Just Another Shoot-’em-up
SNK Playmore’s Metal Slug franchise has been blowing up arcades and sticking it to consoles for years now. The frenetic, run-and-gun, side-scrolling gameplay along with the tongue-in-cheek humor and brilliant 2-D graphics have made this series a fan favorite. While this makes for a great Quarter-eater, it’s not a formula that appeals to everyone on consoles (portable or otherwise); these titles sport little depth, feature grueling difficulty, and can be played through in about an hour. Such is the case with Metal Slug XX (pronounced: Metal Slug Double X). The game has all of the conventions and trademarks fans of the series crave, but it isn’t a memorable game anyone outside of the core will have more than a passing interest in.
For starters, the game is simply a PSP remake of Metal Slug 7, which released on the Nintendo DS back in November of 2008. After the defeat of General Morden, which occurs after the very first level, a futuristic army comes through a Stargate-like portal and saves their leader-to-be. In order to help Morden realize his “rightful” place as head of the Rebel Army, the Mars People provide the evildoer with advanced weaponry to fight his way clear to another day.
Rather than recounting a new story, Metal Slug XX recycles the narrative told in Metal Slug 7. Of course, if you’ve ever played a Metal Slug game, that’s not really an issue, because you don’t play Metal Slug for its plot; you play Metal Slug to rip into enemies with a machine gun and stick ’em with a bowie knife if they get too close. Thankfully, the excellent twitch reflex gameplay is fully intact. Tons of on-screen action in the form of bullets, grenades, helicopters, axes, dynamite sticks, robots, bomb carts, tanks, and a lot more will constantly harry your hero. Jumping to avoid the barrage while unleashing hot death of your own, all while saving POWs, is a satisfying experience for gamers looking for an old-school 2-D challenge.
In terms of challenge, Metal Slug, as always, offers a steep one. To Double X’s credit, three difficulty levels are available, along with unlimited continues, so anyone can finish the title (or be brutalized by the CPU; whatever floats your boat). There’s a lot of fun to be had in each level of difficulty, but there’s no question that Normal is the most balanced. Even still, be prepared to use continues in each and every stage until you improve significantly.
Regardless of the challenge you choose, the Metal Slug XX campaign experience is short-lived. There are only seven levels in all, so you’ll play through the story in less than an hour. This is Metal Slug’s greatest fault and best feature at the same time. For the vast majority of folks that pick up the title, the game will be too challenging and too shallow to ever get into. For the hardcore set, the short, sweet levels and brutal difficulty make for near endless replayability; trying to get all the POWs on hard is, for all intents and purposes, an impossible feat.
Six classic Metal Slug characters are included out of the box: Marco, Tarma, Fio, Eri, Ralf, and Clark. Each of these characters has special abilities, such as increased pistol firepower, larger grenade capacity, first-shot invulnerability, or even a special melee move. After character death, during the continue screen, you’ll be able to switch between any of the available heroes to adjust your strategy according to their unique skills. A seventh character, Leona from The King of Fighters, can be downloaded via the PSN for an extra dollar. She brings the best hand-to-hand skills to the game, but, even at just a buck, picking up the blue-haired beauty feels unnecessary, perhaps a bit like a rip-off. In fact, it seems like making her downloadable was less about making money and more about adding “PSN Support” to the feature set.
Speaking of features, what Metal Slug XX for PSP really brings to the table is co-op ad hoc multiplayer. The DS version of the game inexplicably shipped without local co-op play. For anyone that grew up with Metal Slug at the arcade, playing this title alone is like kissing your sister. Fortunately, Metal Slug XX does let you join up with a buddy. However, due to the ad hoc-only support, your friend will have to pick up a copy of Metal Slug XX too. This definitely hampers the co-op side of things. While I know companies are in the business to sell games, and this title retails for just $19.99, a little Game Sharing love would have been nice, even if it was only for a set of Combat School challenges.
Combat School is SNK Playmore’s way of increasing the amount of gameplay in Metal Slug XX. As mentioned previously, the campaign is only seven levels long, so the additional 70+ challenges presented by the Combat School are welcome. However, only a handful of them are particularly clever and unique, most are essentially rehashed, mini-gameplay elements found in the campaign. Still, passing the challenges should keep some players busy for several more hours.
Graphically, the game is awesome. That’s assuming you enjoy 2-D pixel art. I happen to think the quirky levels, bodacious weaponry, hilarious death animations, wacky Slugs (unique tank-like vehicles for which the series is known), and larger-than-life bosses are a real pleasure to behold. Classic sounds such as “Thank you” when POWs are saved and the rumbling rapport of bombs and firearms are bested only by the quintessential arcade background themes. Controls are where the game falters in terms of production. Disappointingly, neither the D-pad or analog nub are particularly well tuned, making it tricky to overcome stages efficiently on higher difficulties.
In the end, Metal Slug XX is a gaming experience I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I grew up blowing through my allowance at Aladdin’s Castle. The fact is, the Metal Slug experience simply isn’t particularly well replicated on handhelds, and the PSP version isn’t an exception; the co-op multiplayer offered on the system is only playable if you have two copies lying around, and the control scheme on Sony’s portable is decidedly less acceptable than what was found on DS back in ’08. I expect only hardcores and nostalgic gamers to truly enjoy the game. Everyone else will probably play it a handful of times and set it aside.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
The quirky action, 2-D pixel art, and funny death animations are great. Being able to select varying screen outputs was a good idea. 2.5 Control
This is a franchise that is meant to be played in a cabinet. 4.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The sound effects are satisfying and the BGM is classically appealing. 3.0 Play Value
Depends on the type of gamer you are. Some people will get about an hour worth of fun, others will slave away for weeks on end. 3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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