If that all sounds a little orthodox then that's because, in text, it very much is. Random items and different weapons can be uncovered for bonus points and there are numerous hidden areas and hostages scattered throughout the exquisite levels. Defeat the level boss without dying and you'll earn a satisfying bonus points (and the name and rank) for each hostage saved since your last restart. Likewise, throughout levels you'll find kidnapped allied soldiers who you must touch to rescue. For example, try to shoot an enemy at close range and your character will knife them instead for a slightly higher point bonus.
That said, the devil is in the detail and Metal Slug's simple mechanics have sub-surface depths that allow for those near infinite high-score possibilities Japanese arcade developers are so good at providing. The originals had eight difficulty settings, but this only has three - with everything above 'Easy' a big challenge.
And that, in sixty-nine words, is how the seven Metal Slug games, each brilliantly emulated here on the PSP, function. You have a fire button, a jump button and a bomb button and, should you find any vacant vehicles or willing animals along the way, feel free to appropriate them to the cause.
There's no life bar: it's one shot one kill. The gameplay couldn't be simpler: make your way from left to right shooting enemy soldiers and vehicles before they shoot you. Rather, SNK's side-scrolling, run-and-gun war parody takes in a hundred different locales, from the deepest jungle to the deepest sea, each bristling with an individuality and style that a Tom Clancy cast would kill for. Sure, the latest 2D Street Fighter or Guilty Gear may have sharper characters and backgrounds but this isn't a stationary beat-'em-up. Indeed, it's thanks to this series that there are those of us for whom the prettiest face of videogames lies not in the future but in the past. Yes, sunsets are pretty to look at and yes, it's terribly impressive how life-like the metal on this AK-47 looks when viewed through that particle effect, but surely we play games to visit new worlds: not marvel at slightly more rubbish versions of the current one?Įxcuse the antagonism but, for fans of 2D pixel art, the decade-old Metal Slug series has never really been bettered for intricacy, personality, character and colour. One day soon, people will realise that there are only so many virtual suns reflecting on the surface of virtual lakes that one can go 'wow' at. Forget Alan Wake, Metal Slug Anthology showcases the best graphics ever seen in a videogame.
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