Metal Slug Advance

By Spencer . September 30, 2005 . 12:32am

Purchase at Play-Asia

 

Purchase at Lik-Sang

 

When Metal Slug Advance was announced it sounded like it was going to be just another port of SNK’s arcade hit Metal Slug. Metal Slug Advance does have all of the gameplay that fans of the series will love, with enough tweaks to keep it fresh.

 

First of all you’ll notice that you can pick two all new characters, Walter and Tyra. As usual there isn’t a difference between the characters, besides their cosmetic appearance. One thing disappointing is that even though there are two players the game doesn’t have two player support. Metal Slug was always known for it’s multiplayer action and in this adventure it’s a solo mission. Metal Slug Advance removes one hit kills and giving characters lives. Instead you get a life bar, like one you would get when you jump into a vehicle. The life bar actually allows you to sustain more hits than three lives. If your life bar runs dry you’ll start back at the last screen you entered. With all of the food power ups that recover life, you’ll find yourself rarely dying. This formula makes Metal Slug Advance easier than it’s predecessors. For expert players you may want to play the hard mode when you pull the game out of the box.

 

Throughout five levels you’ll battle all sorts of enemies that range from soldiers to legions of the undead. You’ll also fight helicopters that drop bombs from the sky, giant tanks and even aliens. To fight back you can shoot bullets by pressing B or if you need to deal extra damage you can use some of your grenades by pressing R. If that’s not enough firepower you can pick up power ups that can give you a laser gun, the classic heavy machine gun and the enemy chaser. Sometimes you’ll need more fire power than you can hold. That’s where the slugs come in. These massive vehicles pack extra damage and have a separate life bar. Metal Slug Advance doesn’t have as many slugs as you would see in other Metal Slug games. We’ve seen the tank, the plane and with the card system we could play with the slug gunner.

 

Metal Slug Advance’s new addition is having cards that you can find in the levels. Some of the cards are found by saving a hostage, for some you’ll need to search out hidden areas others have odd requirements like not killing a single enemy. Some cards can affect what goes on in game. Armor cards reduce the amount of damage you take, one card can change your knife attack so it can take tanks down, other cards can alter what slug appears. Really rare cards will allow you to access new areas. Having a hundred cards to collect does increase replay value a bit, but only by a little bit.

 

The graphics in Metal Slug are OK. The game does look like it’s arcade counterpart, just less detailed. You don’t have as many different types of terrain and the screen isn’t filled with soldiers rushing you. On the other hand what you do have is a standard looking 16 bit game. The music is in the sort of in the same situation. You have boss music and other themes that are direct from the arcade games. Fans of the series will defiantly dig the good translation. On the other hand, this music isn’t the greatest and isn’t anything revolutionary.

 

Metal Slug Advance is something that followers of the series will appreciate. It does have it’s shortcomings, like it’s short, pretty easy and is your standard run and gun game without two player support If you’re the gamer that spent tons of money in the arcade playing Metal Slug or own a Neo Geo pick this up.

 

Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 2

The game does have Japanese menus. Yet, you can play the game without much of a problem. The only thing that I can see people having difficulty with is selecting cards.

 

US Bound?

Yeah it’s coming to the US in Winter 2004.

 

+ Pros: The card system gives this Metal Slug game something different.

 

- Cons: Only five short levels to play through and no two player support

 

Overall: Metal Slug Advance is a treat for fans, but the package isn’t quite there to warrant a full price purchase for anyone who doesn’t love Metal Slug.

 

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