Metal Slug

"Come break your teeth on this slug"

Before you bring out your forks and marvel at the prospect of eating a handful of slugs, take note that the ''Slug'' is preceded by a ''Metal''. So, even if that slug was comestible, you would very likely break your yellow teeth on it. However, Metal Slug is just a game. No, Metal Slug really is more than that. It came at the right instant to prevent an overlooked genre from withering in pain until the latter finally would have died without even enjoying a 24-hour funeral like someone just did.

For a heavy meal, take a slug, add spice and humor, serve fresh. No salad ! Monkey ! No money !

Metal Slug is a hilarious kill-em-all --the concept of just shooting being dead-- that takes place during World War II. As Marco and Tarma, 2 soldiers, you are set to clear towns, villages and oceans of the other bad guys who want to take all your food, clothes and women. But remember, as Patton said, ''the object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the opposite SOB die for theirs''. This helpful advice in mind, you play as either Marco or Tarma and have to tackle the 6 levels of Metal Slug, some of which take one hell of a time to end, which is a good thing.

Of course, in addition to your pathetic little gun, powerful weapons come and try to make your life somewhat easier while the Metal Slug itself can be very useful in taking care of hordes of grunts, mortars or whatever General Morsden has sent your way. From regular Heavy Machine Guns to the ultra-damaging Shotguns, Marco and Tarma can use several weapons, all of which have their definite uses. Bombs too are available and can be thrown to quickly get rid of an obtrusive tank.

As you progress through the stages, the sheer amount of details almost makes you want to stop and stare at the scenery but doing so just means four or five soldiers will jump at you and slit your throats. Metal Slug is that fast-paced but that doesn't mean the graphics have been rushed. The scenery is as realistic as can be and the utterly amazing amount of details add to an already impressive visual display.

As you enter a new town, funny scenes await you such as that soldier running after a maid to satisfy his manly desires. Each new screen you stumble in similarly holds funny surprises. Shooting at a toilet not only results in it logically exploding but also leaves a poor man with his pants down. The enemy soldiers cry out whenever you appear after dying and they will even make fun of you should you be lousy enough to die, just to add insult to injury…I mean, death !

Machines seem to come directly from the World War with a lot of clichés thrown in like the tall tanks which can't move after some time. Paratroopers even show how the war raged on and you really can't help but be immersed in the unique atmosphere of this game. However, Metal Slug isn't one of those gloomy, gripping games where your only action is to shoot endlessly like a Thunder Force-freak.

Strategic play is required here because, while enemies are always abundant and come in from every possible direction, special weapons are quite scarce and the ammunition is limited. You thus have to make the most of whatever you have and try to conserve ammunition since the bosses are always big, frightening machines which require a lot to go down.

And as a kill-em-all originally devised for Arcade cabinets, Metal Slug succeeds in every aspect. Hostages whom you need to rescue and who will reward you with items or weapons make the record aspect of the game crucial. Rescuing all of them soon becomes your prime objective since this also enables you to get a lot of points and trying to find all the hidden ones require hours of searching --in any case, my FAQ is here to help you.

The sound effects to their job well and add to the crisp and crystal-clear graphics. Explosions are realistic and all the weapons are fired accordingly. The voice-acting consists essentially of everybody crying and shouting amidst dozens of explosions and this works just fine. Some of the expressions are very funny and the perplexed soldiers will always make you laugh. The music is simply fabulous though with hectic themes that will set your blood boiling to one hundred degrees and maybe even more.

Every single theme is memorable and is perfectly in accordance with the mega-slugfest that is going on. Some of them can get slightly repetitive mainly because the stages are maybe too long but, all in all, Nazca's surprise hit delivers the goods well. At least, they don't suddenly stop playing like in certain titles.

The insane replay value, whether you play just for fun or you seek to improve your record, makes Metal Slug a worthy buy. The controls are top-notch and you'll be able to do some serious killing without having to do by the tedious process of getting used to all sorts of complex combinations. In any case, the ''How to play'' demo will answer all your questions.

Metal Slug is one of those games that must be played. And if you have already played any of the stunning sequels, this one is just for nostalgia so you can see how Marco and Tarma started. General Morsden's first appearance is, without doubt, the best one as he purposely suffers from all the faults of the main villains in all those Hollywood blockbusters. When in doubt, grab a Metal Slug !

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Roger !

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/12/02, Updated 11/09/02