Metal Slug 4

Metal Slug 4 came out at a very strange time when it comes to SNK. This was developed right around the time of the bankruptcy and the time that they were reformed into SNK-Playmore. So, you could forgive them for “phoning” this one in, but that is not the case at all.

A New, But Familiar Threat

The story of Metal Slug 4 does pick up after the events of 3. This time around there is a new threat called the Amadeus Syndicate who along with what is left of General Moden’s Rebel Army is the biggest terrorist organization in the world. A huge cyberattack is looking and only 4 badass heroes (two of whom are new) can stand in the way.

Once again, the story is fun and it does actually take a pretty awesome twist as far as that never-dying SOB, General Moden goes! In all once again the story is far better than you would think in a game like this.

Fast-Paced, Run & Gun

By the time Metal Slug 4 came around, everyone knew what to expect. And while not reinventing the wheel with this game. I do like that they added this really interesting scoring system to the game. It kind of works like a combo system where a timer will appear and you get bonuses for killing so many enemies in the allotted time.

What Else Is New?

As you would expect there is a new transformation in the game and I love it! This time around you can get turned into a monkey if you are shot by a certain kind of soldier on one of the levels. You can hang off the bars above you and you have a much better jump. You can get an antidote to change back, but I always like messing around as the money for a short while.

You now have four more Slugs that you can cause destruction with. Bradly which was actually an enemy vehicle in Metal Slug 2 can now be used. Metal Claw is really cool as it just shreds the heck out of any enemies that you come across. The crawler is more of a defensive kind of Slug and probably my least favorite of the bunch. There is also this coo forklift truck style Slug that is a lot of fun to use and it can stab enemies as well as blow things up thanks to its bombs.

Look At Those Sprites!

I think that the leap from the third game to this one is not massive in terms of the presentation if I am being honest. However, this is still one amazing looking game and it has some of the best sprite work that was around of the time of its release, just like the rest of the series.

I think that Metal Slug 4 is a great game. While for me 3 is just a tad better, I still think that this is a great addition to the series. While not a ton of new things were added here. At the end of the day, this is another amazing Metal Slug adventure and I do feel that it is well worth playing through.

8.5/10

Pros:

• Once again, the game looks great
• I like the different Slugs you can use
• The new scoring bonus system is fun and addictive
• Two new characters are introduced
• I like the direction the story went

Cons:

• It is more of the same
• Not quite as impactful as the third game was