Metal Slug Anthology (Wii) - Review by skarma

Introduction

Metal Slug is a well-known arcade run n' gun shooter along the lines of Contra. Since it's debut in 1996 on the MVS arcade, the series has enjoyed a wealthy number of sequels and has since become one of the most favoured gaming franchises amongst arcade fans and veteran video game players alike. The series is well known mostly for it's fluid hand drawn animation, fast paced action and surreal humour. Metal Slug Anthology takes the past 11 years of 'slugging and bundles them all into one compact package, along with bonus features such as a music gallery and unlockable concept art. However, thanks to the Wii Remote, the fast and frantic action of the classic series is spoiled somewhat by a clunky and overall gimmicky use of the Wii Remote.

Gameplay

Never played a Metal Slug game before? Well, the game is a lot like Contra - just with much more over the top style and faster paced action. The game literally floods the screen with enemies, and they expect you (or a team mate) to get rid of them. Crazy weapons are all here, each producing humerous results when launched upon an unsuspecting villain. Each of the 7 games (1,2,X,3,4,5,6) have roughly around 5 missions each (the missions are very long bear in mind), and the premise in each on is exactly the same, which can get a bit repetetive if played for a huge length of time. The game is best played with a friend, as the game can seem a bit overwhelming if played on it's own to a Metal Slug newbie. Apart from the difficulty factor being lowered when with a friend, the game is hilarious from start to finish.

Controls

Uh, if developers can't make the game fit to the motion sensitive nature of the Wii remote, then don't bother incorporating 6 or so fiddly methods. This has to be the game's biggest problem, and it serves as a real downer for those people familiar with the Metal Slug series and want a game where they can do everything they usually do in a quick and easy manner (control-wise at least). The game offers many modes of control, such as 'Arcade Stick'? mode and 'Tilt'? mode, where you tilt the character to move. Every single one of the control methods require you to do some sort of movement of the controller to launch a grenade, which can be a bit distracting if you need to focus on the frantic game itself instead of trying to throw a grenade. What is really shocking is the implementation of the Gamecube controller. Sure, it provides a much more familiar method of control but who wants to use a 3D analogue stick for a 2D game? Ignoring the fact that the Gamecube D-Pad is utter crap, the biggest let down is the fact that you can't use this. So for all of you with the SNES style Hori controllers that you love so much for your 2D games, you may as well give up if you want to use it for this game. You simply can't.

The real killer is the fact that you can't even use the Classic Controller for the game, with no real reason for this as of yet - this fact is simply inexcusable. It's like they purposely didn't want you to play the game the normal way.

Graphics

The Metal Slug series has always been noted for it's showcase of fluid hand-drawn characters and animations. Each character has a multitude of hilarious poses and actions, just like the enemies. There is something so satisfying watching your enemies burn and melt (or in classic Metal Slug style, melt from the inside out) while spewing out their own guts. The nice thing about the Anthology package is see how the characters and style has progressed over the years from 1996 to 2006. However, one major concern is how everything is presented. Amongst the menus you will see fiddly animations and generic 'slide-in' transitions. The font style does not match the whole Metal Slug theme and is a bit of a let down compared to the actual games. The loading 'screen', which sometimes occurs while in the game itself, is a very bland and cheap looking black bar at the bottom of the screen with a sliding tiny tank. The whole presentation is just plain cheap, and inconvenient to maneuver through.

Deviating a bit, but still on the whole presentation rant - the Metal Slug fan service features, such as concept art and 'interview' come up short. When the games are complete, you receive tokens to unlock these little bonuses. The worse part is this so called 'interview' is not a video at all, no sound even - just a huge clump of text for you to read view. Not exactly the best way to catch the gamers attention, possibly the worst!

Sound

Another area where Metal Slug manages to provide an exceptional experience is the music. Perfect sounding as the originals but the best point is definitely the voice overs. You see, when you collect weapons, a voice shouts out what weapon you get. This ranges from 'Machine Gun'?, 'Flame Shot'? and the best of all - 'Rocket Loun-cher'?. It's downright hilarious. However, the music and sounds all sound very flat and not very immersive, despite the style of the music itself. The music also seems to have deteriorated since the origins of Metal Slug 1, where as Metal Slug 6 music just doesn't provide very memorable music, although the overall game is largely better.

Final comments

Metal Slug Anthology is a real nuisance when it comes to giving the final verdict. Should you buy it or should you not? If you came in expecting a true '10th Anniversary'? experience, with all the trimmings that an anniversary collection should have - then you'll be sorely dissapointed. What it does do however is provide 7 classic arcade-perfect Metal Slug titles in one cheap package, along with a flimsy control scheme. The choice is upto you, if you like the series then this will provide you with all the Metal Slug action you could ever need.

Pro: Great Value, As Good as You Remember Them.
Con: Poor Controls, Hardly a '10th Anniversary' Game.
Final score: 8

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