Metal Slug Anthology Hot

By the mid 90's, side scrolling run and gun games appeared to be on their last legs.  Contra, which had been synonymous with the genre since its inception in the late 80's, jumped shark and decided to gamble with full blown 3D.  Extensive side scrolling, pixel blasting mayhem was dropped in favor of newfangled polygons.  It looked good on paper, but the dream of 3D run and gun turned into a nightmare; the PSX Contra twins were awful.   Fear not, it was right about this time that SNK produced a very similar series that seemingly picked up right where classic Contra left off.  All the side scrolling, weapon upgrading, kill-a-hundred-guys-in-one-level-by-yourself mayhem was injected with a shot of adrenaline and reborn as Metal Slug.

Hyperbole aside, there is one small detail I forgot to mention.  Unlike Contra, which graced the NES, SNES, and Genesis with its divine breath, the only way to play Metal Slug in the comfort of your own home was to find someone who actually owned a Neo Geo.  Various incarnations of the series could also be found in your closest arcade, but Metal Slug, at least in my neck of the woods, received little attention when in line with NBA Jam and Mortal Kombat II.  Now, roughly ten years and seven editions later, Metal Slug finally returns to the mass market.  Along with an appearance on Wii and PS2, Metal Slug 1 through 6 (and a reworked version of Metal Slug 2 dubbed Metal Slug X) have been assembled into one massive collection for your portable gaming needs.

Shoot ‘Em Up

For those who missed the boat or failed to exist in the mid 90's, Metal Slug was a side scrolling horizontal shooter/killfest.  You progress through a level by shooting or tossing bombs at any and every enemy in your path.  Each stage usually concludes with a screen filling behemoth of a boss, the likes which all fall under the mercy of repeated gun blasts.  On the way there you can rescue POWs, upgrade your weaponry, and marvel at the amazing chaos you've caused in your quest to commit genocide on each respective level's human/machine/organic-life-form army.

Metal Slug separates itself from the pack through a handful of easily recognizable characteristics.  First and foremost is the titular Metal Slug, a super tank which evolves into other bizarre vehicles through the series.  In addition to an increase in HP, you're also granted infinite machine gun ammo and (in later titles) the ability to jump and glide.  Aside from that, probably the most easily identifiable trait from the series is the exaggerated sense of reality.  The respective dev teams were all well aware they weren't creating a grim and super serious title, and in doing so injected several instances of genuinely hilarious material.  Most of these nuances bleed through the surprisingly well animated sprites, which are perfectly in line with the ridiculous and insane tasks you wind up overtaking. 

All the games in the series follow the same basic formula.  In fact, on a purely visual observation, a newcomer would be hard pressed to separate Metal Slug 1 from Metal Slug 5.  That's not to say they all play identically, however, as numerous improvements marked each version of the series.  2 added some variants to the weapons and Slugs, 3 brought in series-staple transformations and more new Slugs, 4 introduced a chain-scoring system for insane bonus points, 5 came with a heralded slide move, and 6 brought perhaps the most welcomed advancement for the series, an easy mode.  Assuming you both have a copy of the game, each entry features the option for two player co-op to perfectly recreate the arcade experience.  The greatest addition to the collection lies in the ability to save at any point in the game, which is a godsend for those rough situations where you completely meltdown for no reason.

Graphically, Metal Slug is a remnant from days past.  Still, its 2D art style has aged with far more grace than its polygonal peers.  There's a timeless feel to Metal Slug that doesn't feel terribly outdated; you don't look at its age and suffer, but rather embrace a classic representation of the pinnacle of the genre from that specific time.  It's like composing an original score for a feature film versus loading it with modern tracks from contemporary artists; which one will stand the test of time?  Anyway, aside from 6, and despite a different development team for 4 and 5, each entry looks to be crafted from same engine.  Six features a couple extra bells and whistles, such as new character models and the occasional zoom in, but still generally plays the same.  Exclusive to the PSP version, for obvious reasons, is the option to select your desire video output setting.  You can play the normal 4:3 version, opt for a zoomed in 4:3 version, or go all out and stretch the 4:3 frame to the PSP's native 16x9 screen.  In the end, a stretched Metal Slug is an ugly Metal Slug, as I found the zoomed (and default) 4:3 to be the best possible option.

What Do You Mean There’s No “Easy”?

When I say Metal Slug is a remnant from days of games past, I really mean it.  It's from the Ghosts 'n Goblins school of games that will repeatedly kick your ass without the slightest bit of hesitation.  Sure, there's an option to turn on infinite continues and mindlessly blast your way through the game, but why would you want to remove a challenge?  This isn't Bioshock, where difficulty takes a back seat to atmosphere; it's a no-crybabies-allowed invitation to play like your quarters depend on it.  Each game in the series is unforgiving to the inexperienced and, generally, still ruthless for vets.  In the era of ridiculously dumbed down easy modes, checkpoints, and unlimited opportunities to save (which Metal Slug does have - except for 6), the near impossible difficulty is a welcomed bit of nostalgia.

Contraband

Alas, one layer of difficulty I certainly wasn't anticipating was the omnipresent load times.  Launch any Slug title from the main menu results in a wait that lasts nearly a minute.  That would have been fine if the massive loading times began and ended there, but unfortunately (and increasingly as you move up in numeric order) unusually long load times are the norm for each title.  Loading time for a new level sort of makes sense, but sometimes switching a character or using a continue brings an additional twenty seconds of super fun loading screens.  It’s pure speculation, but this overall lack of polish makes the entire package feel somewhat rushed.  Sure, everything is here, but it certainly could have been further optimized for a more rounded experience.  Couple all of this with its arcade-inherited sporadic drop in frame rate and you're left with an unnecessary thorn in Metal Slug's side.