Editor Reviews:

Editorial Review:
In Metal Slug: First Mission, the gamer is a member of an elite special forces squadron known as the Peregrine Falcons, and is sent to enemy territory to stop the coup-plotting Colonel Bildegaarn. You have three basic strategies to beat the enemies in this side-scrolling shootout: jump, fire, or evade. An added variation is that you can journey on foot, in a plane, or in a tank. Since your supplies are limited, you'll have to pick up time, life, and ammo from the men you take out. The eight-position joystick makes it possible to aim your gun all over the screen. It seems very easy at first, but the difficulty climbs as you make your way past each checkpoint.

As your Metal Slug skills grow, you can choose to play at easy, normal, hard, and very hard levels. Each mission ends with a boss section, which is sure to challenge seasoned gamers. The parachute levels were the most challenging, while the pride marches added a nice touch that fit the armed forces theme of the game. --Carrie Bell

Pros:

• One of the more male-oriented NEOGEO games
• Inspiring Army-like glory marches and music
• Lots of chances to redo harder levels after dying

• Strong male-centered game theme

Rating : - Demanding, Contra-Esque, but it keeps the flavor
Alright, first thing's first. This is not quite the same game you get in the Arcade.

Yes, it feels kind of like a Contra dressed in a cartoon. But there are subtle tweaks. You don't keep your vehicles, nor can you exit them at will. You have 1; count 'em, 1 life. You can have a whole mess of continues, but those start you at the begining, and like we all know, that's the hard part. You can backtrack. There's almost something of a story. You have a life bar.

So, what's the same? Well... it still feels like Contra. You're a disposable hero sent against the numerous hordes of the enemy, armed only with your knife, pistol of unlimited ammo, and your grenades (which you have to tap option to use). Free hostages and POWs for power ups, shoot the enemy soldiers, tanks and whatever the *bleep* that thing is for more power ups, and work your way through a surprising amount of stages to take down the evil Final Boss.

Now, this one improves on Metal Slug in a few ways. Lets say you run out of life via bullet wounds. You wake up in a POW camp and have to fight your way out. Tough, but do-able. Or you're flying along and your plane gets shot down. Get ready to free-fall and parachute while dodging enemy missles. Neat little touches like these make a lot of difference in the game. They also make it a LOT harder.

This one falls short on Metal Slug in a few ways too. While the graphics are nice, it is a hand held system, and we're going from Neo Geo's famous work to... well, pinched cartoon characters. There's little blood, and the massive, monsterous bosses from the earlier games are just kinda... normal looking.

If you can look past the graphics, this is a powerful little game. If knowing what is (via X-box, PS etc) has corrupted your sight... well, this one probably won't be for you. Find some Screen Shots and decide for yourself.