Metareview: Metal Slug Anthology

by David Hinkle { Dec 21st 2006 at 11:55AM }

Upon mentioning the name of Metal Slug, gamer ears perk up much like a dog that hears a school bus coming down the block. It's one of, if not the best, 2D side-scrolling shooters in existence. And upon releasing their anthology compilation on the Wii, many wondered how the title could take advantage of the Wii's specific features. According to the critics, the game doesn't really accomplish this, but the fun and replay value of the 7 titles within are enough to make up for it.

Nintendo Power (80/100) says it's a natural choice for fans of the old-school: "Fans of classic, side-scrolling, 2D action will love Metal Slug Anthology." [Jan. 2007, p.108]

Game Informer (75/100) points out the flaw in the control options: "The problem is that no matter which [control scheme] you select, you'll sacrifice functionality - either in maneuverability or how you lob grenades." [Jan 2007, p.107]

IGN (72/100) tasks us to not get our hopes up if expecting more than just the seven different games: "These are amazing games, and if you want to own them in any form, now's a good chance to do that. Just don't expect a grand fanfare when you boot the game up. It's basically seven titles for $40 bucks. No more, no less."

Tags: metal, metalslug, metareview, nintendo, nintendowii, slug, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

GOB @ Dec 21st 2006 12:15PM

They are great arcade shooters and worth the price, but most of the control schemes play terribly. Why SNK decided to omit the VC controller is beyond me.

adrien @ Dec 21st 2006 1:59PM

I think the control scheme straight out of the box is the best and fairly easy to use (holding the remote horizontally like an old NES controller, d pad for movement, 1+2 buttons for jump/shoot and shake the remote for grenades etc. Not sure why everyone's making that much of a big deal about this.