Metal Slug 3 Review

Back in 1996, SNK Playmore did something magical that revived my perspective about platformers when they introduced the Metal Slug series. Since then, I've been playing every single release of Metal Slug 7, later revised to Metal Slug XX. I still, however, kept yearning for even more. It was heartbreaking when there were no real initiatives from the developer for a new release.

Earlier this month, an update from SNK announced the comeback of Metal Slug 3, this time on Steam. After five years of hiatus, being able to refresh my memories of this remarkable Run N' Gun 2D platformer has been nothing short of an exciting experience. Technically speaking, Metal Slug 3 is the same game as it was five years ago, but the amount of excitement it provides is still extraordinary.

Metal Slug 3 kicks in after the evil General Morden forms an alliance with a hostile alien race and declares rebellion against the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force that governs the world. Evidently, Mordern disappears during his second coup attempt, but the plot starts to thicken when he reappears from an apparent death and continues to threaten world peace. With S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. joining Peregrine Falcon Strike Force, they jointly fight their way to defeat Mordern and eventually unveil a truth that turns out more than startling.

However, during this expedition towards confining Mordern, your soldiers face an endless encounter of enemies who don't take warfare lightly. Whether your soldiers are running, swimming, or flying from one point to another, the enemies greet them with grenades, gunfire, bazookas, and shooting from copters, tanks, and bombing airplanes. Additionally, there are hordes of undead zombies and mummies, along with man-eating plants, bugs, aliens, and massive screen-filling bosses to make your soldier's lives more hectic.

Major. Marco Rossi and Cpt. Tarma Roving from the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force and Sgt. Eri Kasamoto and Sgt. 1st Class Fiolina Germi of S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S are the four characters in Metal Slug 3 as they blockade General Mordern's soldiers in five completely diverse levels. During this expedition, they tramp across the jungle, swim across the deep sea, rocket through the skies, and trek into outer space.

Controlling them is fairly easy: arrow keys are designated for directions, while three custom-assigned keys are used for shooting, jumping, and throwing grenades. Due to the nature of Metal Slug's genre, constantly moving left and right to aim and shoot while dodging grenades and bullets makes every step of it extremely restive. It's awfully difficult to complete a level unscathed.

Each level is poised with a variety of enemy attacks, and when a level is passed, life gets more difficult. Luckily, there is an option to grant unlimited continues, but each time players die, they lose their collected weapons, grenades, and the number of POWs they've freed.

Speaking of weapons, players start off with a handgun and ten grenades at the beginning of each mission. There are POWs that can be freed, and in most cases, they grant players high-powered weapons, but they come with limited ammo. These weapons are generally more powerful than enemy weapons and come in very handy when dealing with large assaults.

They range from a simple heavy machine gun to a rocket launcher, even going as far as a laser gun, iron lizard, and fire-breather. Adding to the enemies' misery, players can ride powerful tanks, jets, submarines, and helicopters, and they all come equipped with heavy weaponry. Much like high-powered weapons, these powerful vehicles are very short-lived, but if they can be kept alive with a regular supply of fuel, it's really bad news for the enemies.

Metal Slug is never meant to be a pleasant walk in the park; while it is easier for players to kill enemy soldiers, it's not difficult for them to do the same. A single enemy bullet can kill a player causing the loss of all collectables; nothing is more frustrating than losing a favorite gun with lots of ammo left in it.

While the gameplay is varied with numerous enemy types, Metal Slug 3 offers several different modes as well. Arcade mode is for diehard fans who have their pockets filled with coins. In this mode, players start from the beginning and play until the end with unlimited continuous; each play-through lasts for about an hour.

In Mission mode, players can play any particular level previously unlocked, mostly to explore multiple branching paths and experience new areas. The Online Mission mode offers co-op play with a Steam friend, but it's roughly the same as the Two-Player co-op mode. Metal Slug 3 can be played in four difficulty modes ranging from easy to very hard, and only the most skilled players dare to play in the harder difficulties.

Though the points earned are generally a lot more generous in hard modes, players can easily stay at the top of the leaderboards, eventually becoming the world's No.1 soldier. There are plenty of unlockables, including artwork and badges, which are new features introduced, but they don't come as easily as they may seem when you first start off.

Keeping the excitement aside, there are still some nagging issues with the gameplay, especially when it comes to shooting in some particular directions. It's very difficult to shoot enemies diagonally using the arrow keys, as players depend on sheer luck, shooting aimlessly around, hoping they hit the targets.

In addition to this, Metal Slug 3 can be extremely hard for newcomers, even on the easiest difficulty, as it requires them to play longer hours to master the gameplay. For the fans, however, it's more of a nuisance except for the lack of communication tools during an Online Mission.

Even though Metal Slug is a retro game, it still stands tall amongst most 2D side-scrollers of this generation. Its standard of creative visuals and amusing character designs are still milestones for many modern-day games. Sound effects of the weapons, enemy screams, exploding barrels, and the announcer's voice-over feel energizing even during the hundredth play-through.

Due to its cheerful visuals and comical animations, it is highly unlikely for players not to come back to the game over and over again. There may not be any noteworthy addition to this Steam version of Metal Slug 3; it's still worth every single penny.