Metal Slug 4 & 5 shot toward PS2

Fans of old-school side-scrolling shooters have something to crow about: SNK Playmore announced today that it has shipped the Metal Slug 4 & 5 bundle pack for the PlayStation 2. The two games come on the same DVD, cost $39.99, and are both rated T for Teen. The same compilation will be available on the Xbox in August.

In these two newest chapters of the 2D shooter franchise, players must again blast their ways through wave after wave of gun-toting enemy soldiers and vehicles as they attempt to save the world from the evil General Morden and his armies of death. Metal Slug 4 features six levels and dozens of power-ups, while Metal Slug 5 features five levels and a new underwater assault on an enemy stronghold.

The game's protagonists, Marco and Fio, are joined in Metal Slug 4 by two new playable characters, Trevor and Nadia. Metal Slug 5, however, sees the return of the original gang of four seen in Metal Slug 3: Marco, Tarma, Eri, and Fio.

SNK Playmore is the Japanese publisher and developer of numerous classic series, as well as the creator of the NeoGeo home game console and arcade system. The company recently announced the latest game in another of its classic series, King of Fighters XI.