Metal Slug 7 blasts into Japan this July

Specifically, July 17. The first Nintendo DS iteration of Metal Slug has a seven stage main mission to complete. After you save the world you can try out eighty bite size combat missions given out by Cynthia. Back at GDC, I tried one combat mission out where I was up against a giant drill.

The other new feature in Metal Slug 7 is a touch screen map on the bottom screen. The screenshot on the left looks different from the build I saw in February. The scrollbar is gone, but you can still use the stylus to scan the area.

At this time SNK has not announced a North American release date for Metal Slug 7, but they will be releasing it sometime this year with the help of Ignition Entertainment.

Images courtesy of SNK.