Genre: Platform Shooter
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK

The levels are ultra-colorful and make full-use of the NGPC's palette. Everything is shaded, the game's visuals really remind me of a Genesis game, maybe one of the Shinobi games, or E-swat. The animation, like every other NGPC game, really makes the system shine. I sat in awe wondering how they can possibly do that kind of animation with 16k memory. I suppose the sprites are small, but still, it's pretty damned sweet animation. Some of the enemy's do pretty funny things, such as the footsoldiers; one caste of soldier has a shield that he holds up to block your shots. If you shoot a rocket at him, his shield melts in his hands, and he just stands there with this shocked look, his jaw hanging open, waiting for you to finish him off. This title is not quite as impressive as SamSho 2, but comes in a very close second.

The music in the game is really very unique, and difficult to describe. I think it could be best summed up as a slower-paced "Flight of the Bumblebees", except sans-percussion. All of the tunes fit the action, but the melodies are simply strange, and the odd almost total absence of percussion is perplexing, especially since the music actually sounds good without it. The sound effects are pretty standard fare, but it's tough to decide whether to like the music or hate it. I think I like it.

The gameplay is pretty much standard fare for the genre. Run, jump, duck, crawl, and fire. You've got secondary and primary modes of fire, the primary fires bullets, the secondary explosive weapons. There's quite a variety of weapons, from your regular gun, to a machine gun, to grenades, to rockets etc. There's a lot of different powerups, and you also get to fly in a plane and drive a tank in some of the levels. The gameplay is tight and as well-done as can be. The level designs are great, and the game, as a whole, is just a heck of a lot of fun to play, even to someone who is not overly fond of platform shooters. Mechanically, Metal Slug is nothing special, but the unique blend of level, weapon, and enemy design make for one of the most fun shooters I've ever played.

I would say that this game is pretty straightforward, it's a rock-solid shooter that's a lot of fun to play. If you absolutely detest shooters, avoid it of course, but for everyone else, you'll get your money's worth. This game also has fantastic replay value, so if you like it, odds are you'll really like it, and end up memorizing most if not all of the game.