There was a time when it looked like all we’d ever see of Metal Gear Solid 4 was the occasional trailer that may or may not have included actual gameplay footage. However, those days are gone, happily – MGS4 looks every bit as good as we’d hoped and the game’s preparing to land on UK shelves on June 12th. Better still Konami’s just announced a couple of cool retail-type initiatives.

First up, those who are not willing to risk the midnight queues or the possibility of launch day sell-outs are encouraged to look out for a cool pre-order scheme through Konami’s ‘key retail partners’. Doubtless it’ll be the usual high street suspects, and each will reward early bird puchasers with a pristine copy of the game and a nifty DVD entitled ‘Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2’, which documents the origins of the series and its iconic hero. Not bad!

Then we come to the inevitable (but still welcome) Limited Collector’s Edition. It’s fair to say that Konami has really pushed the boat out on this one too. The bundle includes a copy of the game, a soundtrack CD, a Blu-ray disc comprising two high-def making-of documentaries and interviews with Kojima-san and key development personnel and, best of all, a six inch action figure of Snake in his creaky old man guise.

So that’s the silver lining, now for the cloud – the Collector’s Ed will set you back an eye-watering £79.99. Oof! Quantities are strictly limited, though, and it’ll probably be worth a small fortune on Antiques Roadshow 2098. Needless to say we still want one too. Hello, Konami…?