Gamertell Review: Metal Slug 7 for DS
by at November 20, 2008 3:30 pm
Sections: 2D, Action, Developers, DS & DSi & DSi XL, Exclusives, Game-Companies, Genres, Handhelds, Originals, Publishers, Reviews, Shooter
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Metal Slug 7 is definitely a run-and-gun game created with fans in mind. It offers enough variety and challenge to keep from being repetitive. Plus, it has a Combat School mini-mission mode and automatically keeps track of the last mission you left off at in the Main Mission so you can easily pick up the game and play.
It’s wonderful to finally see Metal Slug 7 finally arrive in the US, after being released in July 2008 in Japan. The game looks and plays beautifully. In fact, the only thing that would have made Metal Slug 7 better is if it had a multiplayer co-op play option or a Nintendo WiFi Connection Ranking list.
As is, it offers another game option for DS owners who have had their fill of Contra 4.
Battling an old enemy with reinforcements from the future.
The story has never really the selling point of a Metal Slug game and the story for Metal Slug 7 is somewhat generic. General Morden, who is to Metal Slug what Bowser is to Super Mario, has been spotted. So, Peregrine Falcon Squad and S.P.A.R.R.O.W.S. members Marco Rossi, Eri Kasamoto, Tarma Roving, Fio Germi, Ralf Jones and Clark Still are dispatched to take care of General Morden and his men.
Just when you think you have General Morden cornered, reinforcements suddenly appear and a whole new threat emerges for the Metal Slug 7 team to handle.
Seems simple but takes a long time to master.
Overall, Metal Slug 7 is wonderful. Fans of the Metal Slug franchise will be incredibly pleased with the latest incarnation. It adds in new slugs, it has six playable characters that each have their own unique abilities, it looks and sounds gorgeous and it is perfectly designed for pick up and play games.
For example, if you decide to play through the main game in Main Mission mode and you happen to run out of credits or turn off the DS in, say, Mission 3, the next time you play you can pick up at Mission 3 with all 9 credits. It also brings back the wonderful Combat School mode, which lets you go on a quick 5-10 minute mission.
My favorite part is the detail put into the game. The NPCs will actually cower in fear, if you happen to destroy their shields or pop up right in front of them. Also, the environments, vehicles and characters are all very crisp and detailed. I bet, if you enlarged the slug sprites and looked at them, you could even pick out screws. You can tell a lot of work went into creating the characters and the environments.
There are a few select quirks to that game which can make it difficult to master. For example, to fire directly below you, or below you at an angle, you often have to jump up in the air and shoot down. Since quite a few missions have instances where enemies can be lying in wait below you, it can be difficult to find a way to attack them that works for you. It is also incredibly easy to die. You have to be on constant alert – and always be ready to throw a bomb or shoot – to make sure you survive.
The difficulty level also seems a bit skewed. I’m not an exceptional Metal Slug player, so I decided to start off in the Beginner mode for Metal Slug 7. Oddly enough, it seems like Beginner is more like Normal, with Normal and Hard being even more devastating. This means that Metal Slug 7 is more a game for run-and-gun action fans, rather than casual action game players.
Also, the map is fairly useless. It takes up the entire bottom screen, but there are frames around it so you only see a small portion of the area you’re currently in. Searching the map requires taking the time to touch and drag the map on the bottom screen – a luxury you don’t have when ten soldiers and two helicopters are bearing down on your character. Plus, nothing is marked on the map. You can’t see where POWs are, just the layout of the level. It just seems like a waste of space.
A good way to gun on the run
There are really only two ways to truly play Metal Slug, in my experience: either in an arcade or on a handheld console. Thankfully, SNK Playmore realized this and, at the moment Metal Slug 7 is a DS exclusive. And, while other Metal Slug titles may have felt more comfortable in an arcade, Metal Slug 7 was definitely born to be a portable game. The ability to pick up at the last mission you left off on and brief Combat School missions are phenomenal, and you’ll wonder how you made it through a Metal Slug game without them. If you’re patient enough to spend time with it, and learn how to make your way through a level without dying repeatedly, you’ll find a place in your heart for the latest entry in this classic series.
Site [Metal Slug 7]
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