RETRO REBOOT - Metal Slug: Super Vehicle-001 (Arcade/Neo Geo)

Yeah, Contra is a pretty good run-n-gun series and is a staple of solid co-op video gaming. I say, Metal Slug does it that much better and is far more immersive in every facet.  I may have said it before; when it comes to arcade infrastructure, very few could hold a candle to SNK's beefy, expressive sprites and sound direction.

Developed in 1996 by SNK and Nazca Corporation (a group made up of former Irem employees who were bought up BY the Fatal Fury producer), Metal Slug almost quite literally stormed its way into arcades around the time where the Contra series was dormant, or flat-out irrelevant. Their attempts to experiment with 3D action platforming generally went belly-up the several time they tried. You play as Marco Rossi and Tarna Roving (player 2 during co-op), running through stages and, in no uncertain terms, blowing the ever-living hell out of enemy forces, while rescuing your comrades. Armed with grenades, which can be stocked, and various sidearm power-ups, you mow through waves of extradition, to be met with a gigantic boss battle at the end of each mission. 

Metal Slug's visuals are just stellar, and some of my favorite uses of SNK's pixel work. Whereas I felt the King of Fighters series ran out of visual tricks to spruce up the dated technology during the late 90's, Metal Slug always looked more expressive and aged better in later years. Maybe they stuck with the tech for four years too long, but it complements Slug adequately.  

There's a lot to take in with the animation, enemy forces are torn apart by bullets in comically graphic fashion while gun powder-filled barrels lay waste to outposts and cabins. Without a ton of slowdown and occasional lulls in the action, Metal Slug is a loud and bombastic game that never gets dull to look at. So much of the stages feel like there's tons that can be interacted with or to plan your means of attack. From the animated tank treads to the rockets sending smoldering enemies flying, it's amazing cartoonish violence.  

The controls have come a long way with Metal Slug. More Contra comparisons a-coming, as it does serve as a tried and true example of effective and stimulating run-n-gun gameplay. The control scheme is incredibly simple for Metal Slug, one button for your main, one button for grenades. It gets far more intricate in its execution and physics, and feels way better playing it on an arcade stick.

If you're playing one of the home port variants, analog sticks can make the clockwise directional aiming with some weapons a little easier. With machine guns, you have to roll towards your direction, rather than pointing and shooting. Maneuvering Marco and Tarna about, the characters move and retain momentum, making Metal Slug a completely different beast than, say, Jackal, where even in a jeep, you just come to abrupt halts.  Controlling the eponymous tanks, the SV-001 and SV-002, boosts your defense, and takes some getting used to as far as navigating them.

With six total missions and huge bosses, Metal Slug is a sharp and challenging 2D action game with a great sense of humor and stimulating controls. It has a very stubborn difficulty and steep learning curve, so it can feel pretty unfair early on, as there's a good amount of cheap kills. There were a lot of fun action gunners on the Neo Geo and the SNK brand like Shock Troopers, Guerilla War, and Cyber-Lip. Metal Slug boasts tons of character and is worth trying out, if you want to test this arcade heavy hitter.   

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