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> Results: Metal Slug Anthology
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Blood: GamerDad found small amounts of pixilated red blood when players kill enemy soldiers with hand to hand weapons. Violence: GamerDad found lots of mayhem and destruction of cartoon soldiers, vehicles, and other enemies using guns, knives, and grenades. Metal Slug Anthology is a compilation of seven Metal Slug video games that originally appeared as arcade games. All seven games share the same basic formula. One or two players take on the role of a Rambo-like army man (or woman) and journey across the screen while it scrolls from right to left. As they progress, players must avoid enemy fire and pretty much destroy anything that appears on the screen using an array of weaponry, including a knife if anyone happens to get too close. Along the way, there are captives who, if freed, will leave behind powerups for the players that award bigger guns, more ammo, or simply add to one's score. Frequent high points in the games are when vehicles are encountered that allow the player(s) to climb aboard for some added firepower. While hard to keep undamaged for long, vehicles come in extremely handy for the boss encounter at the end of each level. Multiple game control styles on the Wii version allow players the option to use whichever control style is most comfortable. One of the better schemes uses a Wiimote turned on its' side while another good one uses both the nunchuck and regular Wiimote. In both cases, players toss grenades by giving the controller a little "shake". The graphics are nothing special, as they are taken straight from a slightly older series of arcade games. However, the games have a distinct old fashioned video arcade game feel, and the somewhat pixilated 2-dimensional graphics don't detract from that feel. Fans of "old school" arcade games will find this an excellent title to scratch that nostalgic itch. Three difficulty modes give even experienced players a significant challenge. Even the easiest difficulty setting is difficult, but players can still make it through the entire game using the infinite continue feature. Metal Slug Anthology stands the test of time well, showing off much of what made video games so good at taking quarters away from eager teenagers.  Other Platforms The PS2 and PSP versions of the game are to be released in March 2007. As all three versions attempt to be perfect replicas of the original arcade games, the PS2 and PSP versions should be very similar to the reviewed version on the Wii. 
The basic premise of the game is violent. You play as a commando trying to rescue prisoners and defeat the wave up on wave of enemy soldiers that come at you onscreen. To add to the violence quotient, the game does display some blood when characters are killed. These two things combine to make a game that is only safe to recommend to the 14+ crowd. However, all the action and violence is very cartoonish, so some parents may still feel comfortable with a younger age bracket. Keep in mind the difficulty of the game partially due to its roots as an arcade game. Even on the easiest difficulty setting, average players will die frequently. However, there is a continue feature that can be used as often as necessary, so players will still be able to progress through the game.
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