Developer: SNK Publisher: Agetec Released: 04/14/01 Genre: Action
Metal Slug was a breath of fresh air within the Neo Geo library. In a sea of fighting games and the occasional shooter a bad ass side scrolling action game along the lines of Contra was needed. With its popularity it was only a matter of time for a sequel and Metal Slug 2 followed soon after. But for as good as that game was it did have some glaring flaws. Metal Slug X is an upgraded version of Metal Slug 2 that adds a lot of content including weapons, music, and enemies as well as remixing the levels. This is a much better version of an already great game and a must buy.
Metal Slug X adds a truckload of new weapons to your arsenal. The laser rifle, iron lizard, drop shot, and enemy chaser are all excellent additions to the game and serve different purposes. The enemy chaser is your standard homing shot. The iron lizard is a remote controlled bomb that travels along the ground and is super powerful. The laser rifle pierces through multiple enemies at once but burns through ammo fast. The drop shot is a bouncing land mine that is better than the standard hand tossed grenades. The distribution of weapons is greater so that unless you die frequently you will rarely use the standard pistol.
Aside from more weapons there are new slugs too. There are four in addition to the standard tank. The Camel Slug is exactly that, a camel with Vulcan cannons attached. The Slugnoid is only available to fight the second level boss in one of the most memorable encounters in an action game. The VTOL is a fighter jet that sadly sees little use. Slugs appear more frequently throughout the game yet they don’t feel overpowered. What is both a hindrance and a help is fatso mode. Each too much food and you become overweight. Although you move slower all of your special weapons are stronger. The extra firepower is massive, to the point you might actively want to become fat. Imagine that. Plus its hilarious to stab enemies to death with a fork and slap them with your belt.
Metal Slug confined its adventure to Western Europe. Metal Slug X takes you around the world, from Egypt to Siberia and China. General Morden’s forces have been bolstered by ludicrous futuristic technology like gigantic walking tanks and massive warships. The sci-fi bent does not stop there as later in the game you find the source of this technology, Martians! As ridiculous as it sounds the presence of aliens lends the game a greater sense of variety over the standard military forces. But it does not stop there.
Mission 2 takes place inside an Egyptian pyramid. Here you face mummified enemies that breathe dust that will turn you into a mummy. Being a mummy is a detriment as you are limited to the pistol, move slower, jump lower, and all around suck. Literally everything in this level will try to change you which makes the entire trip up the pyramid both nerve wracking and incredibly fun. You can get an antidote but chances are you will die before then. This excellent level ends in an incredible boss battle against a massive mechanical crab while ascending an infinite tower. All this while piloting the Slugnoid, a slug unique to this stage. The game manages to keep up this variety until its conclusion which is why it is revered in the series.
In spite of all the changes in Metal Slug X it still puts up quite a fight. For its first four levels Metal Slug X has better balance than its predecessor in spite of its chaos. You will rarely find yourself without some power-up and even though the number of enemies has increased it remains fair. The game moves from one inventive scenario to another at a brisk pace and delights in showering the player in cool set piece moments. Boss battles drag on longer than I would like but that is one of my few complaints.
That changes once you reach mission five. The introduction of sturdier enemies like the aliens and mutants makes the standard pistol obsolete. Unfortunately if you do not have special weapons prepare to die repeatedly. The pacing is really bad as the game shows little restraint in throwing wave after wave of extremely powerful enemies in your path. By the end it almost feels like the designers really did not want anyone to reach the end. Luckily you have unlimited continues but I would have preferred the awesome pacing of the first half over this. It does not ruin the game but constantly dying due to what feels like unfair design hampers the fun a bit.
Metal Slug X features the same insane attention to detail as its predecessor but benefits from a greater variety in settings. Although the game delves into the mystic and science fiction the art direction still remains cohesive. The PlayStation version loses more frames of animation than before but remains a pretty game. The levels have set transitions between scenes where the game loads so that you don’t suffer the sudden mid-level loading breaks of the first title. The crippling slowdown that plagued Metal Slug 2 is more or less gone which does wonders for gameplay. For Metal Slug X several levels have had the time of day changed and in many cases it ruins the mood established in the original. Overall though considering the amount of new enemies and bosses the tradeoff is worth it.
In Closing
The PlayStation version of Metal Slug X is great and more than enough to satisfy action game fans. Even though Metal Slug would continue it still remains one of the better titles in the series. Whether stand alone or part of Metal Slug Anthology action fans have no excuse not to buy this.
