DISCLAIMERS:
- the reviewer has not finished the game with 100% completion
- the game was played on the Xbox One S using the Xbox 360 version of the game intended for United States audiences through the backwards compatibility feature of the Xbox One series of consoles
Two years after the original Metal Slug 7 for DS, the upgraded version titled Metal Slug XX was released for PSP and Xbox 360. Unlike what some might expect given its title, this game has no connection to Metal Slug X besides also being an upgraded version of a Metal Slug game. This review will judge this upgraded version for the Xbox 360 on its own merits.
The focus of Metal Slug XX‘s development was obviously on the gameplay. Although the general concepts are essentially directly copied from earlier Metal Slug games, Metal Slug XX provides some interesting scenarios that use these concepts. The game also feels much more fairly designed compared to older Metal Slug games as the game wasn’t originally designed as an arcade game that makes money by killing the player. The biggest highlights are the boss fights, which are much more varied than in previous Metal Slug games and are much more complex than the bosses in previous Metal Slug games. Metal Slug XX also features some new modes and features that wouldn’t make sense in an arcade setting. There isn’t much notable about these features beyond them existing, though. As with other Metal Slug games and arcade games in general, most of the value comes from the high replayability that comes from the format.
In terms of sound Metal Slug XX is about average. The music is fitting and well made. Sound effects are about what one would expect. Overall Metal Slug XX‘s sound is about as good as you could expect from what was originally a DS game.
Technically Metal Slug XX is rather disappointing for a Xbox 360 game. Even the base game is somewhat lacking, with backgrounds that are a huge step down from the fully pixel art backgrounds in older Metal Slug games. Options are also disappointing, leaving the player with a not particularly well configured presentation. Overall this game which wasn’t as impressive as it could have been originally could have looked much better on Xbox 360.
As usual for Metal Slug, Metal Slug XX‘s story is extremely deemphasized and has essentially no positive or negative effect on the game overall.
In terms of value Metal Slug XX isn’t that impressive. Although it is significantly cheaper than its original version’s release, the Xbox 360 has much different standards from the DS. This also isn’t a particularly good conversion. Essentially the only value outside of the initial playthrough is playing the game again but doing better, which is only appealing to a few types of players. Overall this is far from the best way to get into Metal Slug and doesn’t deserve much attention beyond from existing Metal Slug fans.
Overall the reviewer would give this game a 7.0 out of 10.
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