Metal Slug 4

""Mega Enterprise Metal Slug" does NOT equal "SNK Metal Slug"."

Metal Slug, one of my most favoritest game serieses of all time, well, quite possibly may not be anymore. Metal Slug 1, 2, 3, X, 1M, and 2M were great and all. But SNK has...Well...Not quite passed; maybe ''chucked'' is the correct word; the torch on to Korean developer Mega Enterprises, in the good light with SNK for porting the established Metal Slug 2 and Metal Slug X, among many other SNK games, to the PC console for the Korean Market. But, Mega is actually DEVELOPING this game. And the endresult is quite, well..........odd.

Gameplay: 7/10
I could just give it a 10 because it's Metal Slug, but that wouldn't be right. Mega has loaded the game with plenty of new features, such as the ability to hijack enemy vehicles like the Bradlay (The giant missile-launching thingy) and, well, the expendable 3-Ton Truck. The hostages (Whose pleas are visible onscreen now) also do their part by driving some vehicles for you. There's also a new slug known as the Walkmachine, which looks like a Panther and is very much like the Camel Slug. There's also one new weapon, the dual machineguns. This weapon is unique in that it each character has their own sprites specifically for this weapon. It also eats up enemies like popcorn.
Most the slugs are absent in this release, as are the ''BIG'' weapons, but all the enemies are still here. From the Zombie Grunts to the Abonimable Snowmen, all the way back to the Mummies and The Contra-Inspired Supersoldier (Who you keep killing, over and over) it's all here. And some of the older, ''stupider'' enemies have new tricks up their sleeve. The artillery tanks now fire like they're on steroids, and the Bradlays pretty much guarantee death when they're pointed forwards and not diagonally. In addition, the Grunts themselves also have a couple of new weapons, and tend to use a lot of the cheaper tricks earlier in the game (Such as the leaping knife attack.)
However, the new bosses are rather disappointing. While they're all quite creative, the challenge is absent and some of the bosses leave you with that ''What?!'' taste in your mouth. The second and third bosses were even harder than the final boss, and the fourth boss is almost impossible to lose to, as you can arrive at its doorstep in Zombie mode. Rather disappointing. For once I'm WISHING they'd recycle bosses (As SNK did in MSX and MS3.)
Completely new to the series is a system simply called ''Combo''. Exactly how it works, I have no clue. I do know that you pick up shields to activate the mode, though. As for other random new things, you also receive Medals for killing tons of enemies in a row, which are acknowledged along with the hostages, provided you survive the mission. And, to finish, not all Slugs will die in 3 hits now; it depends on what it's hit by. The Vulcan Cannons appear to be much more powerful, as are the Metal Slug Attacks (The suicide move); as a matter of fact, some of the vehicles are only useful for this purpose.
Now would be a good time to start playing Metal Slug, as this game is exceptionally easy for the most part.

Graphics: 6-10/10
The graphics from the previous Metal Slug games are still intact for the most part and still looking as nice as they have, with some new Final Fight-esque ''harder paletteswap'' versions of the Grunts we all know and love...to kill. (10/10)
But, this is all SNK's work. Most of the in-game art <u>drawn by</u> Mega...Well, for lack of better word, sucks. The new characters, Trevor and Nadia (Who replace Tarma and Eri), look rather ugly compared to Marco and Fio. Trevor, for example, is a Tarma headswap with a blue jacket, gray pants, and a fat face. The art style employed by Mega stands out like a sore, gangreen thumb covered with blisters. While the later bosses and new animations for Marco/Fio visually can hold a candle to SNK's work, things such as the new idle animations for the grunts don't look too pleasing on the eye (I mean, their face just kinda inflates all of a sudden when they sit down...), and the new enemies and early level bosses (Such as the ''zombie-proof grunts'' and the airborne carrier) look rather cheesy and unpolished. But, as the saying goes, graphics don't make a game. Right?

Sound: 9/10
The sound is still as impressive and informative as it was in previous Metal Slug games. The announcer, or a very good impersonator, is back to voice the...uh, one new line.
There's nothing really to say here. Sound is great and gets the ''message'' across well.

Story: 8/10
This is something better explained by Mega. Apparently, a new threat has risen, and the PF Squad, along with the ''Regular Army'', who apparently now all reside in the same base, have tackled the challenge. Tarma and Eri have taken recon and are almost nowhere to be seen in the game (But they do help you out in some areas).
Now, this would be a rather bland story, but it's told through cool anime cutscenes, so it makes up (With pretty well quality, mind you.) But, even then, a shooter doesn't need a storyline, now does it?

Replayability: 9/10
Even after you beat it, you'll probably be compelled to return to it, even if it's just to kill time, or to check out the alternate routes in some levels. It's good quarter-munching fun and is even better when journeyed with a friend. But hey, you knew that, right?

All-in-all, the system is tried and true, and works, but some of the new features are overdone or just don't feel right. The challenge fluctuates a lot, and that's a bad thing. In the end, I felt that Metal Slug just wasn't the same, though, and that Mega has a long way to go if they want to churn out a product equal in quality to the original Metal Slug games. They took it a step in the right direction by axing the whole alien concept, introducing some new weapons and features, and adding in a more wartime feel to it, but, as stated, they still have a long way to go.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/02, Updated 06/02/02