Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-199.255.1.20-20130207142822/@comment-1672596-20130223130757

I'm pretty sure Raiden mentioned that he had a full-body conversion due to the Patriots "not leaving him with much of a body," and in some Codec conversations, he also reacts as if he wasn't too familiar with the process, meaning it had to have had it after the Africa mission.

And have you seen his MGS4 armor's hands? Gloves can't really cover that up (in case you've forgotten, they have claws that look like female nails).

Iron Man did have the electromagnetic generator near his heart, though, so it still technically counts. And in case you've forgotten, Raiden does have a more human-looking body in MGS4.

Either way, a Konami rep did mention he wore it as a suit. I think he also said the scene in the trailer when asked about it took place at the beginning of the game.