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By Andrew T. Finger on September 20th, 2005
There are so many games that are released on a weekly basis that it’s no wonder that I have never heard of some of them. This is probably why I have never heard of Metal Slug 4&5, and I then found myself asking "What happened to Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, and Metal Slug 3?" Well of course I was curious- was there a good reason why I never heard of it, or was I about to blow a metallic, sluggish load after playing? Well let me tell you; anyone interested in old school 2D shoot ’em up action that has an attention span which boarders on ADHD this is the package for you!
After a short walk to my computer, I navigated past the porn and trash-talking forums that pass for the internet now-a-days to do some research. Apparently arcades in my area suck or else I would have heard of the Metal Slug series. The popular old-school arcade games have enjoyed much love over the years with all episodes of the series making appearances on different consoles. Metal Slug 3 then made its debut on this generation May 25th, and a few months later we have the package I am reviewing today.
For those of you who are like me and have never heard of Metal Slug, let me bring you up to speed on a storyline that is tried, tested, and true in the video gaming world. In the not so distant future a cyber-terrorist group has struck out at the world by unleashing a computer virus through the internet with a sole purpose of hijacking the militaries of the world’s nations.
Of course it falls upon the Metal Slug team to save the world because everyone else is on holiday. My question is this: if an elite team of crime fighters is formed, is it a regulation that all team members must have all the same abilities and no noticeable differences whatsoever, save for appearance? Nobody gets different guns or has different abilities? Nobody can jump a little higher or fire a little faster? Are we saving the world with a team of communists? Maybe I am investing too much into storyline.
If you get past that, the game is a blast! I really enjoyed gunning through the countless enemies in all of the games’ old-school glory. Most of the time you are thrown a myriad of different weapons like submachine guns, homing rocket launchers, laser guns, and so forth to take enemies out with. Occasionally you can hop in one of the game’s many vehicles and attack your enemies. You can even go so far as to bring the pain to enemies sitting on toilets, I kid you not.
That reminds me, I have another question. How does the Ptolemaic Army (the sworn enemy of truth, justice, and other people who don’t want to take over the world) do their recruiting? How do they get Nazis, Robots, Pirates, and Zombies to work together? Beats me, but they found a way. Of course the Metal Slug team isn’t without allies. You will be assisted by all the refugees (read: hippies) that were captured by the evil army. They will be so grateful that you are setting them free that they will drop assorted power-ups for your weaponry, and assorted herbs for ::ahem:: medicinal uses. I have to admit I made that last part up, although if Capcom can do it, anybody can, right? This game has the most diverse group of characters I have ever seen work together.
Graphically the choice of the developers is obvious here. This isn’t your usual game and it shows it’s age noticeably. As it stands, the 2D graphics are bold, crisp, and clear, just as they were when the games hit arcades. You won’t find any "jaggy’s" here. The gun fire, explosion, and enemy death animations are everything you would expect from MEGA Enterprise and SNK. They are eccentric and over the top; what more would you want from a game then watching the look on your enemy’s face as you pelt him with submachine gun fire while he is on the toilet? For what this game wanted to deliver, they have done a great job, but graphically this game is not one of the Halo or Splinter Cell series, nor is it Viewtiful Joe, or Paper Mario.
As for sound, this time my speakers were not needed. I think there is a reason why we don’t discuss the sound in older video games; it’s just not that much more than a midi and a few effects. The generic rock soundtrack was bearable for the time it takes to beat the game and the sound effects were pleasant. There is no danger here of driving forward the boundaries of the listening experience here.
The gameplay in Metal Slug 4&5 is something so simple that you’d use it to teach a child to play their first videogame. You jump, you shoot, you duck, you move. In extreme circumstances you can do a special move that sends any vehicle you may be piloting on a kamikaze mission by using your Metal Slug special move button.
How do I feel about this game though? I’m honestly torn. I love that arcade classics tend to get new life on the consoles; you feel like you’re getting something that gamers in the 80’s could only dream of: free play on arcade machines while not even leaving the comfort of your gaming seat. However just like the port of the Ninja Turtle classic arcade game hidden inside the travesty that was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus, you are offered infinite continues. By offered I mean, literally shoved down your throat and then your mouth gets covered with tape. Since you cannot refuse the infinite continues I recommend imagining you’ve shoved over 50 dollars in quarters into your console memory card slot which earns you all these credits.
As such each game lasts less than an hour, on the hardest difficulty, despite any death you are inconvenienced by. You can also choose to play this game over and over again and then post your scores on Xbox Live (on the Xbox port obviously) to see who is going to get carpel tunnel first. This is just intolerable for the cost of $40. For this price, I expect every Metal Slug game on one disc, or split up over two since it comes with two discs anyway. There aren’t even any special features aside from the Xbox Live score posting.
My recommendation is to march on down to your local Blockbuster Video store; they need the business right now anyway. If you want something that’s a little bit retro, pick this game up as a rental. Eight or nine dollars for a couple hours of gameplay is a little better than 40 dollars. This game will fill an evening, if you frequently pause the game so you can: go to the bathroom, get something to eat/drink, go for a hike, write a best selling novel, go see a movie, play a different game, and then come back to it. Take note future developers, we need a little more for such a vast sum of money. |
