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> Results: Metal Slug 4 and 5
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If you're familiar with old-school action-shooters like Konami's Contra series, SNK's Metal Slug is essentially side-scrolling Contra with a comedic twist. Nearly every level consists of the player charging the enemy with guns-a-blazing, obliterating everything and everyone in their path. Gameplay is simplistic and mindless, but fantastically entertaining. It mixes top notch, cartoon quality animation with the dark sense of humor the series is famous for. This allows the series, arguably sporting a long-outdated 2D style, to survive in this day and age of 3D graphics and gameplay.
This combo pack consists of two installmentsﾗMetal Slug 4 and Metal Slug 5. Both games are fine representations of the Slug mindset, filled to the brim with enemies galore, explosions aplenty, and the intense weaponry necessary for a one-man-vs-the-world mentality. Through the course of your mission, you equip your character with machine guns, lasers, shotguns, and other (sometimes odd) armaments. On more than one occasion you'll man a Metal Slug itself, which is essentially a cute, super deformed military vehicle. There are also the trademark player-character transformations, including monkeys, mummies and zombies. Vomit-blood spewing zombies, I might add, which just happen to provide one of the most impressive projectile weapons in the game.  Sadly, neither game attempts to stand out as the pinnacle of Slug-dom. There's no online play (though Xbox Live provides scoreboards), but offline two-player co-operative is well-implemented and great fun. Each game offers four player characters to choose from, but all feature the same abilities. They're offered only as a matter of cosmetic preference. Metal Slug 5 introduces a new slide move, but it doesn't prove revolutionary. The vast majority of the game can be traversed without ever utilizing it. Metal Slug 4 is a bit weak, with a greater degree of recycled graphics and less imaginative boss encounters, especially in regards to the finale. All of these issues contribute to a definite "been there, done that" vibe although both games carry on series traditions nicely. Both games are lacking in longevity. There are only eleven missions between both games, and equipped with unlimited continues, any player can finish both of them within a matter of hours. These games are essentially arcade based quarter munchers, and part of the fun in owning the console versions is not emptying your pockets to make progress. Some will love it, but I can't help but wish SNK had made the extra effort to extend the replayability of what are otherwise terrific action-shooters. Some unlockable features or online co-operative play modes would have better made Metal Slug 4 and 5 a purchase better deserving of the $40 asking price.  Nit-picking aside, it's the gameplay that makes the series great. Both games deliver it in spades. But there simply isn't enough here to justify this pack as a "must have", two games or no. It's pure Sluggin' fun, to be sure, but even longtime fans will be left wanting more. 
The Metal Slug series reminds me of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programmingﾗanimation which may appear kid friendly at first glance, but watch for a little while and you'll find the shows are clearly aimed at an older demographic. These two are the same. Everything here is presented in cartoony, animated fashion, but there's blood spurting carnage just about everywhere. Sure, the violence isn't realistic, but it's essentially non-stop and continuous. Some pre-teens may be ready for this one, depending on maturity level and supervision, but it's otherwise recommended for the 14+ crowd.
This review edited by Dave Long Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Metal Slug 4 and 5 |
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