The 2D, arcade, side-scrolling shooter that is Metal Slug has risen from the ashes of napalm abolition with an even bigger arsenal to once again slug it out against the evil General Morden on the Microsoft Xbox. Brought to the home console by its original creators---SNK---this retro title is jam-packed with all the rapid shooting, blasting explosions and immense machinery to take out a small country.
Re-styling the game with a touch up of the pixel brush and adding in extras that hardcore fans of the series have not yet been able to experience, this army themed classic is set to blast its way up to a top spot on anyone’s games list.
Though this is a port of the original Metal Slug 3 title, the story is still the same. General Morden, once again, has hatched together an evil plan for world domination. Banding together in an all out force, the much loved characters Marco, Tarma, Eri and Fio take up their pistols and army gear to stop the mad General before it is too late.
In the past the world has been torn with conflict of war between humans and alien races and this time the team will have the entire fate of all mankind upon their shoulders to stop crabs, soldiers, zombies and aliens.
When you begin the game, the only mode that will be available to you is arcade mode. This is made up of five stages; all based in a different area of the world from beaches to deserts, mountains to deep depths of the sea and even onboard an alien ship. Each of these levels are packed with enemies and obstacles to get through, filled with insanity and warfare.
The amount of enemies to pump full of bullets is relentless. In every single stage there is an enemy unique to it; in the first stage there are crabs, the second stage zombies attack, right to the final stage where aliens try to take you out with their hi-tech phasers. Yet as a constant cannon fodder, there are always groups of Morden’s troops bombarding you with an assault of bullets, bombs, missiles and all other firepower that they can get there hands on. At the end of each stage there is also a boss and the types that you come across seem to get weirder as you progress through the game. Even the first stage boss is a gigantic crab with a full artillery strapped onto its back and things pretty much continue on from there. However, this is everything that makes up the game, making it unique and apart from a commercialised and common genre.
Although all of the enemies are kitted out to stop you in all of your attempts, you have not been totally forgotten and there is a wide range of guns and machinery to send them all back to the hell hole from where they came. To start off, whichever character you choose, you have a pistol as you basic gun; it has infinite bullets and is powerful to kill the enemies if you can tap the fire button fast enough. Though as you progress through the stages of the game, you can pick up more powerful weapons that have a temporarily supply of ammunition such as a heavy machine gun, rocket launcher, seeking missiles, flame thrower, laser gun, etc. Now, if this is not enough, then fear not, because there are also around ten machines for you to fly, dive or run through the stages causing havoc with their lasers, bombs and missiles. Being able to control tanks, helicopters, jets, submarines, camels, mechs and others, battling it out against the enemy will be balanced.
Which is why the game is hinged upon the skill of the gamer to a great degree. It is not just a simple run and shoot title. Your characters are not invincible, even when they are using the machines their life still runs down after only a few hits and you will have to quickly jump out before it explodes with you in it. Dying by just one shot of a gun, one explosion of a bomb, one hit by a giant crab, it makes it much more than hard. Even when it is on easy, you will still find yourself being hit left right and centre and it is all in the skill of your game if you can jump, move, shoot and dodge at the same time. With a lot of games of late giving you more of a chance to take out the enemy because of their simple A.I. you can not beat the classic games that bred the true, hardcore games of our world and it looks as though SNK have developed the perfect title to run the newbies through their paces.
Even after you have managed to fight your way through the five stages in the arcade mode, there are then two extra modes for you to have a go at. The first is a storm on the alien mother ship but this time you do not have the choice of Marco, Tarma, Eri or Fio; in this stage you will be able to choose from three of Morden’s troops. One has the use of bombs, the other a rocket launcher and the last only has a shield and a slow shooting pistol. The stage is very hard and you do not get far into it until you get shot and then that is it. You only have one life to spare for the whole mission and you need to use the other troops around you as human shields (rest their poor souls) otherwise you will die quickly. The second extra stage is called ‘Fat Island’ and it makes your mind wander. Simply put, this stage will put you through a series of missions to kill enemies or even race against another character to eat all of the food in the stage and gain weight until you are the size of a fat hippo.
Although both of these are fun levels and a twist on the game, Metal Slug 3 is a very short game if you sit down and play it solidly within a day (as I did when it arrived in the mail).
As known, the Metal Slug franchise was 2D. It is rather odd that in this day and age, a company would even take the time to develop a title for a home console with such out of date graphics but games like this are like this because of this very fact. If it were in 3D then the gaming experience would not be half the same as it was on an arcade machine back in the nineties when it was created. Today, games in a 2D graphic style are so popular on handheld systems that the genre is booming with such titles.
Each of the playable characters and all of the enemies are drawn in excellent pixellated detail with outrageous expressions and movements such as gaping mouths of horror, fearful faces, eyes popping out of their heads in amazement and of course, blood spurting out at every opportune moment. Even such simple movements like the zombies’ walk or the writhing movement of aliens’ tentacles have all been paid attention to.
The stages are all full of colour and environments that are all still recognisable even though they are not in 3D. With splashing waves, sand dunes, smashing comets, you will realise that there is no need for better graphics as these are good graphics in fact these are perfect graphics. I do not think that the look of the game determines the game. Everything fits the style and soul of what Metal Slug is and that it what matters.
All of the sound in the game if full of the classic style too, with the American arcade sounding voice over for when you jump in a machine or pick up a weapon. As said, this game is full of a lot of fire power and all is presented well, bursting out of the speakers of your TV to make those explosions seem as powerful and real as they can possibly be.
Yet it is not only the sound effects of the game that are amazing. The tracks on the game itself are of course heavy metal and other such types of tunes that pump to the beat and fast action pace of the game, It is a vital part to the Metal Slug experience and it is all pulled off perfectly; every little detail fits together to make the whole, wondrous piece.
When I was about eight or so, I attempted to play this game on an arcade machine. However, when I had emptied out all of my change into the machine and got ready to play, I realised that the buttons were broken and I could not shoot or throw bombs at all. All I could do was run along and shout at the flipping thing in an attempt to make it work (hey, I was young, I did not know any better).
I have had a grudge against the franchise ever since, deeming it as a load of bollocks.
Now that I have actually been able to play it, I praise it with all of my gaming strength! It is a fantastic game and even that is not a good enough word to describe it. As I played it, I was hooked and even though I did not get to the end of arcade mode first time round, I started it straight away and did not stop playing until I had completed it. The full arcade experience was all there and it could not have been much better.
This is a game very much worth all the time you can spare for it. Not only will it remind classic gamers of the good old days that we remember and love but those new to it will be hooked and wish that they had been a part of the younger years of gaming. Titles like this defined the genres of gaming and SNK have full credit for reviving this great title. TR
