Metal Slug XX proudly hearkens back to its arcade roots. The game was designed to get you to “insert coin”, and if you want to see the end you either have to have the reflexes of a cat ninja or hit continue 83 times like me.

Can a game that unapologetically kills you for every misstep be fun?

Heck yeah.

Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of the Metal Slug series. However, my love for the series has never translated into skill. I am like the overly enthusiastic guy at the Y with the $200 basketball shoes and the retro Dr. J jersey who can’t make a layup to save his life. Sure, I might look like I know what I am doing, but as soon as the game starts, the illusion is shattered in a hail of gunfire. It is a testament to how amazing the game is that I can forgive the fact that I died 240 times before I beat it.

Metal Slug has always felt like it was designed for players to have a massive health bar and then, right at the end of development, they took the health bar out. Metal Slug XX continues this tradition of one hit death around every corner.

For those of you unfamiliar with the series, take old school, side scrolling, Contra-style action and crank the difficulty and the humor up to 11. This is old school, run and gun, side scrolling action at its finest.

I have played just about every Metal Slug game and I have no idea what the story is about. I know there is a bad guy General and apparently some guys from the future, but I really have no idea and I don’t really care. All I need to know is there are POW’s to rescue and bad guys to shoot. Those of you looking for character and plot development should look elsewhere.

Metal Slug is about shooting hundreds of guys and rescuing POW’s.

Metal Slug is not for everyone. To get even halfway decent at the game, you are going to have to study the levels and learn how to avoid the numerous obstacles and bullets. Even with careful planning, there will still be times where you will laugh at how impossible some sections seem. If you are not a fan of replaying a section over again to try to get a perfect run, you’ll probably breeze through the game, hitting continue every 30 seconds, in an hour and a half.

The inclusion of combat school helps with the replayability. With over 70 missions that challenge your skills, dedicated players can pour hours into this mode. I practiced one level enough that I was able to get through it without dying, which might qualify as a minor miracle.

While the game doesn’t quite reach the level of all time classic, Metal Slug X, The Captain and I still give this one a hearty recommendation to anyone who thinks modern games have become too easy, or anyone that appreciates old school Contra style action. At $19.99 you really can’t go wrong with Metal Slug XX.

Tags: 2-D, Captain America, Megal Slug XX, Metal Slug, psp, run and gun

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.