Metal Slug: Snail's Pace

[Ascending Wordsmith]

Maybe it's just me, but I just played Metal Slug 4 & 5 and I'm really not receptive to the Metal Slug games as I once was. The first game of the lineage, which holds the name of series, was so thoroughly detailed and full of action and humor that it blew me away. Metal Slug 2 (and its rehashed version X) came along with a different story, but it kept the same winning formula from the first.

http://www.vgfreak.com/images/screens/mslug1.gif
Metal Slug

Then comes Metal Slug 3. Despite taking a very sharp turn to the world of mutated sand crabs, zombies, yetis, and gatling guns strapped to animals, 3 was pretty damn sweet. I'm more geared to only having conventional enemies such as the standard grunts and their military hardware (likes tanks, helis, planes, and transports), rather than huge eels on leashes and bone-wielding sasquatches. But I think 3 and X are the two best in the saga.

http://www.neogeoforlife.com/neo_reviews/metal_slug_3_files/mslug32paths.png
Metal Slug 3

Then 4 is conceived... just without SNK. Compared to the others, it's hollow and without the detail or gameplay. Same goes for 5. There's a lot of new ideas in both, but the games fall short.

I have yet to play 6 but I hope it's worthy of the Slug name.

[roushimsx]

the level designs and enemy placements in 4 and 5 are terrible. 4 really hurt bad after the excellence of 3, and 5 cut a bit deep after the advance word of mouth that it made up for the disappointment of 4.

A lot of people shit on the rehashed graphics of the games, but they've never really bothered me. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the gameplay holds up then you can rehash the graphics as much as you want; just give me some more well designed levels. Sadly, they didn't do that for the last two games :(

[suppafly]

I may be off topic, but I never really caught on the metal slug craze.

Ive played it from time to time, but just a few levels at a time, and I didnt finish any of them....

Whats so cool about it? Personally I´d rather play contra or super c, or maybe gunstar heroes...!

just my 2 cents

[jajaja]

I like Metal Slug because of its own style. Very detailed, got humor, much bright colors, variation in weapons and vehicles. All the games are basicly the same imo. Some new stuff here and there, but nothing that are really new.

[roushimsx]

Whats so cool about it? Personally I´d rather play contra or super c, or maybe gunstar heroes...!

For the most part, it's run and gun perfection. The first game was a bit uneven in its difficulty (the machine gunner at the start of stage 3 was more difficult than most of the bosses, oddly enough) and the second game was hampered by massive slowdown, but X and 3 were lengthy, challenging, and pretty well balanced run and guns with fan-flipping-tastic animation/graphics/sounds/etc.

The key to really enjoying them is to limit yourself on the number of credits you feed them. Try playing on a single credit and you'll find it much more rewarding than credit feeding through the end.

Super C / Contra / and Gunstar are all great games, but they're much too easy and short :(

[KyleRXZero]

Metal Slug 3 is my personal fave. Sure it's ridiculously silly, but that's part of it's apeal. That last level feels like it goes on forever. I too was disapointed with 4/5 as well; especially 5.

[j_factor]

Has anyone played Metal Slug Advance? I wonder how that one holds up.

Metal Slug 6 looks awesome.

[jajaja]

Has anyone played Metal Slug Advance? I wonder how that one holds up.

Its ok, not that cool imo. I prefer to play Metal Slug on a TV instead of a small monitor :)

[Xexyz]

MSA falls flat on its face. It's not terrible by any means, but Playmore ripped out the scoring system and turned it into a mild adventure game what with the card hunting and all... Oh yeah, I don't mind it, but instead of having limited 1 hit lives, the lifebar from the NGPC titles made a come back.

[Push Upstairs]

I hated how enemies would re-appear if you moved forward then back to avoid other enemies.

That and the difficulty was easy until the last level, then it got really hard.

6 isnt coming out for XBOX is it?


Why does everyone look like midget porn stars in the 3D version?

[Darren870]

I think im one of the few that liked 4 ... a lot.

[BocoDragon]

Is Metal Slug 6 still runnning on the same classic Neo-Geo hardware?

[biscuitdough]

my personal favorite is ms3 and it's one of my top 5 arcade games.
by the way, what ever happened to metal slug 3d i heard it was anounced for the ps2 and i can find screens of it. but was it ever released, and was it any good?

[T2KFreeker]

Hmm, even though I thought that Metal Slug 4&5 could have been better, thay are still fairly good games! At least MS hasn't gone by way of 3D Contra yet, although I am sure that it will! :roll:

[CosmicMonkey]

Ah, the Metal Slug series. One of my favorite series ever. I'll have to agree with everyone else that, compared to the others, 4 and 5 are a bit lacking. Still good games in their own right, but after the greatness of MS3 they are a bit dissapointing.

I really like both NGPC MS games. 1st Mission was an excellent title to start off with on the Neo Pocket. Bit annoying having to use 'Select' to switch between gun/grenade but other than that it's a very good portable Run n' Gun. 2nd Mission fixes the annoying controls and adds multiple paths. Thrying to actually find and complete every level is a right mission. Absolutley cracking game.

I have played MSA. It was ok, but not a patch on 2nd Mission.


Is Metal Slug 6 still runnning on the same classic Neo-Geo hardware?

Nah, MS6 is running on Atomiswave hardware (http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=812&gid=2529#2529); which is basically a cartridge-based Dreamcast (without getting technical).

[Darren870]

Hmm, even though I thought that Metal Slug 4&5 could have been better, thay are still fairly good games! At least MS hasn't gone by way of 3D Contra yet, although I am sure that it will! :roll:

It already has...metal slug 3d hit the jap ps2 system a month ago about.

[Ed Oscuro]

I am tempted to say that the Contra series is flat-out better quality (over the lifetime of the series, and also given the hardware and dates the games were released), and MS certainly is losing points for using the same graphics after all these years.

I think it helps to be fair to the Metal Slug series and point out that the designers worked on the GunForce games and Ninja Spirit (of that I'm fairly certain). If you lock in at about 1995 with the original Metal Slug, the designers can be shown to have done pretty well.

On the other hand, after Treasure left Konami they went on to make some awesome games, some of which happen to be run & gun games :D Of course Hard Corps is an amazing game in its own right, and while I haven't played the PS2 Contra games (yet) it seems that originality wins out over rehashed graphics any ol' day.

To this day, the only MS game I have is a PC release of 5 (official, but you wouldn't necessarily know it unless you knew that Junnet was an upstanding company...the print quality on the box is a bit shaky, for example). I'd love to get the previous games, though, especially 1 and 3 (say what you will about 3's excellence, but the London stage from 1 is one of the best moments in the series).

[CosmicMonkey]

Indeed, and it would seem MS3D has been getting quite favorable reviews from what I understand.

But I don't count it as a 'proper' MS game. MS was and always will be a 2D Run n' Gun.

Certain games just don't work in 3D, with MS and Sonic topping that list.

[T2KFreeker]

Contra, Super C and the last Contra for the PS2 are the top of that series, although Super C is very much arguable. Metal Slug has just always had a heavy factor for me. I love these games. I have the first two for my Neo Geo CD, both of the Neo Geo Pocket games, which were awesome, I might add, and I also have 4 & 5 on the XBOX, I need to get 3. I liked the series, although I am sleptic about the 3D game . . . :angry:

[lordnikon]

I think im one of the few that liked 4 ... a lot.
Add another person to the few. I am a huge fan of MS4, and feel that it gets a lot of slack because people expected it to be all crazy with aliens and stuff like MS3.

[Ed Oscuro]

Contra, Super C and the last Contra for the PS2 are the top of that series, although Super C is very much arguable.
I'd say Contra III and Hard Corps are both better than Super C (though it's been a while since I trekked all the way through Super C). Hard Corps in particular is the closest thing the series had to a Castlevania III.

Also, Metal Slug 3D looks like shit, judging from the screenshots (and I'll note that while I haven't seen it in person, there are reports the game bogs down when action gets intense which would be pretty unforgivable given that the game hardly pushes the PS2 visually). They needed to bring it into 3D to have a product that could sell to modern gamers, but the game's questionable programming and artistry aren't likely to win it many new fans.

SNK/P deserve accolades for trying to do for their series what Capcom has for theirs with dramatic makeovers and updates, but the teething might prove more difficult than Konami's with the Castlevania series. Unlike Konami, though, SNK/P doesn't have unlimited funds to toss at their franchises.

[tholly]

while i only played 1 and 3, nothing beats the first metal slug when you are playing it on a real neo geo cabinet with a 25" screen and the sound cranked up......its an amazing game....3 on the xbox felt like a let down after 1.....but, i would love to play the others...

[Tron 2.0]

I hated how enemies would re-appear if you moved forward then back to avoid other enemies.

That and the difficulty was easy until the last level, then it got really hard.

6 isnt coming out for XBOX is it?

I doubt it since, SNKP has stated they will be suporting the wii this next generation.

Still the port of MS6 for the PS2 is due in the fall.

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-r-49-en-15-Metal%2BSlug-70-1byn-43-99.html

Import it or wait and see if it get's a port to the wii.

Btw my favorite in this order.

1st.MS3
2nd.MSX
3rd.MS
4th.MS5
5th.MS4

[Push Upstairs]

Doesn't do me much good as i only have an Xbox.

I suppose 4+5 will have to do.

[tholly]

Doesn't do me much good as i only have an Xbox.

I suppose 4+5 will have to do.

i dont know if you knew, but you can get ms3 on the xbox as well....

[Push Upstairs]

I have 3, 4, and 5.

I meant as far as new games it looks like 4+5 will be the end of it.

X is still my favorite but 3 would be if it wasn't for that goddamn "start at the begining of the level" shit.

[cmstar]

I personally think the NGPC Metal Slug games are awesome for what the system could do.

I just bought Metal Slug Advance for the GBA and I love it. I'm not sure what's not to like.

It has some nice elements to it that make it a perfect fit for a portable game. The card system is a nice incentive to keep playing the levels over and over on the go. I can try to get a perfect run through a level and get all the cards on a lunch break at work, etc.

I'm a huge fan of the Slug series and I deffinately recommend MSA.

[Damaramu]

The only thing that bugs me about Metal Slug Advance are the reappearing enemies.

Oh, and the fact that some copies are glitchy when played on a GBA SP 2 or DS.

See here: CLICK ME (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=86336&highlight=)

[Sardius]

The original and X are pretty good, but MS3 is probably one of my favorite games of all time. There's a LOT of different gameplay techniques and optional paths you can use if you want to play for score, and there's so much hidden stuff to find that it's awesome. Even the slower levels like the zombie stage never drag the game down -- it's VERY well-paced from beginning to end, and never ever becomes boring.

4 on the other hand was kind of a let down, and 5 is just complete crap. It starts off with an autoscrolling stage! What the hell were they thinking? When I start a Metal Slug game I want to just start jumping around and shooting people, not take a slow rafting trip with grandpa! Also the last boss is the stupidest thing ever.

I've played 6 a few times and I've really enjoyed it, but I can't tell if that's because it's genuinely as good as the earlier games in the series or if it's just me being relieved that it isn't as bad as 5. I like the Contra III-like weapons switching ability, and always having the heavy machine gun is nice (if there was one thing I didn't like about 3, it was all the pounding you had to do on the A button with the normal shot). The new aliens are pretty badass too, and the way the game zooms out for the really big enemies is a cool gimmick. I still haven't played through to the end, but the first few stages at least are great.

[smokehouse]

I have 1, X and 3 for the Neo Geo and love them. After that the series gets stale and like many have said, unbalanced and boring. The 3D version is loosing the whole point of what MS is….I’ll never give it the time of day. As for comparing it to the Contra series, I think it’s a better game. It’s a bit like comparing apples and oranges but if you have to, the4 level of detail and the mix of weapons and humor bring MS to the lead.

[ubersaurus]

I loved Slug 5, it's actually my favorite game in the series.

I never got really nitpicky about level designs and enemy placements, and all that jazz. I just wanted a fun shooter that my friend and I can go through and have a good time, and really, every game in the series fills that nicely. Saying that one of them is the "worst" of the bunch is like saying that your piece of gold doesn't shine enough. It's still gold.

As for Slug 3d, my friend has a copy, and really, it's basically just metal slug in 3d. Not bad by any means, though It's not the greatest 3d shooter I've ever seen.