Cool fact of the day: I was in the first group to get some time with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots this morning, the opening day of E for All. Even cooler fact: I am officially now the first person to ever play the English demo of the game in the world (well, besides the people that work for Konami, but ... whatever).

The Konami guy (not his real name) who was running the presentation before the demo told us that we were the first group in the world to get hands-on time with this build of the demo. Of course, after hearing this, I immediately ran to a PS3 controller so I (and, in turn, Destructoid) could be the first person in the world to play it. Did I have to push an old lady down to accomplish this goal? Maybe. But was it worth it? Oh hell yes.

Being a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid series (with Snake Eater being my surprise favorite) I was super excited to be able to try this demo out. True, it wasn’t a new demo (it was the same Middle Eastern level shown at TGS), but it was the first time I ever got to try it so … new to me!

But did it live up to all the hype and anticipation? Hit the jump for my hands-on impressions.

Once I hit the start button and heard the classic (extra loud) gun shot ring through the huge headphones over my ears I knew I was playing a Metal Gear Solid game. And I was very happy.

Going into the event, based on the screens and videos I had seen from this game, I was a little worried. Sure, Old Snake looked great (and, get this, it actually says “Old Snake” on the HUD above your energy), but something about the bland-looking environments and overwhelming new mechanics had me worried. Was the series changing too much and leaving its biggest fans behind?