The Demo Site

Back in 1996, arcade gamers were dazzled by the release of the chaotic shooter Metal Slug. Featuring super-quick gameplay, a comical graphical style, and far too much blood for a platformer, Metal Slug generated legions of fans. Indeed, the original Metal Slug featured such an addictive co-operative mode, and was so stupidly difficult, that it sent many shooting fans bankrupt... even at the bargain basement price of only $1 per play.

Fast forward 12 years, and the Metal Slug series returns with its seventh instalment... this time on the Nintendo DS. This game won't hit Western shelves until November 18, but it's already generating a fair bit of hype among our gaming press, and even more fervour on the less reputable, but far more hilarious, internet message boards.

But just like an uncaring parent who tells their child that Santa Clause doesn't exist the day before Christmas, KillScreen Poetry is here to ruin the hype. Why? Because, unfortunately, Metal Slug 7.... well, sucks.

I recently got my grubby, amoral hands on the Japanese version of the game, and I have to say, it was disappointing.

To be more specific, it's a boring, unimaginative, and repetitive clone of the 1996 original. It features the same characters, same animations, same game play, same sound effects, same fonts, same nonsensical plot, same strange emphasis upon rescuing half-naked "POWs", and the same choice of weapons (admittedly cool weapons... but the same, nonetheless).

What does Metal Slug 7 have that is new? Well, supposedly there are seven "brand new" levels. But really, when everything else looks the same, changing the background texture of a map and slapping a "brand new" tag on it doesn’t really work.

The only things that make Metal Slug 7 different from the rest of the series are the features it doesn't include. For instance, there's no co-op mode. There's no donkey or elephant vehicles. And there's no zombies. Yes I repeat: no zombies.

Why SNK has decided to make everything else in the game the same, but leave out the best staples, is a difficult question to answer.

Of course, the identical nature of this game isn't just a problem for Metal Slug 7. Any follower of the series will be aware that, with slight exceptions, every Metal Slug borders on being the exact same experience. And that's certainly a problem.



But the far bigger problem for Metal Slug 7 is that, unlike its six predecessors, it's being released at the tail end of 2008... a full 12 years since the original title first graced arcades with its presence. And like other games released in 1996 (think Quake or Crash Bandicoot or Destruction Derby 2), the fun and chaos of the Metal Slug franchise is well and truly past its use-by-date.

Indeed, the thought of spending $50 on a DS game that is largely identical to six other instalments you can download on MAME, or buy in a handy anthology version for the PS2, is not only a silly marketing decision by SNK, it underestimates the intelligence of gamers.

What I would like to know is just how much money SNK has milked off the original R&D of Metal Slug over all these years. The game engine must be the most overused and rarely-updated engine in history. Even the EA Sports titles feature more significant developments in their yearly updates. Hell, even the Smackdown vs RAW series features slight discrepancies between their titles... like updated wrestler haircuts.

The rest of the world has moved on SNK. It's time you did too.