Title - "Metal Slug X"
Alternative title(s) - N/A
Genre(s) - Shooter action
Platform(s) - Arcade, Neo-Geo home systems and Play Station

Special thanks goes to Chupiler for some of the information that I never knew like the name of the big guy who I always call, "Mr. T. II/The Evil Mr. T."

For those that don't know, "Metal Slug X" is an upgraded version of "II". That's it. It's not a new game of the series.

If you have just started out on the "Metal Slug" series, think "Contra", but as a chat pal of mine said, "An easier 'Contra'". At least it's more sillier. If you thought this would be a series about a certain small critter being cool, sadly, that's not the case. Anyway, if you say that SNK created "Metal Slug", you'd be wrong because it was actually Nazca (a dead company now) that created it while SNK distributed it. Ever since then, SNK has created every single game after the first one up to this point.

The first game had Marco Rossi and Tarma Roving (the former being an Italian soldier from America and the latter being part-Japanese and part something else [I'm guessing he's also a mestizo because Tarma is a city in Peru and a good amount of the people there are mestizo. That's the only way he can have that name with the way I see it]). They had to stop a mad man named General Morden. If you had the home version (as in the one for the Neo-Geo C.D., Saturn or Play Station), you have an instructor named Sophia.

"II" was the first game to introduce the girls, Fio Germi and Katsumoto Eri (Italian and Japanese repsectively). Once again, General Morden is up to no good. In the home version of "II", your instructor this time is Meg.

Like I said, "X" is a upgraded version of "II" and like "II", you have to go through six levels of shooting madness. There are more weapons and the settings have changed a bit, i.e. the time period of some stages. Of course, there's the same fun you see in "II" as well as the whole series like seeing Aikawa Rumi giving you items as you go and the Metal Slugs, those tanks you ride in. With that, you see the troublesome parts of the series as well like seeing Allen O'Neil again, that guy with the big machine gun and the grenades.

Oh! Rookie basics. If you have never played a Metal Slug game, unlike many shooters, if you grab a special weapon, you have a limited amount of that weapon. That's why you should try to shoot with them when you need to, not in a careless matter. Three hits will crash your vehicle. There's not much else that I can say.

Fun - 10

Same insane fun. The upgrades made this game better. Can it get any better?

Life - 10

Sure, there aren't many reasons why you would want to play it again once you finish the game, but it still brings back feelings of the old days.

Control - 10

The control is still the same. There is a tutorial in the beginning if you don't know how the games work. Sure, you still can't shoot diagonally with your hand gun, but if we were to do that, it would be "Contra" now, wouldn't it?

Audio - 10

When I heard the change in the announcer, I thought it was for the better. Still, the guy before him was okay. Anyway, the music is still there and it's still that good. The soldiers still have their seiy, which is good. It's better hearing their screams if you lose a life than the constant dying sound you always have heard in the "Contra" series.

Art - 10

Yeah, there are some altercations from "II". Even if it just is altercations, the game still looks fine. You still have your enemy soldiers, aliens, potions and such.

Story - N/A

You don't play shooters for story now, do you? No. Yeah, this is "II" with upgrades, but still, you play shooters to kill enemies.

Overall - 10

"Metal Slug X" may be an oldie, but it still is a goodie. So, what are you waiting for private? Shoot down that Morden again.

+

It's an upgraded version of "II" and it still brings out old school shooter goodness.

-

It's a recreation of "II", but that can't be really bad, right?

Date of creation - 8/7/03

Last update - 8/11/04

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