Metal Slug is one of the most renowned arcade war series to ever hit. The game has its legions of fans and for good reason. Metal Slug combines fun and addictive gameplay with the classic difficulty of older games. Metal Slug first hit arcades in 1996 and became an arcade legend soon after. With the unique hand drawn animations, gameplay, and two player co-op play, this series was destined for greatness. Well it’s been 10 years since the game's release and SNK decided to celebrate it with an Anthology. SNK packed in seven of these classics game and let fans take them on the road with this great collection. Do the games stand the test of time though?

Features :

• PSP version features Wi-Fi (ad hoc) support for intense two player action.
  
  
• Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Metal Slug by joining the Metal Slug team on seven separate adventures that span across the life of the franchise in this definitive collection.
  
  
• Arcade perfect port of each title.
  
  
• Pick-up-and-play nonstop action.

Gameplay

Metal Slug is a classic side-scrolling shooting title. You simply run to the right side of the screen while you blast away enemy soldiers, boss fights, and a whole lot of other type of enemies. Of course in order to progress you must shoot down the enemies, dodge bullets and grenades, rescue POWs, and upgrade your weapons. Now it may not sound exciting but any fan of the series will tell you that this game is everything but dull. This series has classic gameplay, classic 2D look, and a unique sense of humor. The game also has a very high level of difficulty and yet very addictive at the same time. At times the gameplay will seem very punishing and hectic. But luckily players will have a variety of weapons and vehicles at their disposal.

The games in this collection are all ports of the arcade titles and they are ported nearly perfectly even with load times. The game does have a load time problem during levels that last a little longer than the arcade version did but it's a small complaint that only Metal Slug die-hards will have a problem with. The game still features co-op play using the PSP's wireless Ad/Hoc mode. This runs very smoothly and almost feels like playing the arcade. However, there is one thing missing from the overall arcade feeling of the game, and that is the lack of coins. Of course, you don't have to insert quarters to play the title but it's actually a disadvantage for this game. Unlike the arcade versions, players can't insert quarters to continue to play. The game does offer the option of having continues or having unlimited continues. The problem with these two options is that once you run out of continues it's Game Over Man. But if you have unlimited continues then the game's difficulty is gone, and you can simply, run through the game. You can save your progress at any point in any of the games and this is a great gift that you couldn't do in the arcade titles.

All the games share the same gameplay but at the same time vary in different ways. The enemies in the series get more unique and more interesting. Metal Slugs are high powered vehicles and are the main vehicle of the series. Some of the Metal Slugs within the game will show up in a variety of forms such as helicopters, jets, submarines, mobile suits, camels, or even donkeys. This is just one example of the type’s characters you will run into. In Metal Slug 3 players will actually fight on a cemetery and when you die your character will become a zombie and you'll be able to fight against enemy soldiers and other undead creatures. Instead of a grenade your character will shoot blood out of there mouths that will kill any enemies within its range. The game does offer a whole bunch of other unique enemies and ideas throughout the series.





Graphics

The classic 2D graphics are simply amazing even to this day. The level of detail that went into the animations is very apparent on the PSP screen and still looks great even after ten years. The explosions, guns, characters, and environments still look exactly like the original arcade titles and fans of the series will definitely love this.

Overall

Metal Slug is a great side-scrolling 2D shooter and fans of the series shouldn't look any further than this collection. The game is an excellent portable title and it simple enough that you can pick up and run through a level in 10-15 minutes then put it down and pick it up at a later time. This game is made for the Metal Slug fans and fans of the classic retro style games.