Metal Slug
Metal
Slug. Never before have two such incredibly unrelated english words
slapped together sounded quite so good.
One
of the greatest 2-D platformer/shooter game series of all time is also,
not surprisingly, one of the unsung titles. Like most Neo Geo titles
(in my area, at least), Metal Slug is damn near impossible to find in
arcades. Of course, it's probably worth pointing out our semi-local
arcades keep a healthy stock of 19XX games and novelty pinball machines.
Not to mention those bizarre yellow machines, decorated with flashing
red lights and full of complex looking tubes and whistles with various
prizes scattered across the floor.
Anyway,
Metal Slug pits one or two guys (or in the sequels, gals) against the
godless hordes of Morden in a game that draws its gameplay styles from
everything from Contra to Gunstar Heroes. Which might not sound like
much, considering both examples involve lots of running and shooting,
but hey, that's what MS does too. It actually takes quite a few cues
from Gunstar, like the close-quarters knife attack and hyperkinetic
mass destruction going on around you.
Any
game company can make a run and gun action title (and most have.) What
sets Metal Slug apart from all of the riff-raff is the atmosphere
the game projects. The heroes and enemy soldiers have a cartoonish look
about them, which works nicely with the comic level of violence going
on (torrents of blood/white censor stuff pouring from every gunshot
wound, things exploding that shouldn't be able to...) The amount of
detail in the animations is impressive, even in the first game. Before
a downed tank in MS2 finally explodes off the screen, the dying soldier
drops a grenade inside the turret. A sniper breathes heavily before
popping up and squeezing off a quick shot. Whenever your hero is killed,
the troops on screen laugh and point, then recoil in horror when he
respawns. And it just goes on like that. Even the sound is terrific,
with suitably-paced music for any given area and lots of voices. Contra
didn't even give us death cries, let alone the psychotic, testorone-inducing
voiceover who reads off the name of what ever weapon you pick up.
As
for where the goofy title came from, the titular Metal Slug would be
an example of this game's 'gimmick.' It's a tiny tank that brings to
mind Bonaparte from Masamune Shirow's Dominion. The secondary
(or in the case of the game, main) weapon is a pair of side-mounted
vulcans that fire in all directions, with the tank gun itself capable
of launching shells about as strong as your hand grenade. You can even
'ditch' the vehicle into the enemy as a last-ditch suicide-style attack.
The only catch to that being the 'ditch' command is hitting the attack
and jump buttons at the same time, which one can easily do by accident
in a heated battle. (Same goes for the down+jump 'dismount' command
in battles that involve shooting below you.) There are other Slug-type
vehicles available, all of which are pretty much the same deal, vulcans
and secondary weapon. Also, vehicles take three hits to die instead
of just one, like you. (The second game's Camel Slug [yes, a camel with
Vulcan saddlebags] is the saddest of the lot since it doesn't offer
you protection and makes you use your own grenades up)
So,
for a fast-paced, crazy-violent shooter packed with lots of sight gags
and occasional movie references, scrounge through those used PSX racks
for Metal Slug X (or any others you can get your hands on.) MS2/X is
especially timely since it plops you down in the Middle East to do battle
with the decidedly Saddam-like Morden.