As if hearing the collective cries of those tossing and turning in their beds, gripped by the nightmare of having the English Metal Gear Solid 4 cast be comprised of Pauly Shore, Gilbert Gottfried and Macy Gray, comes Konami and their announcement of the game's core voice cast. David Hayter, whose vocal chords can effortlessly grind cinder blocks to dust, unsurprisingly reprises his role of Solid Snake, lending some world weariness to the protagonist as he strangles inept soldiers, babbles into his codec and asks why nobody is telling him the damn truth. (You can sample the man's voice for yourself in the latest Kojima Productions Report podcast.)

Returning as Roy Campbell is Paul Eiding, who will once again regale you with tales of "the famous purple stuffed worm in flap-jaw space with the tuning fork," as well as mention his unusual and unexpected desire for scissors. Rounding out the core cast is Christopher Randalph playing Hal "Otacon" Emmerich and Quinton Flynn portraying the widely reviled, androgynous nudist-turned-ninja, Raiden.

With Metal Gear Solid 4's over-the-top plot still a closely guarded secret, no other English character voices have been announced. Cam Clarke ("Liquid?") seems a sure bet, as do most of the great actors from the previous games. After all, there's no indication that Hideo Kojima's PS3 game ("so far") will be anything less than an "expertly crafted and customized" experience.

(See? Our clever choice of video still leaves us in the clear in case it's a disappointment.)

[Via press release]