Metal Slug 3

"Hard and fun game, with terribly addictive Live Scoreboards."

This may be the most pointless review I'll ever write. If you're what we call a hardcore gamer, you already have and love this game. It's lots of fun, it's plenty challenging, and it's classic material all the way. If, on the other hand, you're a casual gamer, you'll probably be turned off by the intense challenge and would rather play something a little easier. However, unlike the arcade and Neo Geo home versions of this game, the Xbox version has online scoreboards, and they add a lot more to this game than you might think.

The Metal Slug series is SNK's answer to Contra. You pick one of four little commandos, none of which have any gameplay differences. You run through five branching missions, shooting everything in your way and trying your best not to get killed. Your shots aren't at all limited, but you can get special limited-use weaponry scattered around the place. You also start each life with 10 grenades, good for pesky armored foes. One hit will kill you, but you can hop in Slugs: armored vehicles that give you some extra firepower and can be hit an amazing three times before exploding. And of course there's the Metal Slug Attack, in which you set the Slug on a crash course straight forward and leap out, destroying it and causing great damage to whoever it hits.

This is classic gaming, pure and simple. It's completely two dimensional, and hard. Very hard. You get four lives to finish a mission, and if you run out, you continue all the way from the beginning of the mission. Some people complain about this; the original arcade version and Japanese PS2 version let you continue right from where you left off. I, however, applaud SNK for this change. Without it, we'd all finish the game the day we bring it home, but with it, you need to get serious if you want to see the end credits.

Because of the game's branching pathways, two player mode, and intense difficulty, this short game will give you quite a bit of play. However, there's one other feature that completely sold me on the game and extends the replay value significantly: Xbox Live Scoreboards. You can't play two player online, but you can compete for highest score and fastest time through the game with thousands of others in your home territory (international scoreboards are, sorry to say, not there). Playing the game again and again to better your own score is well and good, but when you're competing with the rest of the country, you may find yourself with a real drive to improve. I probably would've stopped playing far earlier than I did if it weren't for these; in fact, I probably would've only rented the game instead of purchased it.

Beating the game adds two new modes. Fat Island is a two player competition in which you try to eat more food than your buddy, while avoiding death. It's okay, but you'll probably only play it once or twice. Storming the Mother Ship, however, is lots of fun. You play through most of the game's final, monstrous mission as a common enemy soldier, vastly underpowered, and with only one life. Beating this is something to write home about. And it's got Xbox Live Scoreboards too!

If you don't have Xbox Live, or just don't have any competitive spirit, this game is a good rental for the hardcore player who loves a good challenge. If you're more casual, though, I'd recommend looking somewhere else.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/15/05