Metal Slug Anthology sells itself like an 80’s music compilation, so much so that I’m surprised there haven’t been late-night infomercials with washed up celebrities hawking the game to insomnia-inflicted gamers. I can hear the commercials now: "How much would you pay for this collection? You get not one, not two, not three, but seven! Count them: seven titles for one low price!" The difference, however, is that unlike many of the overproduced power ballads that came from the decade of decadence, Metal Slug has held up admirably.
Metal Slug Anthology isn’t a "best of" compilation though — it is Metal Slug. Every game in the series is included here save Metal Slug Advance. There is some new content in terms of games (Metal Slug 6 makes its stateside debut here) and in terms of optional (and mostly awful) control schemes, but what’s here is tried, true, and worth the dollar of any twitch-shooter fan.
Metal Slug isn’t a complicated series to learn or understand. The gameplay consists of shooting anything that moves and isn’t you until it dies or explodes, repeated until the credits roll. It’s fun in that Rambo one-man-against-an-army sort of way, unless you decide to partake in the series’ excellent co-op play. The mode allows a friend to mow down enemy forces along side you; butt-pats for completing levels are optional, champ. While you run headlong into danger with only a simple machine gun at first, different but limited types of ammunition are plentiful throughout the game. Among the varying artillery lies a heavier machine gun, which does more damage at a higher rate of fire, and a short-range yet wide-blasting shotgun to remove the opposition from your path. If any of these options won’t take down the gigantic plasma-beam firing tank in front of you, you could always chuck a few of the high-powered grenades you’ve been saving up at it.
"...worth the dollar of any twitch-shooter fan."
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Peppered through the stages are hostages captured by the enemy. Freeing these long-haired POW’s nets you bonus points and power-ups. The enemy had no qualms taking prisoners to any facility in their operation, so expect to see the same refugees you see in the jungles in the alien-tech army base six levels later. Also, expect to see seemingly invincible bosses at the end of every level. Metal Slug games were quarter-munchers (which should now be called credit-munchers I suppose), so expect your personal death total to mirror the enemies’ entire count by the end of the game. It’s not to say the game is made difficult because of this, because they offer infinite continues, so dying is a non-issue unless you set a personal limit.
Each game in the series plays practically identical to the one before it, save Metal Slug 6, which offers different attributes for the various characters who were only aesthetically distinct in the earlier games. The fact that the games still play consistently well over seven installments only works to their credit since the gameplay is so simple. The well-designed levels offer the variety that has become the lifeblood of the series. Racing up the side of a mountain to take out a laser-equipped jet can lead right to the streets of a war-torn metropolis. As the levels progress, so too do the types of enemies. You’ll start off fighting human forces, but soon you’ll be taking on tanks and later maybe even thwart an alien invasion or two, all the while questioning why whatever military you enrolled in fails to send you any sort of back-up.
"Metal Slug has held up admirably."
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The Wii-exclusive control schemes are largely wasted here, as the traditional way to play Metal Slug reigns supreme. Using either the Gamecube controller or the Wii remote like an NES pad are the only way to play these titles with any sort of success. No Classic Controller support is a bummer, but the Gamecube pad makes up for it just fine. That being said, there are other options. The best of the new options is the "Nunchuck Only" option, which controls just as the name says it does: you only use the nunchuck attachment. Movement is done by tilting the controller left or right. Jumping and shooting are performed with the two buttons on the controller. The direction you’re shooting is determined by which way you point the analog stick. It works surprisingly well. The other modes which require you to tilt the controller to move don’t work anywhere near as well, though the new control schemes are more of a silly bonus than a selling point here.
What could have been a selling point, however, is the extra content, though it is surprisingly botched. Beating the games will net tokens; said tokens can then be used to unlock bonuses like the obligatory art gallery, but the biggest crime here are the interviews. Some compilations include a video or two from the developers on how their game was developed, or what it means to them, but Metal Slug Anthology includes a text transcript of an interview with the series’ creators. Wii games are on DVD’s now guys — let’s ditch the Gamecube thinking when it comes to storage space!
"The Wii-exclusive control schemes are largely wasted here... "
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Given what’s offered here, there aren’t many reasons to pass this one up aside from a dislike of the genre. Even if the extras aren’t enough to sell this disc, the fact that you’re getting seven full games should be enough to keep you satisfied. Keep in mind Metal Slug 4 & 5 for the Xbox was $40, and it only included two games. For the same price you get this entire package, which is made up of the entire series, a deal any gamer would be crazy to pass up.
