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Metal Slug 7
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Developer: SNK Playmore
Genre: Action
Release Date: November 18, 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS
ESRB: T - Teen
Reviewer: Eric
 The Metal Slug franchise usually gets left in the dust, mainly because of
Contra. Both of these franchises offer great gameplay where anybody could pick
up a controller and play. Instead of trying anything new with Metal Slug the
series is staying with its 2-D roots on the Nintendo DS.
Recently Metal Slug has been showing up every where in the last few years.
Numerous collections have been released and certain games in the series have
been showing up on the Wii market place and Xbox Live. When it came time to make
the seventh game in the series it was great to see that the same gameplay would
still be intact, but this isn’t always a good thing.
Metal Slug 7 does not really try anything new. Everything fans are familiar with
can still be found in this game. The character select screen is the biggest the
series has seen. You can pick from six characters. Favorite characters are back
as well as some new faces. It doesn’t seem to matter too much who you pick
honestly, the game plays the same no matter what.
Every character has their own special attack, all of which do massive amounts of
damages to enemies or bosses. All of the characters are supposed to have
strengths and weaknesses but I honestly don’t see it. I may be over looking
certain aspects; to me all of the characters are the same, no matter how you put
it.
The games story takes place where it last started, after the fourth game in the
series (after 4 the series sort of jumped the shark in ways, story wise). There
are seven stages in the game, all of which feature some of the hardest boss
fights you will ever encounter in a sidescroller. The story will progress nicely
as you complete stages; just don’t expect lavish cut scenes in this game.
Most of the regular enemies have been seen before in previous games. Some
enemies got a fresh new coat of paint while others were just cut and pasted in.
It doesn’t matter a whole lot since Metal Slug is all about the gameplay, but
you can use the whole Been There, Done That saying with Metal Slug 7.
I am not a fan of the stylus on most games. The two screen aspect of the
Nintendo DS only seems to work whenever you are playing mini games or RPGs (to a
point). SNK Playmore might have realized this because the touch screen is only
used as a map. I think this screen could have been used better, but this basic
gameplay is nice when you are playing an action game like Metal Slug 7.
 There are three difficulties to pick from with different paths to choose from in
stages. If you want to beat the game then I suggest playing through Easy. Even
at this difficulty is still challenging. At best the game takes an hour or two
to beat, however if you plow through and some how win then an hour is all you
need. If you want to get the most out of this game then you better try all of
the difficulties. By not doing this you are not getting the full potential that
Metal Slug 7 has to offer.
I was really impressed with the games graphics and music. There are only a few
animation flaws, other than those the game looks great. Again Metal Slug 7 does
not try to impress any new school gamers. Old gamers will fall in love with what
SNK Playmore did with the seventh game. The games music alone will grab both
sets of gamer’s attention though.
Final Verdict
Metal Slug 7 might be missing a few things but the overall game is a load of
fun. I find myself putting this game on every now and when I do I seem to loose
track of time, the game is that much fun. Fans of old action games should pick
this one up immediately.
Rating
8 out of 10
Metal Slug 7 Trailer
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