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Review

Metal Slug 7

72%

Format Nintendo DS

Developer Ignition

Publisher SNK

Genre Action

1-Jul-2009 The arcade classic gets a fiendish handheld update

2 Comments

There's a hefty chunk of Nintendo fans who insist that videogames are getting easier and easier. In truth, they might have a point. Don't believe us? Jump onto the Virtual Console and download some NES nail-biters like Spelunker or Kid Icarus then. Ten minutes spent in the presence of the former will leave you silently rocking back and forth in your chair with white foam bubbling out of your nostrils and tears of blood streaming down your cheeks.

With that in mind, it's rather refreshing to see a game as mercilessly brutal as Metal Slug 7. This will come as no surprise to fans of the notorious run 'n' gun series and any concerns that SNK would dumb down the franchise to appeal to the mass market can quickly be dismissed. There's no namby-pamby tutorial level to ease you into the action here. You're tossed straight in at the deep end with waves of waves of trigger happy goons bearing down on your humble foot soldier.

If you've played a Metal Slug game before you'll know exactly what to expect - level after level of side-scrolling action, insane bullet swarms, huge bosses, ridiculous power-ups and a side order of belly laughs to boot.
As such, it's pretty hard to fault. It's not going to win any prizes for innovation; indeed, you'd be hard pushed to tell it apart from any of the other games in the series, but that's half the fun. There's a few new weapons and vehicles to try out but otherwise this is as cosy and familiar as that manky old pair of slippers you've been meaning to replace for the past decade. It's classic Metal Slug - straightforward, bonkers and hugely playable.

Heavy Metal
However, we can't help feeling that the developers could have tried a little harder. The decision to leave out co-operative Wi-Fi play is bewildering. Half the fun of classic arcade shooters like this, Contra and Gunstar Heroes is being able to bring in a mate to help you out and share in the slaughter. No such luck here though. SNK, what were you thinking?
Similarly mystifying is the poor use of the touch screen. All you get is a tiny, pointless map. Why not stretch the action over both screens, Contra 4 style, and double the mayhem?
There's more than a whiff of 'rush job' here.

It's also frustratingly short. Play it on Easy and you'll be done with it in an hour. Normal might take double that. As for Hard, well, that's a stupid question. Only a genetically-enhanced cyborg with 12 eyes could finish it on Hard.

Still, if you're a fan of the series, Metal Slug 7 is undoubtedly a rollicking good time while it lasts. And if you're a newcomer? Well, don't come crying to us when it hands you your bullet-riddled rump in a styrofoam box for the 100th time. You have been warned.

Fred Dutton