Metal Slug

Metal Slug is a side-scrolling arcade shoot-em-up. This classic action game casts the player as Marco Rossi (or Tarma Roving in a two-player game), a brave commando sent behind enemy lines to rescue prisoners of war. Armed with only a pistol, Rossi must battle his way through swarms of enemies to reach the mighty final boss of each level.

Fortunately for our heroes, the enemy camps are generously littered with weapon power-ups. Picking up one of these can transform a simple sidearm into a heavy machine gun, rocket launcher or any of a number of other deadly weapons. Each has its own advantages, but the standby favourite is probably the machine gun, which spews a continuous stream of high-calibre rounds at the enemy. Ammo isn't a concern, so there's nothing to stop you just mashing down the fire button as you run through the camp -- in fact, it's the preferred solution.

Even better than weapon power-ups are the vehicles that give the game its name. The Super Vehicle (or SV-001) Metal Slug is a compact armoured vehicle with a stubby but powerful main cannon. Jumping into a Metal Slug will keep Marco or Tarma safe from most enemy small-arms fire, but beware: there are still enemy vehicles and weapons that can damage the tank. Each level's boss is different, with its own unique weapons and weak points; in keeping with traditional shoot-em-up gameplay, most of the boss fights turn on correctly identifying patterns in the enemy's movement and attacks and delivering maximum firepower during its vulnerable moments. Beating the later bosses provides a huge feeling of accomplishment, provided you don't go wild with frustration first.

Metal Slug's combination of fast-paced action and distinctive cartoon-like graphics make it a demanding yet enjoyable game in the old quarter-gobbler style. Like many of its arcade contemporaries, it's tense and exciting early on and fiendishly difficult in its later stages, requiring precise movement and a hail of bullets to keep Marco alive and rescue all the captives.

Originally released for the Neo-Geo arcade system, Metal Slug has proven to be a durable franchise -- this PC version is only one of countless adaptations for platforms ranging from the short-lived Neo-Geo Pocket Color to the Sega Saturn, the PlayStation, the Nintendo Wii and modern mobile devices. With its simple control scheme, the game and its many sequels have proven infinitely adaptable.

Pros

• Furious fast-paced shoot-em-up action
• Charming cartoon graphics

Cons

• Outdated graphics
• Limited replay value