SNK Playmore would have done better creating some sort of continue earning system for freeing hostages, with continues starting from where you last died, rather than forcing players through the entire level gain from Point A.īeating Metal Slug 3 is not an easy feat. When your last life expires, the continue takes you all the way back to the start of the mission, forcing some incredible skills in order to beat the end of the game. In the arcade, if you get toasted, you plop in another quarter and start from where you lost your last life. Of course the endless alien space ships, suicidal zombies, and giant metal spiders, make it quite tough to beat this long mission, but it's the change SNK Playmore made in the continue system that really hurts. It's the fifth mission, which is as long as the first four missions combined, that will give most folks fits. While the first four missions are tough, they can be beating with just a few plays through. As it is, even the most tried and true arcade gamer will have trouble waltzing through Slug 3. Xbox Live or even System Link support would have gone a long way to adding to Metal Slug 3's value. Metal Slug 3 is f'ing difficult, just as tough as in the arcades, so it helps that you can play co-op with a buddy, even if it's on the same machine. It should be noted that unlike the arcade version, the blood is red and plentiful on Xbox - so hey, that's one big improvement. You do earn an interesting grenade function, which has you projectile vomiting a line of blood at your enemies. If you're hit by their mutant loogies you turn zombie yourself, unable to jump and barely able to move faster than a snail with asthma. My favorite is the second level, which pits you against zombies. While the initial desert mission may be a bit plain, the others pick things up. The five separate missions offer different settings and each has its own feel to it. Though many of your shots are done straight ahead (you can shoot lower by crouching) there are enough times where you'll need to aim diagonally up or straight up that the ability to quickly swivel your aim is a solid asset. The Xbox version of Slug 3 allows for both Thumbstick and D-Pad aiming, which is helpful, with the Thumbstick the better alternative. That's pretty much it outside of the Metal Slug attack, which is performed from a vehicle when you want to send it into a suicide ram with an enemy. It's basic, but that's the beauty of Metal Slug 3. The controls, even in the vehicles, never really change. There are also 10 vehicles you can hop into throughout your journey, though 'vehicles' is a rather loose term as you'll be hopping on the back of elephants and camels along with riding a mini-sub, helicopter, and jet fighter. Some weapons, like the Heavy Machinegun, offer a steady stream of gunfire, but others are more inventive, such as the Enemy Chaser missiles, which track down onscreen enemies and deal devastating damage. Though you begin with only a basic hand gun (you'll have to tap X constantly to keep up your rate of fire) it's easy to come across new weapons by defeating enemies and freeing hostages. Taking place across five missions, you choose from one of four heroes (though don't expect any different gameplay experience between the four) and spend all of your time shooting and dodging. This is a balls-to-the-walls 2D side-scrolling shooter. Gameplay Make no mistake, Metal Slug 3 is about as complex as 2 + 0, but it's a lot more fun than any math equation.

With that in mind, does Slug 3 equal its $40 value? I have to judge Metal Slug 3 against the rest of the Xbox library.

This is an arcade game, but I'm not reviewing an arcade game - I'm reviewing this as an Xbox title. Not only is it not the latest Slug ( 4 and 5 are out in the arcades), it offers only marginal improvements over the arcade version with some extra modes, but little else. So comes the problem with reviewing Metal Slug 3 a four-year old arcade shooter.

Metal slug 6 arcade cabinet