Monday MAME Club [01/31/05] - Metal Slug 2

[Flack]

Here's a pick for all of you with massive MAME machines! I know there are a lot of fans of this series out there so let's hear from you all this week! Never tried a Metal Slug game before? NOW'S THE TIME!

Welcome to this week's Monday Morning MAME Club Posting. Every Monday, a member of the MAME club will pick a new game for you to play in MAME! All you have to do to participate is install MAME, download the ROM of the week from this message, and then post your thoughts about the game! You can post a full review of the game or simply tell us what you liked/didn't like about the game. Have you played this game before? Have you played it in an actual arcade? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game! Just remember, if you want people to respond during YOUR week, you should play along on OTHER weeks!

The ROM of the week is: Metal Slug 2 (available HERE (http://www.robohara.com/mameclub)!)
KLOV Link for the game: HERE (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=8676)

http://www.robohara.com/mameclub/metal_slug_2a.jpg http://www.robohara.com/mameclub/metal_slug_2.jpg

Club Members:

digitalpress (Battle Bakraid)
Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, Liquid Kids, Ninja Clowns, Great 1000 Mile Rally)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
<s>ghsqb</s>
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81 (Biomechanical Toy)
Qbert (Mysterious Stones)
k8track (Go! Go! Mile Smile)
<s>Hamsnibit</s>
Lady Jaye (Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master)
Sofa King Gud (Crossbow)
Schenley (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Kaine23 (Super Burgertime)
Arqueologia_Digital (Burgertime)
Jiscan (Withdrew)
-hellvin- (Splatterhouse)
Acidic_Pain (Armed Police Batrider)
Gamemaster_ca_2003 (Block Out)
Vigilante (Pu-Li-Ru-La)
Hovoc (D&D: Shadow Over Mystara)
<s>Mr.FoodMonster</s>
sniperCCJVQ (WWF Superstars)
A Boy (Satan's Hollow)
JibbaJaba (Solomon's Key)
Cauterize (The Simpsons)
youruglyclone (Vendetta)
Ed Oscuro (Alligator Hunt)
Gapporin (Daisu-Kiss)
Graham Mitchell (Ataxx)
RockyRaccoon (19xx: The War Against Destiny)
XxMe2NiKxX (Raiden II)
<s>brykasch</s>
!!! Xtasy (Metal Slug 2) !!!
DJ_DEEM
The_EniGma
DaBargainHunta
cr0n0
Promophile
Cirrus
Stargate
phantomfriar
GobopopRevisited
soniko_karuto

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

MAME ON!

[Lady Jaye]

Ooh, I'll have to try that tonight!!! Good thing I just installed the latest MacMAME beta yesterday (0.88u4b1)! I suppose that it was added releatively recently to MAME, hasn't it?

[GobopopRevisited]

Metal Slug 3 has been in MAME for a while, so naturally 2 (and X) should have been there too.

Probably my third favorite in the Metal Slug series, not really much to say about it... once you've played a Metal Slug, you've played them all! But it was an improved game over the already perfect first entry. A lot forget about 2 though, as X was released a year later and was esentially an expansion.

[Cirrus]

Interesting to finally play Metal Slug 2 seriously. I had always just skipped this one since X remade it, and well. This one isn't bad at all, though, but I see why a lot of the changes were made. Still, quite fun. Thanks!

[Jibbajaba]

OK I just played this one all the way through. Starts off quite good, but "jumps the shark" at mission 5, where its sole purpose in life seems to be sucking quarters. From mission 5 until the end, the game seems basically impossible to play. I beat the game, but spent $9.50 in virtual quarters. Still a fun game, as long as you don't mind dying and continuing a lot.

Graphics: 9

I like the cartoony style. I also really like the variety of enemies that you fight. The aliens are definitely my favorite.

Sound: 8

Cool sound effects, neat music during the desert and mummy missions.

Gameplay: 7

I like the variety in the levels. The game gets hard, but at least it isn't monotonous. The variety of weapons is also great, although I definitely like some weapons more than others. Creatively designed bosses.

Controls: 7

Maybe the controls would be better of I had an arcade stick. I use a PS2 controller. I really want one of those SNK arcade sticks that they are re-releasing.

Overall: 8

I would not hesitate to reccomend this game to anyone, but it isn't perfect, either.


Chris

[DaBargainHunta]

I can't get this to work, and I've downloaded it from two different places. Any idea what could be wrong?

I've never played Metal Slug 2, but I am familiar with Metal Slug X (PSX version) and Metal Slug 3 (Xbox version). Like Rob said at the beginning of this thread, if you've never tried a Metal Slug game before, NOW'S THE TIME! These really are great games. If MSX and MS3 are any indication, you'll be treated with long and diverse levels, tons of different enemies (with completely new ones in each stage), and some of the finest 2D shooting gameplay this side of Contra. These games really aren't to be missed.

[Lady Jaye]

What versiion of MAME are you running? That could be the source of the problem.

[DaBargainHunta]

What versiion of MAME are you running? That could be the source of the problem.
MAME32 0.86

[Sotenga]

Ahhhhhhhhhh, Metal Slug 2... this is the stuff great action games are made out of. The first game enticed me to the series, but this game dragged me into the MS universe. It was here that I suddenly found myself giggling like a maniac while slicing up mummies at point blank range, and whenever I got my hands on a shotgun, I felt like the Angel of Death... after drinking heavily in celebration of a pay raise. The joys of ripping apart General Morden's army are only paralleled from the joys of ripping apart the Mars People. Despite the release of MSX, I still play this because it's easier and a bit simpler. Really, any Metal Slug game is excellent, but I'd say this one was a trendsetter for the series.

[Gamereviewgod]

I find it funny when some sites refer to Metal Slug as looking archaic. I know IGN complained when they reviewed 3 on the XBox, but it should make for a nice discussion here too.

How can anyone look at animation like that and say it looks old? There are more frames here at times than with some 3-D stuff. Plus, all of that detail! In my opinion, this is exactly what games would look like if we hadn't went to polygons.

The only thing that hurts this entire series is slowdown... lots of it. Ouch.

[Flack]

Not a lot of responses this week, but all the ones we got were informative. Good job, guys!

Anyone else planning on giving this game a weekend whirl?

[cr0n0]

This series is one of the reasons why I miss my Neo Geo console. THANK GOD for emulators!!!!!!!!! It is also a testament to what true programming dedication can produce when working with 2-D limitations. Although most folks find the game repetitive after a while, the graphics alone keep you glued to the screen wondering what other delicious enemies wait just beyond the visible screen. I find the music to fit the on screen chaos, especially in the first stage. If you played part one and you loved it, how in the world can you expect not to like 2. Download it and play it and see what all the ol' timers fuss about when they speak of the golden days of 2-D.
a 9 Overall with the game. The only gripes here are slowdown and replay value. STOP READING THIS AND GO GET IT!!!!! :snipersmile:

[Lady Jaye]

I'm trying to download it, but I'm having difficulty connecting to your site, Rob! I tried downloading the rom from another site, but it was a version incompatible with the version of MacMAME I'm currently using (the latest, which is 0.88u4b1).

Argh!

[Lady Jaye]

I can't get this to work, and I've downloaded it from two different places. Any idea what could be wrong?

I've never played Metal Slug 2, but I am familiar with Metal Slug X (PSX version) and Metal Slug 3 (Xbox version). Like Rob said at the beginning of this thread, if you've never tried a Metal Slug game before, NOW'S THE TIME! These really are great games. If MSX and MS3 are any indication, you'll be treated with long and diverse levels, tons of different enemies (with completely new ones in each stage), and some of the finest 2D shooting gameplay this side of Contra. These games really aren't to be missed.

Do you have the neo-geo bios in your MAME files? You need it to run the game. Just make sure it remains zipped and that it's named neogeo.zip. Just put that file in your ROM file et voilà! You should be able to run the game.

[DaBargainHunta]

Do you have the neo-geo bios in your MAME files? You need it to run the game. Just make sure it remains zipped and that it's named neogeo.zip. Just put that file in your ROM file et voilà! You should be able to run the game.
I had no idea I needed anything like that. I did what you said, and IT WORKED! Thank you so much.

Suggestion for Flack: If certain games require bios or files to run, it might not be a bad idea to mention them or include them for DL as well. It would make things a lot easier. Thanks.

[Necromutant]

Metal Slug 2 is a great game, but does suffer from some slowdown as stated. BUT, like any slug it is a great game! :D For those that are new to the series you have to give MS 3 a try, this is by far the best game in the series, at least of the ones I have played and I have played all but MS5. 8-)

[soniko_karuto]

I actually have something agains't everything that has tryied to be contra like, but this game, has it's own charm.

It was a sunny day, school started like always, slow boring day of the last week of classes, nothing to do, so, we decided to skip school and go to the arcades. We used to go to an arcade wich used coins that were almost equal to the peter piper pizza ones, but in that place each coin costed .05 and on the pizza place .25, so uhm, log story short, we arrived at the peter piper pizza, i saw nothing good to play, except for killer instintc and virtua cop 2, then behind the alien vs predator cab, i saw a red machine wich had 4 games: samurai shodown 3, a racing game (rally?), world heroes 2 jet, and a "new" game, wich to my surprise was metal slug 2.

grahpics:9

This game, if you are not used to smooth graphics, will look like if it was just taken out directly of a profesional animation studio, i mean, even girls like 'how cute' the bad guys die. That should give you an idea of how well it's done.

Sound: 8

Kinda generic, but it does it's job, the music is something people rave about, but as i wanna keep the memory of how it look/felt/sounded on the arcade, i won't try it on emus(i can't really give the music a score, as it was noisy as hell in there :P).

Gameplay: 8 (6 with the broken jump button)

As most neo geo games, they have a rather steep difficulty curve, wich is beaten by having enough coins to feed the machine, also if it's the first time you play it, it will feel kinda awkward, because of the smooth animation.

Replay value: 8

I would really love to give it another try! except i haven't been able to find another cab with it inside. Will try to play it with mame tomorrow.

Overall score: 9

Yes, me like.

Hope i didn't got anyone bored with the story, i'm like those tv chefs that start getting so far away from the stuff they are doing to talk of old stories and anecdotes. Some people find me obnoxius, and others find me funny, but you'd have to meet me in person to be a good judge, as i'm always almost blabbing on the boards about things i'm not supposed to talk of outside their respective sections.

sorry. LOL

[Flack]

Suggestion for Flack: If certain games require bios or files to run, it might not be a bad idea to mention them or include them for DL as well. It would make things a lot easier. Thanks.

I don't always have the time to test every game before they go live. This responsibility falls on you guys, the people who suggest the games.

[Xtasy]

Ahhhhh metalslug 2, one of my favourite games of all tiime. The thing that really brought me into retro gaming and was my first ms of the series. I spent at least €150 in it in the hotel i was staying in. I cant say ive ever grown bored of it yet.

-Xtasy