Metal Slug Anthology - hands on

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Seven shooters and six ways to play them

Ever since Contra decided to suck, there's been a void in all our murderous hearts. If we can't find a solid, 2D run-and-gun blast-athon in which thousands of faceless enemy soldiers meet their demise, what excitement could life possibly hold for us? But all along, like the girl you always fail to notice until it's too late, the Metal Slug series has offered exactly that without exception.

So, after 10 years of amassing huge casualty lists and blasting back alien invasions, Metal Slug Anthology is encompassing every bullet, every blood-vomiting zombie into one package- seven titles on one disc. New to consoles is Metal Slug 6, which adds new playable characters and unique melee moves for up-close gutting. Still, no matter how you slice it, all of these games are the same - hold right, press firmly down on the attack button and watch the world disappear in a haze of smoke and bodies.

Surely though, with the Wii remote, there's something new going on here? Kind of. There are six control schemes you can mess with, some dead-on recreations of classic gaming and other, more experimental modes. The "Tilt Wii-mote" mode is more for experts - you hold it sideways like an old-school NES controller and tilt it to move left and right. Hitting up on the d-pad jumps, the 1 and 2 buttons handle shooting and grenades, but aiming is done by pitching the remote forward or backward. It's... certainly difficult to grasp, but the hardcore fans might eat it up. Any way we can blow up oversized tanks and eyeball aliens is welcome.

Brett Elston
Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.