Metal Slug Anthology

Metal Slug is one of those rare games that still kicks it old school in the face of everyone demanding polygons and sandbox game-play. The game hasn’t really changed that much in the 10 years or so it’s been out, and even then it’s staying true to a design that harks back to the earliest days of the industry.

The colourful, cute 2D graphics and the simple shooting mechanic may put off some, but don’t be fooled; Metal Slug is about as hardcore as they come. We’re not just talking about blood and guts – although plenty of those can be found – because Metal Slug also sticks true to the old school in regards to difficulty.

If you haven’t played a Metal Slug game by now – and you’re really doing yourself a disservice – then here’s the gist: you take control of one of four characters, and you blast your way through each stage with power-ups and grenades. What separates Metal Slug from other games like Contra is that you can hop into a variety of vehicles – ranging from tanks to camels – and blow stuff up with those. Good times.

There have been seven Metal Slug games, and originally Metal Slug Anthology was going to contain only Metal Slug 1 – 5 and Metal Slug X. However, SNK recently announced that Metal Slug 6 would also find its way onto the collection, meaning that Anthology now contains every Metal Slug game ever.

For the price of admission, you get seven fantastic shooters – and Metal Slug is the only place you’ll find the ability to vomit blood at your enemies as a zombie. It’s not really one for the younger kids, but the hardcore crowd is certainly drooling in anticipation. It doesn't look set to use the Wii remote in any innovative way, but who cares? If you’re a hardcore gamer, this is one of the biggest games on Wii. Make sure you stay tuned to NZGamer to find out how true to the originals this compilation is.