Genre: Platform Shooter
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK

For those that have played the excellent first title, this title will look very familiar; the great animation, detailed stages, and comical baddies are back. Like Sonic 2 was to Sonic on the Sega Genesis, Metal Slug: 2nd Mission takes the graphical formula that worked so well in the original and made some minor changes, added some spit and polish, but otherwise stuck to what worked. And, indeed, it does work, to great effect. Also like the original, there's an awful lot of variety, keeping the game, with its dozens of stages, fresh from start to finish.

1st Mission had some of the most bizarre songs I'd ever heard, with catchy yet repetetive percussion-less motifs. 2nd Mission maintains that same feeling to an extent, but the developers went for a more melodic and, may I say, cliched musical lineup. I do not mean "cliched" in a negative sense at all, but individual stages now have songs that seem a bit more conventional for this type of game. One addition to the mix here is the usage of digital sound effects, where your character says "Pineapples!" or "Machine gun!" when he/she picks up a weapon. Between the digital sound effects and the more orthodox music, I think this title is a slight improvement over the original in this category.

The first title was one of the finest platform shooters I've played, and it was on a handheld! The sequel re-arranges a function or two, such as how grenades are tossed, but otherwise uses the same platforming engine the original did. Where the big improvements come in is in the area of stage size and quantity. The original had several pathes where you would wind up in a different board depending on how you acted. In this title, that concept is taken to the extreme, where there are many, many more boards and many more sub-pathes to take compared to the original. There are also several new types of new weapons and enemies.

Like a true sequel, Metal Slug: 2nd Mission takes everything that the original did well, and does it better; more missions, more enemies, more weapons, digital sound effects, larger stages, and more elaborate and engaging boss battles. The original was a splendid entry into the genre, and this title does not stray much from that successful formula, while adding some key additions, making for an even better title! All in all, the two Metal Slug games are perhaps the defining games for the platform, and neither one of them should be missed.