Metal Slug Advance Review
By: Bernie Yee
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Gameplay
3. Graphics
4. Sound
5. Replay
6. Conclusion
Introduction
Ah, Metal Slug, one of the best well known game series made by the Japanese company SNK. I remembered when I first played this on my Playstation and boy, did it hog most of that summer. In Metal Slug, you played the role of either 4 characters, and your job was to defeat enemy soldiers from invading your land, and in one game, featured aliens as well! Now, a few years later, Metal Slug has arrived on the GBA by the name of Metal Slug Advanced. It’s very much the same old Metal Slug, just a bit watered down, but nonetheless, still a classic game.
Gameplay - 10
When you first start up Metal Slug Advance, you get to select from either Walter or Tyra. Once you selected your character, you’d be presented by a menu, where you can see your collectable cards, set options, see your records, etc. In the same menu, you are able to select your missions.
Every mission is the same, save hostages and kill everything else, which sounds repetitive, but is actually very fun! You move your character from left to right, and at the same time, blow up tanks, helicopters and knife enemy soldiers. Your character starts off in each and every level with a single handgun with unlimited ammo, but that’s not the only weapon you can use. By blowing up enemies and saving hostages, sometimes they will drop weapons, which you can use. Some of the weapons include rocket launchers, lasers and heavy machine-guns. However, unlike the handgun you start off with, these weapons have limited ammo, so watch out and use them carefully!
Ever wonder why the game is called Metal Slug? Well, simply because the vehicles you can drive and shoot, are called slugs and they’re mechanical, so they’re metal! There are many vehicles you can drive in Metal Slug Advance including an airplane and tank.
One new addition to Metal Slug Advance, is that you no longer get killed in one shot, you have a life bar, which won’t get depleted unless you get shot several time and you can regain HP by eating canned food that you get from hostages or boxes you shoot apart.
One thing that have been taken away are the humors of the older Metal Slug, for example, in Metal Slug 2, where SNK made a spoof of Independence Day with the aliens ( I found that very hilarious ). If there are any at all, I wasn’t able to find any trace of it, just traces of a pretty good Metal Slug for the GBA, although it’s watered down with a few good tweaks.
Graphics – 10
When compared to the other side scrolling shooters like Contra and Megaman, Metal Slug wins hands down, no questions asked. The many explosions are very detailed, as well the character sprites and animations.
Sound – 8
The sound in this game is very clear and easy to hear. When enemies die, and give off their UGH, it’s like music to my ears ( it’s that good! ). The music is great, and changes every so often. There’s also the announcer guy as well, which tells you what item / upgrade you got.
Replay – 8
Metal Slug has a lot of replay, and like I said, the first one hogged most of that year’s summer when I got it. You can never quite get bored of blowing things up with rocket launchers, grenades, and knifing enemies and hearing that sound they make.
Conclusion
Overall, this game is a very good port of the older NeoGeo and arcade versions of Metal Slug. The gameplay is almost the same to the other ones in the series, graphics are sharp and detailed, and the sound is outstanding.
If you like fast-paced shooting games that are also simple and easy, then get Metal Slug Advance, it’s one of the best side scrolling shooters for the GBA and you will not be disappointed!
SCORE = 9/10
By: Bernie Yee
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. Gameplay
3. Graphics
4. Sound
5. Replay
6. Conclusion
Introduction
Ah, Metal Slug, one of the best well known game series made by the Japanese company SNK. I remembered when I first played this on my Playstation and boy, did it hog most of that summer. In Metal Slug, you played the role of either 4 characters, and your job was to defeat enemy soldiers from invading your land, and in one game, featured aliens as well! Now, a few years later, Metal Slug has arrived on the GBA by the name of Metal Slug Advanced. It’s very much the same old Metal Slug, just a bit watered down, but nonetheless, still a classic game.
Gameplay - 10
When you first start up Metal Slug Advance, you get to select from either Walter or Tyra. Once you selected your character, you’d be presented by a menu, where you can see your collectable cards, set options, see your records, etc. In the same menu, you are able to select your missions.
Every mission is the same, save hostages and kill everything else, which sounds repetitive, but is actually very fun! You move your character from left to right, and at the same time, blow up tanks, helicopters and knife enemy soldiers. Your character starts off in each and every level with a single handgun with unlimited ammo, but that’s not the only weapon you can use. By blowing up enemies and saving hostages, sometimes they will drop weapons, which you can use. Some of the weapons include rocket launchers, lasers and heavy machine-guns. However, unlike the handgun you start off with, these weapons have limited ammo, so watch out and use them carefully!
Ever wonder why the game is called Metal Slug? Well, simply because the vehicles you can drive and shoot, are called slugs and they’re mechanical, so they’re metal! There are many vehicles you can drive in Metal Slug Advance including an airplane and tank.
One new addition to Metal Slug Advance, is that you no longer get killed in one shot, you have a life bar, which won’t get depleted unless you get shot several time and you can regain HP by eating canned food that you get from hostages or boxes you shoot apart.
One thing that have been taken away are the humors of the older Metal Slug, for example, in Metal Slug 2, where SNK made a spoof of Independence Day with the aliens ( I found that very hilarious ). If there are any at all, I wasn’t able to find any trace of it, just traces of a pretty good Metal Slug for the GBA, although it’s watered down with a few good tweaks.
Graphics – 10
When compared to the other side scrolling shooters like Contra and Megaman, Metal Slug wins hands down, no questions asked. The many explosions are very detailed, as well the character sprites and animations.
Sound – 8
The sound in this game is very clear and easy to hear. When enemies die, and give off their UGH, it’s like music to my ears ( it’s that good! ). The music is great, and changes every so often. There’s also the announcer guy as well, which tells you what item / upgrade you got.
Replay – 8
Metal Slug has a lot of replay, and like I said, the first one hogged most of that year’s summer when I got it. You can never quite get bored of blowing things up with rocket launchers, grenades, and knifing enemies and hearing that sound they make.
Conclusion
Overall, this game is a very good port of the older NeoGeo and arcade versions of Metal Slug. The gameplay is almost the same to the other ones in the series, graphics are sharp and detailed, and the sound is outstanding.
If you like fast-paced shooting games that are also simple and easy, then get Metal Slug Advance, it’s one of the best side scrolling shooters for the GBA and you will not be disappointed!
SCORE = 9/10
