Metal Slug is a series of action-shooter video games for the Neo-Geo game console created by SNK. It has also been ported over to other consoles, such as the PlayStation, the Sega Saturn, the Neo Geo Pocket Color and more recently the Game Boy Advance and Xbox.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to that of the game Contra, in that the player must constantly shoot at a non-stop army of enemies to reach the end of a level. At the end of each level, the player must confront a boss who is often rather large and takes multiple shots to defeat. On the way through the level, the player finds several weapons upgrades (such as the heavy machine gun, flamethrower, shotgun and rocket launcher.), hand grenades, as well as several "slug" vehicles that can be used not only as weapons but as added defense. A variety of animals such as Camels and Elephants can also be used as transportation, but offer no extra protection to the player.

Story

The first game's story involved the Peregrine Falcon (PF) Squad (a small but skilled team of soldiers) fighting against the army of General Morden (who has a passing resemblance to Saddam Hussein). In the games following the first, the PF Squad also began to battle an alien threat to Earth, as well as several other supernatural threats such as yetis, zombies and mummies. The fourth game dropped the outlandish elements, making it more similar to the original shooter, while the fifth returned to the style of the second and third games.

Characters

The series began with Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving as the only playable characters. In the second installment, Eri Kasamoto and Fio Germi were added to the cast. These four are considered by fans to be the essential Metal Slug team. In the fourth game, Nadia Cassel and Trevor Spacey made their debut as part of the team (replacing Eri and Tarma, respectively), but did not return for later games. Eri and Tarma returned in the fifth game.

Public opinion

Many fans of the series consider Metal Slug 3 to be the best entry in the series, due to its complex level design (with outstanding pixel art) and comical over-the-top presentation. Metal Slug 4 is often considered by fans to be the least enjoyable game. This could be due to the fact that Metal Slug 4 was was not developed by SNK but Playmore when SNK went bankrupt. Some believe that Playmore's games are significantly worse than SNK's efforts, but this hasn't stopped them from making more sequels and a Game Boy Advance port.

Games

• Metal Slug
• Metal Slug 2
• Metal Slug X (an update of Metal Slug 2)
• Metal Slug 3
• Metal Slug: 1st Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
• Metal Slug: 2nd Mission (Neo Geo Pocket Color)
• Metal Slug 4
• Metal Slug 5
• Metal Slug Advance

See also

• List of Neo-Geo games
• List of Sega Saturn games
• List of PlayStation games
• List of Game Boy Advance games
• List of Xbox games

External links

• KLOV entry for Metal Slug
• GameFAQs entry for Metal Slug
• KLOV entry for Metal Slug 3
• GameFAQs entry for Metal Slug 3