Metal Slug 3 is not your average action game. It is actually quite an old
game that is now available on the Xbox console. The first thing you will notice
is that the graphics are just like an actual arcade game. Nothing too fantastic
or stunning but cartoonist in a way. Like most older arcade games they are still
fun to pick up and play once in a while because of their incredibly fun gameplay
and this arcade game is no different. Instead of going to the mall or an arcade
room you can play this game right in your home without trucking in a huge arcade
system for just $40
The entire Metal Slug 3 game is a two dimension side-scroller. Meaning you can
only move left and right, and once you move far enough to the right you won't be
able to go back in the game to the left. When I first heard about this game and
looked at some of the graphics I thought to myself "...are they kidding? This
looks like a gameboy game!". However once I got a copy of the game my thoughts
changed quickly. The whole game is packed with action and it is so fun you won't
care that the graphics looked like something hand drawn.
Gameplay
Normally video games become famous when the developer makes something new or
a totally different in the game. For example, Need For Speed Underground was a
fairly popular game because it was one of the first few racing games that
allowed you to customize your car anyway that you wanted. Because this was
something new and different people enjoyed. However, with Metal Slug 3 there is
nothing new at all, it is quite an old game and an even older concept. You have
a gun and you shoot things. This is the basics of hundreds of games and to have
a successful game you need to do something different. This game is very fun
because it is very different from a game like Halo, or Unreal Championship. In
MS3 the action never stops, there will always be an enemy, a tank, a helicopter,
or even a zombie on the screen to get past, and there is never only one. From
the time you start the first stage to the time you beat the final boss there
will always be multiple tasks to do which is all the same thing, shoot and kill.
Before you start the game you can choose what difficulty you want to play the
game on incase the action is too much or too little for you to handle. Overall
the game is very difficult to beat with just one person, luckily the game allows
you to have two people playing the game at the same time to help you through.
Even with two players it is twice as easy but getting through each level can
take a few tries. There are only a total of five stages and if you beat each one
on your first try then the game will be over in just a few hours. However if you
manage to use up all of your lives you will find yourself back at the very
beginning of the stage. This will get very frustrating as you just did all the
work to get through as much as the level as you could and then you have to
restart the entire thing, and this can happen multiple times.
For the majority of the game you are on foot side-scrolling through the level,
but a few times in each stage you will be able to get into a "slug" or vehicle
of some sort. Some of these slugs consist of a submarine, a camel, a robot, an
ostrich, and even an elephant. Each slug is a lot more powerful then the normal
characters. Each slug is equipped with weapons like cannons and missiles. You
would think that once you are inside of one the game would become much easier,
but that is wrong. If you happen to come upon a slug you will know that there is
something big ahead.
Gameplay Modes
Arcade - This is the main part of the game and consists of five
levels with a boss at the end of each. In this mode there is a level select so
you can always go back and play any other stages you would like to replay for
the fun of it or if you have a new partner that has never played before you can
replay the missions from the very beginning.
Storming the UFO Mother ship - This mode of the game only
becomes available when you have completed all of the arcade mode levels. In this
mode you will be able to play as the soldiers you fight against in the arcade
version of the game. You can either play as the normal soldier, one with a
bazooka, or the one with the shield.
Fat Island - This mode is by far the funniest part of the game. The
object of the game is to get as fat as possible. This mode is also not playable
until you have completed the arcade mode.
Combat Evaluation - In this section of the game you can look over how
well you are playing the game. You can view stats of things such as how many
items you have picked up, how many hostages you have saved, as well as your time
and score for each level in both the arcade and the UFO levels.
Graphics
As you can see from the screen shots the graphics are similar to a game boy
game and the entire game looks like a cartoon you would see on television. On
the other hand they look every much like an actual arcade game which is what the
developers where aiming for in this game. Everything on each level seems to go
well together even the backgrounds of each level are well done.
One of the few things that was improved from the pervious Metal Slug games is
some of the animations. Such if your player turns into a zombie, you can
actually watch the character be transformed into a walking purple zombie. Also
such things as bombs and missiles look really nice in this game, whether it is
one that you sent through the air or one that is head your way. Once a missile
actually reaches a target the explosion although it is cartoonist looks pretty
neat and still fits the rest of the cartoonist graphics.
Sound
Similar to the graphics the sound and background music in the game fit the
overall theme of the game, and is very much like an actual arcade game. Although
the audio part of the game is quite nice it is nothing to get exciting about. It
is great but just above average when compared to other similar games. There is
also a nice transition between music such as when you approach a boss, or move
into a creepier type of level the background music will fit the mood of the
level well.
Controls
For the most part the controls are extremely easy to get the hang of. In fact
there is no tutorial to show you the buttons because they can easily be found
out by just pressing them. Here is a list of the controls used in the gameplay:
Left Thumb stick - Move character
X - Shoot / Fire Culcancannon
A - Jump
B - Throw Grenade / Fire Cannon
L + A - Activate 'Metal Slug Attack'
Overall
Metal Slug 3 is a great game if you are a fan of arcade type games. If you
enjoyed Pacman, Frogger, and Centipede you are going to like this game
too. If you are more of the Halo type and want outstanding graphics and a story
line then you may just want to rent this game or play it over at your friends
house once or twice. Although there are a few downsides to this old school
arcade game the gameplay will never get old and is great to play completely
through at least once.
| The Core Score |
Overall
7.5 |
| Fun |
|
9 |
| Gameplay |
|
8 |
| Graphics |
|
6 |
| Audio |
|
7 |
| Replay |
|
6 |
|
