Reviewed: Dedcember 2, 2008
Reviewed by: Chris Wong

Publisher
Ignition Entertainment

Developer
SNK Playmore

Released: November 18, 2008
Genre: Action
Players: 1

9
8
8
7
8.8

Supported Features:

The game plays exactly like the arcade version of the series. You have an array of weapons from machine guns to lasers to shotguns. After you obtain a new weapon, you can switch between them with the L and R buttons, which is a nice feature in case you don’t want to waste all your good ammo on little measly soldiers.

There are old and new slugs alike, all of which have their own set of weapons. You’ll have too much fun shooting down everything in sight with these slugs, then enraged when they somehow take out your slug, sending you on a killing spree.

Dying is a part of life; in this case, it’s part of your frustration. This game is much more difficult than the original Metal Slug games and you’ll find yourself lying on the ground more than walking it. That might have to be due to the fact that there are bullets and bombs flying everywhere in such a small screen that you can’t always tell what’s going on. With limited continues; you’d be tempted to replay the mission on easy just to get through it before playing them on a harder difficulty. After all, once you complete a mission, each new mission is playable from the main menu.

That is about all the easy mode is for, getting through the game without trouble. Your default weapon is a machine gun making it easier to destroy your machine enemies and soldiers alike. You’ll still find yourself lying on the ground a lot, but you’ve got plenty more continues than on normal or hard.

One unfortunate thing though is that rescuing prisoners is a main task for each mission and you gain points for each prisoner rescued; however, if you die in a mission, any prisoner you rescued before dying will not count toward your points at the end of the mission, prompting you to play the mission all over again!

For a DS game, there isn’t much for the touchscreen feature besides sliding the map to see where you have been already. But there are too many bullets flying around for you to be doing that. You’ll just be using the control pad, X, and A button respectively.

This is a pretty solid side scroller shooter without many flaws to complain about. It’s hard to put down and there are plenty of training missions to keep you busy from a relatively short mission mode. But, of course, you’d play through the mission mode more than once anyway.

It’s a 2D side-scroller that is only updated by better shading of the colors. You’ll get the feel of an arcade game ported to the DS. If the original Metal Slug graphics didn’t bother you, then you’d have no problem with this one at all. From flaming people, to exploding bombs and machines, this contains all the fun colorful pictures you’d need to play without feeling guilty of killing poor sprite soldiers.

Much like the graphics, the sound isn’t updated much. People scream when they die, bombs explode, and an alert beeps when you have to escape your exploding slug. You won’t be inclined to turn down the sound though; it’s all great to listen to as you go through each mission. You won’t be able to hear the music much because there will be too many bullets flying around at you and too much screaming from killing too many soldiers.

The only thing missing in this game is a co-op mode through wireless or even Wi-Fi. With relatively short missions and altogether, a relatively short mission mode, you can probably finish in an hour or less. However, you’ll be dying a lot on the harder difficulties, which would add to a longer game. There are also plenty of training missions, or rather, minigames, to keep you occupied for a bit of variance to the main game. You have plenty to do in this game to play over and over again. Priced at 29.99 it is well worth your money if you are a fan.

Metal Slug games tend to disappear fast and never return, so snag this one fast and don’t be sluggish. If you see a sale, bite and don’t hesitate. Any Metal Slug fan needs to have this game, assuming you have a DS or at least plan to get one. It is hard to get tired of this game and keeping to the arcade 2D style is the best part. Even though the DS is made for the touch screen, Metal Slug doesn’t need it. You’ll feel like you’re playing an arcade game without forking over the dollars in quarters; and that is the intent.