Another compilation that truly delivers the content of a classic arcade game!! NO JOKE!!
User Rating: 8.4 | Metal Slug Anthology PS2
I, like most gamers grew up in the early 90's with arcades and the NES. Well unfortunately, arcades died a long time ago in the States but that doesn't stop companies from bringing those gems to the home consoles in style. Now previous Metal Slug games for the Xbox and PS2 only came with one or two games. This compilation completely punches those games in the back of the head. This masterpiece has every single arcade game of Metal Slug. Even Metal Slug 6, which I believe never came to the states. Now, I never played in the arcade 2-6 so I can't vouch for those games but I did play the original a ton and I can safely say that this compilation brings a perfect port to the home consoles. All I need is some quarters, a sticky floor and some fat middle age guys walking around my house and I would have my very own arcade. Graphics~ This is a 2D side scrolling action game. Sprites were the name of the game back in the day and SNK could really produce some beautiful looking characters with unbelievable animations. This game oozes with quality everything is hand drawn and it really shows how SNK went that extra miles for hardcore fans. Everything from the main characters like: Marco, Tarma, Eri and Fio all look great. Personally, the most visually appealing aspect of Metal Slug was the enemies and bosses. Gameplay~ It's kind of funny when you play modern games and then go back to an arcade classic like Metal Slug. Three buttons: Jump, Shoot and throw grenades; thats it. Hell you don't even have to jump or use your grenades. Thats the greatest part of this game; simple yet addicting gameplay. Anybody can play this game; all thats needed is at least two fingers on each hand to play. Now I know what all you non-Metal Slug fans are thinking. I don't get it, if its so simple wont it get boring after a while. The answer is no; the reason why its so fun isn't just the awesomely simple mechanics it's the insane difficulty. I can guarantee that on your first run through this game you will die millions of times. It's the hectic natural of the game that keeps the blood pumping. Imagine, you have just picked up a rocket launch; you only have 20 shots and you want to take full advantage of this awesome opportunity but crap you just stepped on a mine.. DAMN IT!! Remember this game was original designed to suck as many quarters out of you as possible and the only way to accomplish this is by making super addicting gameplay. Presentation~ I'm not going to lie; as much as I love this game the interface is so crappy that it makes me want to vomit. Now I know, who cares; and in a sense yea, who cares but when the games interface looks like a donkey with down syndrome design it I have to say something. Other than that, the games presentation is pretty basic; it gives enough information to let you know whats going down but never to much to block anything important. Features~ Besides having every single Metal Slug game, you can customize your controller which may seem simple but go check how many modern games allow you to do that... Not many and its retarded. You can create a profile that has your difficulty and continue count. Except for 6 which has its own separate level of difficulty. The extras include a soundboard, art gallery which is cool and a WRITTEN interview; come on SNK, do you think that some tard from Alabama is going to read that, nice try but Americans don't read.
Sound~ The sound effects and music is classic Metal Slug and I wouldn't want it any differently.
Final Word~ This is the perfect compilation of a classic game. I think that all companies from this point forward should learn from SNK and make compilations right. Don't put a couple of games on one disc, put all of them. This is so awesome that it literally can appeal to anyone, causal gamers can lower the difficulty or use free play which allows for unlimited continues. Hardcore gamers looking for a challenging 2D action game look no further. This game on Hard with 5 continues is nearly impossible and would probably take you at least a full year of non-stop playing to master... no joke check the speed runs of different gamers and you'll see that most had to play a specific metal slug for months to truly master it. In the end, for a budget price this is a steal and every single action fan, old-school fan or Metal Slug fan should pick up this game.
