Bungie may not consider Halo: Reach the "real" fourth entry in the Halo series, but Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima does think of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker as essentially Metal Gear Solid 5 -- almost.

"Since it is on PSP, I did not officially number it," Kojima said in the latest issue of Official U.K. PlayStation Magazine (via The Gaming Liberty). "But the game design, story, number of staff and budget -- you can say that this is a big project. It would've been number 5. It's not a side story or a spin-off. It's not like Portable Ops or Acid. I am deeply involved and this is the next Metal Gear."

So deeply involved, evidently, that he's even coming up with nearly every idea in the game. "Well it's strange, but not so many ideas come from the other staff. Co-op Ring, Love Box -- the names and the ideas come from myself," he said (this via CVG). "I am taking charge of the overall game design."

This, despite his promise again and again over the years to take a less direct role in the Metal Gear series. The lesson: Hideo Kojima does not keep his promises.