Metal Slug 3

Metal Slug 3 (メタルスラッグ 3) is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK released in 2000. It's the sequel to Metal Slug 2 and the third game of Metal Slug series. Being the last Metal Slug that SNK was working on until the bankruptcy, it was given a lot of features, enhancements and improvements. The music of the game was developed by Noise Factory. The game was ported to the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC (Steam). The game was also released for the Wii, PSP, and PS2 as part of the Metal Slug Anthology.

Story
The rebellion orchestrated by General Donald Morden to bring about a new global regime is now ancient history, and order and peace has begun to return to the world. Morden, brought back into power, was attempting another coup d'état, but government forces got wind of the plot beforehand and pre-empted the impending assault.

Instrumental in squashing Morden's Rebellion forces, Marco and Tarma of the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force are ordered to lead the team after their earlier requests for resignation were denied. Although General Morden has been written off as "missing" by his followers, they have hidden themselves throughout the world, and Marco and Tarma's abilities and experience are seen as a necessity to destroy remaining rebel strongholds, one by one. Throughout the furious fighting against the holdouts, Marco and Tarma cannot help but suspect Morden's involvement in this new evil plan for world domination.

Meanwhile, the SPARROWS, a special strike force within the government intelligence agency, have come across a series of strange events running parallel to the Peregrine's pursuit of General Morden. From trivial abductions of livestock to the disappearance of government officials and the appearance of freakishly large creatures, numerous occurrences with nothing in common point to one grim possibility. General Morden is not the only menace to worry about. Eventually it is learned that the alien menace that appeared in Metal Slug 2/Metal Slug X have returned. Once again, an ad-hoc alliance is formed to combat the external threat.

Gameplay
The gameplay mechanics are the same as previous Metal Slug games. New for Metal Slug 3, however, is the branching path system; in most missions, there are forking paths for the player to choose from, each with their own obstacles, and of varying length and difficulty. All paths eventually lead to the same boss battle, but the player may have different equipment, and may have rescued more or fewer hostages depending on their choices.

In addition to the mummy form from Metal Slug 2/X, other forms are taken by the player in various circumstances:


 * When doused with infectious material, the player becomes a zombie. While medication is available to reverse the effect, the zombified player can make use of a devastating vomit attack that covers most of the forward area. The player cannot crouch, jump high, or make use of heavy weaponry or vehicles. while in zombie form, the player becomes completely invincible to almost any attack except other zombies, icemen and aliens.
 * Underwater, the player equips a SCUBA apparatus with a bubble helmet. Rather than grenades, the player uses a bomb-launching system. The ordnance is affected by gravity, but not so much by water.
 * Should the player lose their air vehicle, they rely on a backup jet pack. They can fire seeking missiles from the pack.
 * Without the Astro Slug, the player also depends on a jet pack, as well as a breathing apparatus (but not a spacesuit, curiously). Explosives are contained in the pack.

While no new weapons were added, Metal Slug 3 contains new vehicles for player use:


 * The Slug Mariner gives some added firepower for those underwater. It fires high-mass rounds which sink to the bottom, as well as torpedoes.
 * The Elephant Slug is a hulking elephant strapped with a Vulcan cannon. By picking up a Battery or a Chili Pepper, the elephant can fire a bolt of lightning or a fireball from its trunk, respectively.
 * The Ostrich Slug is reminiscent of the Camel Slug. It is even faster, can jump farther, and can turn around. (However, doing so makes the rider momentarily vulnerable to enemy fire.)
 * The Rebel Armor is a Rebel-produced vehicle, but can be captured and used by the player. It comes equipped with a heavy machine gun, which is interchangeable with other handheld weapons. (Unlike the Slugs, the Rebel Armor's main armament has limited ammo.) It also has a grenade launcher, a melee claw attack, and jump jets. The other player can stand on top of the Rebel Armor, and can receive a boost to extreme heights.
 * The Slug Copter appears along with the Slug Flyer in the airborne portion of the Final Mission. Its Vulcan cannon can fire in all directions, unlike the Flyer. It is also armed with gravity bombs.
 * The Astro Slug is used jointly by the players and the Rebel forces, when it is revealed that General Morden is missing. Booster rockets carry it into space, where the player makes use of its weaponry. Like the Rebel Armor, the Astro Slug can make use of infantry weapons through ports on its sides. It fires rockets as a secondary weapon.

Console Extras
On the console versions, ported by Playmore, once the arcade mode has been beaten, there are two additional mini-games: 'Storming the UFO Mothership' and 'Fat Island'.

Storming the UFO Mothership
This mode allows the player to control one of the soldiers of General Morden, to rescue fellow soldiers and attack the UFO forces. The player can choose between the Riot Shield Soldier, Bazooka Soldier, and Grenade Soldier. The player is given a single life; this is balanced by the number of reinforcements from fellow soldiers. Only one player can play on Storming the UFO Mothership. There is no two-player mode.

Fat Island
Two players compete to gain the most weight in a limited amount of time by eating various foods. They start out with 100 kg and must finish with 200. If players lose enough weight, they will return to normal size and then to a mummy state.

Overview
Upon its initial appearance, Metal Slug 3 received generally positive reviews. Most of its subsequent ports and re-releases have also seen good reviews. On GameRankings, the PS2 version has a score of 76.78% based on nine reviews, the Xbox version 75.71% based on sixty-four reviews, the Xbox 360 version 78.46% based on thirteen reviews, and the iOS version 74% based on five reviews. On Metacritic, the Xbox version has a score of 76 out of 100, based on fifty-six reviews, the Xbox 360 version 78 based on twelve reviews, and the iOS version 76 based on five reviews.

In his review of the game for the Xbox, IGN's Hilary Goldstein scored it 6.8 out of 10, feeling that as an arcade shooter, the game stood up well, but as an Xbox title, it was weak when compared to other games on the system: "If this game were $20 or even $30 it would merit a better score and better recommendation. This is not a $40 value unless you absolutely must have this game on your Xbox. When this game drops in price (and it will), that's when you'll want to snatch it up for sure". He scored the Xbox 360 version 7.4 out of 10, again feeling that the game was good for what it was, but somewhat dated when compared to other titles: "Before you purchase Metal Slug 3, you need to ask yourself how much you value ten dollars. This is a short experience that, even with a few playthroughs, won't last you long. Metal Slug 3 is a lot of fun, but this should be a $5 download. Especially when original, awesome-looking shooters such as Omega Five are storming Xbox Marketplace".

GameSpot's Ryan Davis scored both the Xbox and the Xbox 360 versions 7.5 out of 10. Of the Xbox version, he praised most aspects of the game, but criticized the excessive difficulty: "The fundamentals of Metal Slug 3 are all really excellent. You'll be hard-pressed to find another 2D side-scroller with such detailed environments and smooth animation, and the gameplay is the dictionary definition of frenetic. So, with all this going for it, it's a real shame that the brutal continue system introduced in the game's conversion to the Xbox makes the game overly uncompromising. If you are prone to throwing controllers out of frustration, you may want to approach Metal Slug 3 with caution". Of the Xbox 360 version, he argued that the game itself was excellent, but it was a somewhat dated experience: "Ultimately, the things that might prevent you from enjoying Metal Slug 3, such as the number of times it's been released on other systems, its relative price point, and the lack of extras, are peripheral to the experience itself. If these things don't concern you, then you'll have a blast".

Eurogamer's Spanner Spencer scored the Xbox version 7 out of 10. He praised the original game, but as an Xbox game, he found it somewhat wanting: "So short, so sweet. Two-player spins it out for a while, and there are Hard and Very Hard modes, but at £15 if you shop around Metal Slug 3 arguably transcends the usual rental recommendation. No lie, you'll finish the lot in a day. You can try and collect all the extras (Japanese radish and Chinese cabbage are all there for the taking), but there's no getting away from the fact that there's not enough in here to warrant shelling out full whack, no matter how perfect a slice of arcade action it may be". Patrick Garratt were more impressed with the Xbox 360 version, which he scored 9 out of 10, writing: "What's really fascinating here is the fact that a vaguely ageing title appears to have found its niche market on a modern console - this is Metal Slug 3 's ideal home, and you'd be a fool not to make it welcome in yours".

GameSpy's Darryl Vassar scored the Xbox version 4 out of 5, arguing that "while each of the individual parts of Metal Slug 3 are unremarkable, they come together in a way that is greater than their sum. Metal Slug 3 is a fantastic game -- it's easy to pick up and play, has great character and depth, and is even better with a friend. There's a reason SNK has so many diehard fans, and this game should bring a few more into the fold".

Commercial performance
In Japan, Game Machine listed Metal Slug 3 on their May 1, 2000 issue as being the third most-successful arcade game of the month.

The PS2 port sold 47,581 copies in Japan. The 2014 PC port later sold 651,482 digital copies worldwide on Steam, for a total of at least 699,063 copies sold for the PS2 and Steam platforms.

Characters

 * Marco Rossi
 * Tarma Roving
 * Fiolina Germi
 * Eri Kasamoto
 * General Donald Morden
 * Mars People