I believe there is some story that Cliffy B originally wanted to do a real survival horror game. But the project eventually went from what he originally intended and turned into an action shooter called Gears of War.
He's a fan of old-school survival horror. In an interview he points out that he hopes the digital marketplace will bring some of that back, because he feels the high dev costs of games today make it financially untenable, especially with people who trade in single-player-only games.
It may not look it at first, but there may be some good thinking behind Kojima wanting to bring Cliff on board.
http://bloody-disgusting.com/news/32186 ... o-digital/