downloadable content. There will be a free beta scheduled for MGO after April to stress test the servers and see how the game works out over the PSN.

MGO is looking to push the envelope as far as it can with 16 player online action, deathmatch, team death match, capture missions and a new SOP system. SOP system is supposed to really bring the aspect of teamwork to a new plateau by allowing players to share visual info with their squad and allow for you to know where teammates are at all times in real time.

Needless to say MGO will support full text and voice chat support to add to the full experience and make hunting down enemies a full experience. You can also fully customize your MGO character and it is rumored that more skins will be released over time.

The Starter Pack will contain 5 maps and all the basics to get you started and playing MGO.

For all of the official info you can check it out at Konami.jp.