Hardcore scrolling shooter that will take you back in time and have you chewing your PSP in frustration!
Another month, another retro compilation. For the retro lovers like me this is a fantastic thing. However the question is, does the general gaming public really need another one? Well if it is a good as Metal Slug Anthology then the answer is a resounding yes!
Metal Slug Anthology is a celebration of 10 years of SNKs arse achingly hardcore side scrolling 2D shooter classic. It contains 7 (yes 7) games. Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4, Metal Slug 5 and the all new Metal Slug 6. An interesting thing to consider at this point is that Metal Slug 6 came out around the same time as this for PS2 at the same price on its own!
Gameplay is a simple left to right shooting affair. As you would expect there are a wealth of gun upgrades and pyrotechnics on offer. As you go through the titles you will find that you are able to hold onto more the one weapon in the later titles, which is very handy! You also have a small complement of grenades to help out. As well as the weapons there are also a few vehicles to be driven, from tanks to elephants with side mounted cannons! (I kid you not!). That little nugget lets you in on the sense of humour that runs through this game. It is a bit surreal, but charming, as you save underwear clad prisoners of war or battle giant alien brain monsters.
Each game plays the same, with ever increasingly bizarre enemies as you progress to the newer incarnations. The enemies vary from soldiers to tanks to aliens and many things in between, with some really nice boss battles to be had.
In this age of rendered, photo realistic games, Metal Slug is a slight shock to the system. Here we have hand drawn 2D sprites and backgrounds. In fact over the 10 years it has been around, the graphics have hardly changed at all. I am not sure that this is a good thing or not. It would, in my mind, be nice to see upgrades to the graphics as the games get newer, although there are some very nice camera zooming effects in the later offerings. That said the sprites are works of art, with the bosses being a real treat! You are also given a choice of 3 resolutions original, 4:3 stretched or 16:9. The 4:3 stretched seems to work best, as original is a bit too small and 16:9 just looks wrong!
Sounds are arcadey and work well for the game, with music that for a nice change, won’t have you reaching for the volume button on your PSP!
Controls are a bit of an issue. Although you can use either the dpad or the analogue nub, I found that neither really had enough finesse to ever feel right. Diagonal shooting is particularly hard to achieve with the nub! This is a criticism that is often thrown at the PSP controls.
All of the games are good conversions, but there a few problems. In the later games you get some really bad loading times. You also seem to get some really slow down when the screen gets full. Also there is no real difference in between games. The look the same, sound the same and play the same. Also the games are hard and may put people off at first.
On the other hand there is a lot to recommend here. As mentioned, you are getting 7 games for the price of one. You are also getting bonus unlockables such as artwork and developer interviews, a must for any retro compilation.
The Bad: Looks dated and may be too difficult for many
Bronze Y Award