Got the game too, but didn't get to play it for too long, as I was tired, and also ended up walking out of the game store with five new titles yesterday, so a lot of time was spent trying them all out.
So far, I'm finding Metal Slug to be a pretty decent game, but nothing that's approaching the level of Metal Slug 1-3. One thing that is a nice change is the addition of storyline elements; the game has a LOT of cut scenes and FMVs, all of which, along with menu screens, are in English, so this is a very import-friendly game. Voices are laughably bad, however that was pretty much expected.
Visually, the game reminds me a bit of Capcom's Maximo series, with characters that are somewhere between looking normal and super-deformed. They look very much like the Metal Slug artwork, so this style fits the game well. Game play is pretty good for the most part; I haven't found too much of a reason to jump yet, but generally, you just take out enemy soldiers in one or two hits, knife the guys with shields, and then circle-strafe the larger enemies like tanks to take them out. The control responds well, although there were a few times where I seemed to lose my lock-on for some reason. You also now have a radar to use in tracking enemies, which is especially useful against vehicles like helicopters.
Perhaps the biggest change to the game in the jump from 2D to 3D are the customization features. During game play, you can find various types of gold by killing enemies and breaking barrels/crates, which you can then use in upgrading your characters' attributes, making them stronger, having longer lifebars, etc. You can also find new main/alternative/grenade weapons to use. In addition, you can also customize the Metal Slug tank, giving it new parts/looks. I'm not sure if doing this actually affects the tank's performance or gives it new weapons yet, however.
I definitely need to spend more time playing this game to flesh out a more solid opinion; it's hard to tell if this is going to be a big game, full of levels, or just one that's made to be replayed over and over just yet. Also started talking screenshots last night; will post some later on.
evasyar said:
i have not figured out how to change weapons but i do know i pick them up when lying around from fallen enemies.
You hold down L2 and then hit fire to change weapons. It's in the manu-- ah, I gotcha.
i have not had the chance to dual weild either but since this game seems to have rpg-centric character upgrading, maybe i need to earn it first??
I didn't know you could dual wield! Are you sure about this? That would be awesome!
i have not figure out how to jump out of the MS tank before it explodes like in the 2D game tho...
You get out the same way you got in; just click the L3 stick!
also its not like the 2D were its one-shot you're dead, you actually have life meter that start at 5 and there are slew of breakables that can be shot or broken by your melee.
Are you playing on easy difficulty? I'm playing on normal and am pretty sure the life meter only has three stocks.
i have only been able to play as marco rossi - does not have a player selection like the 2D.
You can play as all four main Metal Slug characters, but only Marco is available at the start. Just go the character set-up screen and you can see the "???" slots for Tarma, Fio, and Eri. Whether or not you unlock them during the course of the game or by beating it each time, I still don't know yet.