Metal slug 4 is the fifth game instalment in the Metal slug series, and no, you don’t have to play any of the previous ones. At its core, the series is a 2D run-and-gun shooter, that has a more humorous approach to the military shooter genre. Metal slug 4 is more of the same. It neither has any innovation nor changes anything to the formula. While that would be fine for anyone who really enjoyed the previous titles, personally I was starting to get a bit bored, thus the lower rating.
Story
There is no story in the game. I don’t count anything that is outside the actual game. However, all the characters, enemies and allies, have a lot of personality simply due to their animations.
Mechanics and gameplay
If you have ever played any 2D game before, you will easily get the hang of the controls. It should be noted that auto fire is turned off by default. I was able to enable it in the settings.
You always start with the standard pistol and a few grenades. Thought the level, there are special weapons that are much more effective, although they have limited ammo. The most powerful weapons are the various vehicles. They are not only able to dispatch foes much faster, but they can also take damage.
Yeah, in Metal Slug if you get hit you die and one of your 3 lives gets used up. Since this was originally an arcade game, where higher difficulty meant more money, Metal Slug pulls no punches. There is however salvation, when your 3 lives are up you get the option to completely trivialize the game and just respawn at no cost.
I am a bit disappointed in the enemy and level variety. The last game had aliens, ancient ruins and while this focused more on robots, there wasn’t anything that grabbed my attention.
Graphics and artstyle
The artstyle is as always incredible. I believe all the sprites are hand drawn, which explains why they are so vibrant and full of life. Metal slug is the kind of series that manages to put more character in a low-level grunt, than most AAA games have in their protagonist.
Atmosphere
It’s an arcade game, so there is hardly any immersion.
Soundtrack and sound effects
SFX are great. You will always know when something dies.
The soundtrack is phenomenal. If there is one thing that you should take away from this review is that you should listen to the Metal slug 4 ost, in fact listen to all of them. Favourite part is “Secret place [stage 6]”.
Final Thoughts
Yes, I am a Marco main. How could you tell?
Story
There is no story in the game. I don’t count anything that is outside the actual game. However, all the characters, enemies and allies, have a lot of personality simply due to their animations.
Mechanics and gameplay
If you have ever played any 2D game before, you will easily get the hang of the controls. It should be noted that auto fire is turned off by default. I was able to enable it in the settings.
You always start with the standard pistol and a few grenades. Thought the level, there are special weapons that are much more effective, although they have limited ammo. The most powerful weapons are the various vehicles. They are not only able to dispatch foes much faster, but they can also take damage.
Yeah, in Metal Slug if you get hit you die and one of your 3 lives gets used up. Since this was originally an arcade game, where higher difficulty meant more money, Metal Slug pulls no punches. There is however salvation, when your 3 lives are up you get the option to completely trivialize the game and just respawn at no cost.
I am a bit disappointed in the enemy and level variety. The last game had aliens, ancient ruins and while this focused more on robots, there wasn’t anything that grabbed my attention.
Graphics and artstyle
The artstyle is as always incredible. I believe all the sprites are hand drawn, which explains why they are so vibrant and full of life. Metal slug is the kind of series that manages to put more character in a low-level grunt, than most AAA games have in their protagonist.
Atmosphere
It’s an arcade game, so there is hardly any immersion.
Soundtrack and sound effects
SFX are great. You will always know when something dies.
The soundtrack is phenomenal. If there is one thing that you should take away from this review is that you should listen to the Metal slug 4 ost, in fact listen to all of them. Favourite part is “Secret place [stage 6]”.
Final Thoughts
Yes, I am a Marco main. How could you tell?
Spinnerweb
5 months ago