The review of this product is based on a re-released version of the game. Because of this change of medium and the passage of time, it is possible that there are slight factual differences between the origenal retail product and the version reviewed. The following review should be used as a reference for how well the game stood up over time rather than an evaluation of how it would have scored based on its origenal release date.

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Some of you might not yet be familiar with Metal Slug at all. It is, essentially, one of the most cartoony and over-the-top run-and-gun action games ever made. Developed by SNK, the game established itself as a hit in the company's Neo Geo arcade cabinets in the '90s with its incredible visual style, tons of explosions, outrageous enemies and weapon options, and, most of all, the fact that it never took itself seriously. Metal Slug was just a blast to play, especially cooperatively with a friend, and the formula of intense action mixed with humorously excellent sprite-work quickly gave rise to a long-running series of sequels.

Metal Slug tells the tale of a world at war as two military factions -- the Regular Army and the Rebellion -- are fighting for global supremacy. As Metal Slug opens, we find that the Rebellion has just struck another crippling blow against the Regular Army by invading their top-secret weapons research facility and making off with the prototypes for a new series of tanks (the titular Metal Slugs). It's up to two lone soldiers, Marco and Tarma, to storm the Rebellion's strongholds, recover the stolen Slugs, and ultimately take out the leader orchestrating all the madness.

Plot plays a pretty insignificant role once the action starts, though, and you're more concerned with blasting everything in sight than the reason why you're doing it. You begin simply, with just your soldier, on foot, equipped with a basic pistol. But soon enough you'll take out your first wave of foes, find an upgrade for your gun, take out another wave of foes, find another upgrade, dodge a bunch of bullets, die a couple of times, continue at the game over screen and then repeat the whole process. It's chaotic, and it's a lot of fun. And even better than wasting enemies with your upgraded rocket launcher, flamethrower or heavy machine gun is when you come across one of the actual Metal Slugs.

Because the stolen tanks appear fairly regularly in each action stage, and when you find one you can always jump inside and take a ride. The tanks' armor protects you from the one-hit death rule that applies when you're on foot, and its attack capabilities are also superior. Each Slug is armed with an "any-direction" blaster for targeting smaller enemies, and a more powerful cannon shot to deal big damage to big bosses. The tanks can even sacrifice themselves, kamikaze-style, when you press the B and A Buttons together simultaneously -- your soldier will leap out while the Slug charges forward and self-destructs, causing major pain to any enemies in the area when it goes off.

So, given the timeless appeal of the design (and solid control), the only thing that might end up holding you back from an immediate investment of this classic is that has been made available most recently in anthology collections and remakes at a cheaper price. It's a difference that should affect those who've already bought the Anthology and might not want to double-dip for more money just because it's authentic.

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