TheBigBB
Formerly known as dmhawkmoon
- Joined
- May 5, 2002
- Posts
- 6,152
Okay, no more speculation. I recieved my copy of the game today, and it's time for me to set the record straight about the merits and downfalls of the PS2 MS3 port. Keep in mind that I am a huge Metal Slug fan and Metal Slug 3 is one of my favorite games ever; it's the first Neo-Geo game I ever owned. I would not take kindly to this port being sub-par. I'm saying this because I want people to trust the review I am about to give.
FEATURES
First, I will do a brief summary of the game's modes and features. You can play arcade mode, which is just the normal game; at first, this is all you can select. You can do a mission select allows you to play any mission you've completed and view the ending. You can play two mini games, one where you collect food to gain as much weight as you can and one where you play as a soldier going through the UFO. (I go into detail later) You can look at a list of all the different soldiers you've rescued. There are over 1000 names to collect! You can look at a list of all the point items you've found and what the worth of each is. You get a high score table of points and of clear time for arcade mode and the UFO game.
COMPARISON
There is no reason for me to actually review the arcade mode again. We all know that Neo-Geo MS3 is one of the finest 2D shooters ever made. The question here is whether the PS2 port does the game justice and exactly what was lost and gained in the porting process. Yes there are mini games and I will get to those later, but absolutely, the core of the game is still arcade mode.
I am playing this game with a Hori Soul Calibur 2 stick and this thing feels very much like a Neo-Geo old style joystick, so I can easily tell if the game is playing poorly.
Now, I have played the game all the way through, and let me just say, IT'S A GREAT PORT. I will get to the differences in a second, but at the heart of it, this is the Metal Slug 3 we know and love. Casual Metal Slug players wouldn't even be able to tell they were playing a port at all. The gameplay is 100% intact.
There are a few differences, though. First, the sound effects. It's hard to say whether they are actually worse, but they are not exactly the same. The one most people will notice primarily is the regular gun. It does not sound right. Now, keep in mind, it's not like the original had some kind of godly sound effect for shooting. This isn't a realistic simulation game. The fact that the sound effects aren't 100% the same isn't necessarily a downfall, it's just... That's how it is. Take it as you will. Not everything is noticably different and within a few minutes I didn't even notice anymore. Some of you will balk at this, others won't give a damn. I'm in the latter crowd, although I do prefer the original in this respect.
Now I will address is the graphics. For those of you who are emultaion whores, let me just say that the graphics do actually look like this on the real thing. People complaining about pixelated graphics are calling themselves out as ROMZ whores. The graphics sometimes don't look perfect, though. The background on the desert looked a little ehhhhh. Overall maybe it looks a little worse, but 99.5% of the time you cannot tell that it looks different at all.
The gameplay? It's all there. I didn't see any slowdown or at least none that I noticed. It may have slowed down a few times, but if it did then it was also like that in the Neo-Geo version. THERE IS NOT EXTRA SLOWDOWN AT ALL. If anything, there is LESS SLOWDOWN. There was a part in the space ship section where I was a little bit thrown off because I think it slows down a lot more in the Neo-Geo one and I was expecting that. The asteroids were actually hurtling towards me at full speed. Also, on the last boss, there wasn't slowdown! On the original, it slows down like crazy at that part if I rememebr correctly. The little bullets flying up from the bottom were harder to avoid because of that. I am so used to slowdown on these games that it's hard for me to judge well when it's slowing down, (feels like a part of the game to me) but I can say with a lot of certainty that slowdown is not an issue on this port.
So, fuck the reviewers who complain about slowdown and graphics. Maybe take off a half point for the graphics at most. ZERO for slowdown. The biggest problem is the sound effects. The music is unscathed, I am happy to report.
By the way, the ability to do a mission select is fantastic. That's something I always wished was a part of the originals.
MINI GAMES
The mini games are really cool, especially the UFO one. I shall explain how they work in depth here.
UFO GAME
The objective is to reach the part of the UFO with the general. You select between three types of soldiers, each with vastly different abilities and scoring potential. The mission progresses through the following areas:
Beginning of the UFO -> Spider section -> Clone section -> Mid boss -> Electrocution chamber
These areas play out exactly as they would in the normal game except that you are leading a group of soldiers. As a soldier, you are much more limited in what you can do and how you can shoot, but you have a massive army with you. They serve as bullet shields and offense. You'll have like 15 soldiers around you at some points, making you feel invincible, but the thing is, you take one hit and that's it. The game is over. Start all over again. It took me a long time to beat this mode.
Here are the soldier types:
NORMAL - This is a grenade throwing soldier. While standing, he throws grenades up and they fall pretty close in front of him. While ducking, he hurls them suckers much farther and faster. He's the most mobile of the three, but he can't shoot while jumping, and he's not good at taking out enemies since his best attack require that you be ducking.
BAZOOKA - This guy is the most powerful of the three and he's the one I was able to win the mission as. He can only shoot one shot at a time, but it's super strong. It takes out those robots in 2 hits! This soldier can even shoot in the air! He's not all that mobile, though, and if a spider gets on top of him he has no close range attack. One shot at a time means that if you miss you'll be a sitting duck for a while. Still, the fact that his shot is so strong and the fact that he can duck and shoot straight across the screen gives him a distinct edge. Your scoring potential is lowered due to less shots per kill, though.
SHIELD - One of those shield soldiers who shoots the small red bullets. He can have three on the screen at once. He is also the only soldier with a close range attack. He busts out that sword if something gets on top of him. That makes him have a slight advantage for evading the spiders and for up close fighting in general. Still, he's harder to get to the end with than the bazooka guy because he cannot shoot while ducking. The spiders will blow him up a bit easier due to this. He has a very high scoring potential, though.
Also, each soldier has 10 bomb attacks where you call in that rambo dude and he clears out the screen for you. There is a delay between when you can perform this move, though, so you better not get in trouble too fast after using it.
Overall, this is a really cool mini game. You can easily spend hours with this trying to get to the end as all the different soldiers. There are also a number of soldier hostages on this game which I think get added to your hostage list.
FAT GAME
In this game, you can play with 1 or 2 people and the object is to collect as much food as you can. You have to be at least 200kg after each round or you lose. You start at 100kg and each piece of food gives you roughly 3kg. On the first 3 missions, every death is -30kg. On the final mission, you cannot die or the game is over. Here are the mission summaries:
1 - Soldiers come on from all around and drop food when you kill them.
2 - You and an AI controlled fat person compete for the turkey dinners
3 - You and an AI controlled fat person compete for the turkeys while being assaulted by soldiers
4 - Same as #1 except the rambo guy is also there and a death is a game over.
I never won this mode and I never got to play it with a friend, but you get the idea. At the end, it totals up how much weight you gained over the course of the game. Pretty fun game and a good idea. I like the UFO better right now, but you can't do that one with 2 people.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it. It's a worthy port that plays perfectly and gives you more options. The sound efects aren't perfect and the graphics are only almost perfect, but they are not what matters the most. The music and gameplay are such that I honestly cannot tell that there are any negative differences. If I was playing the game just for a quick run through, I'd definitely fire up my Neo version, but you can't go wrong with this. Those who have been holding out because they couldn't afford a home cart, go ahead and get this. You will not be disappointed.
<small>[ June 24, 2003, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: dmhawkmoon ]</small>
FEATURES
First, I will do a brief summary of the game's modes and features. You can play arcade mode, which is just the normal game; at first, this is all you can select. You can do a mission select allows you to play any mission you've completed and view the ending. You can play two mini games, one where you collect food to gain as much weight as you can and one where you play as a soldier going through the UFO. (I go into detail later) You can look at a list of all the different soldiers you've rescued. There are over 1000 names to collect! You can look at a list of all the point items you've found and what the worth of each is. You get a high score table of points and of clear time for arcade mode and the UFO game.
COMPARISON
There is no reason for me to actually review the arcade mode again. We all know that Neo-Geo MS3 is one of the finest 2D shooters ever made. The question here is whether the PS2 port does the game justice and exactly what was lost and gained in the porting process. Yes there are mini games and I will get to those later, but absolutely, the core of the game is still arcade mode.
I am playing this game with a Hori Soul Calibur 2 stick and this thing feels very much like a Neo-Geo old style joystick, so I can easily tell if the game is playing poorly.
Now, I have played the game all the way through, and let me just say, IT'S A GREAT PORT. I will get to the differences in a second, but at the heart of it, this is the Metal Slug 3 we know and love. Casual Metal Slug players wouldn't even be able to tell they were playing a port at all. The gameplay is 100% intact.
There are a few differences, though. First, the sound effects. It's hard to say whether they are actually worse, but they are not exactly the same. The one most people will notice primarily is the regular gun. It does not sound right. Now, keep in mind, it's not like the original had some kind of godly sound effect for shooting. This isn't a realistic simulation game. The fact that the sound effects aren't 100% the same isn't necessarily a downfall, it's just... That's how it is. Take it as you will. Not everything is noticably different and within a few minutes I didn't even notice anymore. Some of you will balk at this, others won't give a damn. I'm in the latter crowd, although I do prefer the original in this respect.
Now I will address is the graphics. For those of you who are emultaion whores, let me just say that the graphics do actually look like this on the real thing. People complaining about pixelated graphics are calling themselves out as ROMZ whores. The graphics sometimes don't look perfect, though. The background on the desert looked a little ehhhhh. Overall maybe it looks a little worse, but 99.5% of the time you cannot tell that it looks different at all.
The gameplay? It's all there. I didn't see any slowdown or at least none that I noticed. It may have slowed down a few times, but if it did then it was also like that in the Neo-Geo version. THERE IS NOT EXTRA SLOWDOWN AT ALL. If anything, there is LESS SLOWDOWN. There was a part in the space ship section where I was a little bit thrown off because I think it slows down a lot more in the Neo-Geo one and I was expecting that. The asteroids were actually hurtling towards me at full speed. Also, on the last boss, there wasn't slowdown! On the original, it slows down like crazy at that part if I rememebr correctly. The little bullets flying up from the bottom were harder to avoid because of that. I am so used to slowdown on these games that it's hard for me to judge well when it's slowing down, (feels like a part of the game to me) but I can say with a lot of certainty that slowdown is not an issue on this port.
So, fuck the reviewers who complain about slowdown and graphics. Maybe take off a half point for the graphics at most. ZERO for slowdown. The biggest problem is the sound effects. The music is unscathed, I am happy to report.
By the way, the ability to do a mission select is fantastic. That's something I always wished was a part of the originals.
MINI GAMES
The mini games are really cool, especially the UFO one. I shall explain how they work in depth here.
UFO GAME
The objective is to reach the part of the UFO with the general. You select between three types of soldiers, each with vastly different abilities and scoring potential. The mission progresses through the following areas:
Beginning of the UFO -> Spider section -> Clone section -> Mid boss -> Electrocution chamber
These areas play out exactly as they would in the normal game except that you are leading a group of soldiers. As a soldier, you are much more limited in what you can do and how you can shoot, but you have a massive army with you. They serve as bullet shields and offense. You'll have like 15 soldiers around you at some points, making you feel invincible, but the thing is, you take one hit and that's it. The game is over. Start all over again. It took me a long time to beat this mode.
Here are the soldier types:
NORMAL - This is a grenade throwing soldier. While standing, he throws grenades up and they fall pretty close in front of him. While ducking, he hurls them suckers much farther and faster. He's the most mobile of the three, but he can't shoot while jumping, and he's not good at taking out enemies since his best attack require that you be ducking.
BAZOOKA - This guy is the most powerful of the three and he's the one I was able to win the mission as. He can only shoot one shot at a time, but it's super strong. It takes out those robots in 2 hits! This soldier can even shoot in the air! He's not all that mobile, though, and if a spider gets on top of him he has no close range attack. One shot at a time means that if you miss you'll be a sitting duck for a while. Still, the fact that his shot is so strong and the fact that he can duck and shoot straight across the screen gives him a distinct edge. Your scoring potential is lowered due to less shots per kill, though.
SHIELD - One of those shield soldiers who shoots the small red bullets. He can have three on the screen at once. He is also the only soldier with a close range attack. He busts out that sword if something gets on top of him. That makes him have a slight advantage for evading the spiders and for up close fighting in general. Still, he's harder to get to the end with than the bazooka guy because he cannot shoot while ducking. The spiders will blow him up a bit easier due to this. He has a very high scoring potential, though.
Also, each soldier has 10 bomb attacks where you call in that rambo dude and he clears out the screen for you. There is a delay between when you can perform this move, though, so you better not get in trouble too fast after using it.
Overall, this is a really cool mini game. You can easily spend hours with this trying to get to the end as all the different soldiers. There are also a number of soldier hostages on this game which I think get added to your hostage list.
FAT GAME
In this game, you can play with 1 or 2 people and the object is to collect as much food as you can. You have to be at least 200kg after each round or you lose. You start at 100kg and each piece of food gives you roughly 3kg. On the first 3 missions, every death is -30kg. On the final mission, you cannot die or the game is over. Here are the mission summaries:
1 - Soldiers come on from all around and drop food when you kill them.
2 - You and an AI controlled fat person compete for the turkey dinners
3 - You and an AI controlled fat person compete for the turkeys while being assaulted by soldiers
4 - Same as #1 except the rambo guy is also there and a death is a game over.
I never won this mode and I never got to play it with a friend, but you get the idea. At the end, it totals up how much weight you gained over the course of the game. Pretty fun game and a good idea. I like the UFO better right now, but you can't do that one with 2 people.
CONCLUSION
So there you have it. It's a worthy port that plays perfectly and gives you more options. The sound efects aren't perfect and the graphics are only almost perfect, but they are not what matters the most. The music and gameplay are such that I honestly cannot tell that there are any negative differences. If I was playing the game just for a quick run through, I'd definitely fire up my Neo version, but you can't go wrong with this. Those who have been holding out because they couldn't afford a home cart, go ahead and get this. You will not be disappointed.
<small>[ June 24, 2003, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: dmhawkmoon ]</small>
Oh well.
