Blast from the past
User Rating: 9.5 | Metal Slug 3 XBOX
What a blast! This game hearkens back to the days of the original Duke Nukem, Contra, or any of the other great twitch-shooters of the past. It's essentially a mindless shooting game, done in retro side-scrolling style, but as that goes, it's a lot of fun. You basically travel through levels, killing anything and everything, grabbing powerups as you go and trying to survive the constant onslaught of enemies the game throws at you. For a retro-style shooter, it's a reasonable challenge, as enemies sometimes overwhelm you with their sheer numbers. The bosses are fairly tough, as well, and there's part of the problem with the game: You get between three and five men to start each level. Let's say that you lose your last man fighting a boss. You hit "continue," thinking that you'll get a fresh set of men to resume your fight with the boss. WRONG. You have to start back at the beginning of the level! That can be very, very frustrating, especially when some of the more challenging levels can take all but your last man...and then you have to face the boss with just one life to spare! (Ouch!) If you're careful, though, you can survive the worst areas intact, especially if you're patient enough to watch for powerups. Strongly recommended to fans of shooter games or for those who loved the old side-scrolling action games (like me).
