Is It Losing Its Magic? – Metal Slug 3
The Neo Geo coin-op and Home console unit was one of the most expensive hardware/console of its time and even the 3DO felt cheap compared to it. I always wanted one back then but that kinda changed when M.A.M.E. started getting playable on my Amiga, most games that i tried was not for me.
Spin Master, Metal Slug and Trash Rally were all i wanted.
Ok, so 15 years if not more has passed now since i played them on my Amiga the first time and i still got the urge to buy them for new consoles, but i have no idea why.
A week or so ago Metal Slug 3 popped up on the PSVita and PS4, this time with a better port/remake than the ones on PS3. This time around there is Online support/Co-op and leaderboards and maybe best of all, trophies.
I bought it as the price was nice and for some reason, i just had to get a game that i have beaten a million times before, no, i bought it because of my heart saying “do it, just do it”. Stupid move, well the game is fine and all but it was now i remembered how bored to death i was the last time i played the series.
Metal Slug 3 was the 4th game in the series and back when it came out it got good reception as it changed the formula a bit from the past games, oh and of course it got a good score because of the rest of the game as it is a good game by all means.
For me the game series is not all that good anymore, i have simply played it to death over the last decades and when you see them today you realize how similar they are and how lifeless they can feel at times.
I completed the game last night, had some fun and got a bunch of trophies too and i would say it was worth both my time and money and that i will most likely buy more Metal Slug games in the future.
There is especially one thing about this new port, the trophies and especially the complete a stage with no continues, great move! and these trophies alone made me try a bit more than i normally would have as this felt a step closer to playing it in an arcade.
The worst thing about this game is the same that all versions have and that is the slowdowns, when lots of stuff is happening then the game grinds quite a bit and you will most likely die because of it, the very same problem is present in the Metal Slug Anthology (all 7 games) on the PSP too.
2D games rules, i love them but i am tired of the series and i want something new, i don’t want that standard look and design anymore and at the same time i do want it, i will buy the inevitable next port for sure but i will most likely say the very same thing as i have done in this post today.
Long live retrogaming, long live milking old classics into boredom, long live 2player co-op and trophies!.
Thanks.
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These kinds of games were meant to generate revenue from unsuspecting consumers 2-3 minutes at a time. In other words, the average gamer would get that long of actual play time from a typical buy-in. To the more hardcore, the fun of (and replay value) inherent in the series is getting good enough to 1cc (complete the ENTIRE game) on 1 credit/no continues, and from there to best your previous high scores from earlier attempts. Ad infinitum. I own the original MVS release of Metal Slug 3 (along with many, many other Neo Geo titles and other arcade boards) and never get tired of them, but at the same time I do not feel the need to buy them again and again and again since I own the originals.
The current gamer culture of trophy hunting does NOT mesh with this mentality at all, as it has become more of a case of ‘get all the trophies, done with game, move to next, rinse and repeat’. It is ADD gaming at its finest, with no real thought given to the pursuit of truly mastering anything. And no, getting all the trophies/achievements is not what I mean.
@whiser2053 , some very good points here. Btw there is trophies in the game that rewards you for not spending continues, 1 for each level in the game so i guess they have tried to emulate this part abit in the trophy system.
I have a shit load of games and i have spent insane amounts of money on my collection of over 4000 games or so but i never bought a neo geo nor games for it as they’re just too hard to find here and ofcourse the price tag is insane, a game goes easily for 250 USD here… a non rare one.
thanks for your heads up!.
Good points in the article here.
I always found this series to be more of a quick fix and not a game i’d play for hours.
Good games and i bought it for psvita (crossbuy) a few days ago.
Only 2 trophies so far lol
Hmm, M.a.m.e on the Amiga? Slow? 68k possible or just ppc?
I play those on M.A.M.E , good games.
Whisper, i agree with you on this and while i do agree with ToAks here too i still think your point shows the state of the gamers today, as in this generation.
that said, i loved the first one but not followed them much after that.
how was the MS3d one?, was on PS2 iirc.. need to check that one out i think.
Jesus man, 200+ likes!
Site speed upgraded, passed 1000 site likes too. A great achievement!.
Congratulations!
Yup, congratz to all involved on the blog!
I have been following the blog for months and the increase in both articles and users is staggering to say the least.
I guess adverts is next? At this rate you can make a lot of money….
Thanks for all comments on facebook and here, really nice to see 2 milestones reached again!.
I will soon open a google+ /fb and twitter page bit i rather focus all on this blog atm.
The dropoff rate is still too high on the site as everytime i skip more than 2 days with articles the readers drop down to 50-60% of current readers.
Btw, seems i stroke goal with this article, pissed off a lot of guys on FB with it but at the same time they understood my views.
I will stay away from rants to get users but it is fun to provoke and start discussions.
I wish comments had worked with FB, so many hillarious and good reads for this article:-).
Thanks for all kind words and also for all critics too. Makes me want to try harder and do more!.