Update: June 29, 2007
«©NCSX» Ten years ago, an unknown contender to the Contra franchise was released on the Neo Geo and surpassed its source of inspiration. That's right, surpassed by leaps and bounds with crisp visuals, tight control, and a little vehicle known as a Metal Slug. Over the past decade, SNK rode the franchise to five canonical releases on the MVS and Neo Geo hardware. Then there were the various conversions on the Gameboy Advance, the Playstation, Saturn, and Xbox. To mark the tenth anniversary of Metal Slug, SNK calls up four grunts named Eri, Fio, Tarma, and Marco and sends them into a 3D war zone for the first time in the game's history. As the story goes, in the year 2030, an invading army is on the march and it's up to heroic soldiers to take on the entire enemy force with guns, moxie, and fleet footed moves. Every soldier has a primary weapon in the form of a gun and a secondary weapon which may be a bomb, a rock, or other ordnance. The camera takes in the action from a behind-the-soldier view as he/she charges into battle. When attacking, it's possible center the targeting cursor on a soldier and run 'n gun around him while avoiding gunfire. Jan Code: 4964808300976 View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.
NCS Game Notes
» In the intro to the game, a cross on flag is wavering and armies are on the mark in thick boots followed by tanks . A dictator stands on a podium and appears to address his troops. Enter the heroes of Metal Slug who take on entire legions of soldiers - Marco's the first one up and his bullets rip into the bodies of his enemies followed by ejections of blood. Next up, Tarma whips though a forest while killing foes. Eri is in a dicey situation but she successfully disarms a bomb. Fio is running in a desert town when a soldier shoots a bullet at her head - which is stopped by a butterfly. She returns fire and kills her attacker. The insect wafts downwards but eventually rises up again as she looks up at it appreciatively. Marco then appears in a dusty landscape before the rest of the crew roll up in a Metal Slug...» Press START and the main menu offers the following selections: MISSION / Start a new mission, enter the garage, or try tutorial mode
EXTRA / Unavailable. Must be unlocked
RECORDS / Unavailable. Must be unlocked
OPTIONS / Toggle blood on/off, toggle subtitles, set sound volumes, set camera to normal/reverse, set cockpit view to TYPE A/TYPE B, set controller configurations, and save/load data to/from memory card. DEFAULT CONTROLS
SQUARE / Main Weapon / Vulcan
CIRCLE / Sub Weapon / Cannon
TRIANGLE / Knife
X-BUTTON / Jump
R1-TRIGGER / Lock On
L1-TRIGGER / Center Camera
L2-TRIGGER / Main Weapon Change
R2-TRIGGER / Sub Weapon Change » Note that only the L-analog stick may be used to move a soldier or Slug. The D-pad is rendered into serving the same function as the R-analog stick, which is moving around the camera. » In the Tutorial Mode, players learn how to move and use the camera, attack, and move the mighty Metal Slug. The first movement phase has Marco running around picking up red bars of treasure followed by a few gold bars. The second movement phase teaches camera movement to check out some hot-air balloons overhead and centering the camera by pressing L1. » When shooting, every shot is accompanied by a shell casing which clinks to the ground. When throwing a bomb (sub-weapon), holding down the O-button will shine a targeting marker on the area in front of the soldier. As long as the O-button is held down, players may use the L-Analog to target where to lob the bomb. The Lock-on feature allows for quick targeting and shooting down when confronted by a crowd of soldiers or a boss. The lock-on feature is also auto targeting - for example, when running towards a crowd of soldier, holding down R1 will sequentially move the lock-on target from victim to victim as each one is shot down. » After enemies are shot, they'll gargle out a death cry. After they're killed, there are no bodies left. Just splotches of blood on the ground. When the player's soldier is slashed or shot, a little storm of blood sprays out of his or her body. We expect the blood "feature" to be removed when the game is localized for the USA market. Apparently, the Japanese can handle a little blood but North Americans would be too traumatized by a smidge of red coloring in the air and on the ground. » To leap into the carriage of a Metal Slug, walk right into it and then press down on the L3 stick. Soldier boy will jump up and fall down into the cockpit. The control of the Slug is through the L3 stick where pushing left or right makes it turn and pushing up makes it roll forward. To retreat, push downwards and the slug will beat a slow retreat. The controls are slightly unwieldy when manipulating a Slug but since we've only had a few minutes to check the game out this morning, we're guessing that practice will improve the handling of the slug. » Rescuing captured hostages involves running up to them and slashing their bindings. As they rise up, they'll leave a little bonus item. » The enemy tanks look a lot like the tanks from Nintendo's Advance Wars with stubby design considerations and short gun turrets. » An area map on the lower right portion of the screen keeps track of enemies as well as the hero's position relative to opposing forces. Although there's a sweeping motion, all warm bodies are viewable on the scope at any time. This document is ©NCSX 2007. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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