Metal Slug 2

Metal Slug 2 (メタルスラッグ 2, Metal Slug 2?) is a run and gun video game for the Neo-Geo console/arcade platform created by SNK. It was released in 1998 for the MVS arcade platform and is the sequel to the popular Metal Slug. It is the second title in the Metal Slug series. The game was later re-released in a slightly modified/remixed form as Metal Slug X.

Story
General Morden, the antagonist from the first game is back once more with his army, bent on taking over the world. It is up to the Peregrine Falcon squad, who are now joined by two new characters: Eri Kasamoto and Fiolina Germi of the Sparrows Intelligence Unit, to save the day. As the levels unfold, it turns out that Morden has allied with Martians to help facilitate his plans. Eventually the tables are turned when Morden comes under attack and is betrayed by his Martian allies. An ad-hoc alliance is formed between the Peregrine Falcon squad and General Morden's army to combat the greater alien threat.

Vehicles and weapons
Metal Slug 2 added new weapons to the player's arsenal. A single shot from the Laser is capable of killing a column of infantry, and sustained fire quickly destroyed vehicles. Fire Bombs found in the second level help to clear away mummies. Armor Piercing Shells give the Metal Slug cannon shot that only fire straight when engaging enemy vehicles.

The game also included more fighting vehicles. Though just as susceptible to enemy fire as the Metal Slug, these vehicles provided alternate modes of transportation, and advantages associated with each.
 * The Camel Slug is simply a Vulcan cannon mounted onto a camel. The rider is elevated and still vulnerable to enemy fire, but has improved movement. (Using the Suicide Attack does not cause the Camel Slug to explode, unlike its sister vehicles.)
 * To help fight a boss that crawls up a tower, the Slugnoid armored frame is capable of leaping to great heights. Its cannon is pointed downward, to assail the enemy below. Twin Vulcan cannons provide plenty of fire, but are stripped with each hit the Slugnoid takes.
 * The Slug Flyer is a VTOL jet fighter. It fires powerful air-to-air missiles at its targets, and its Vulcan Cannon is designed to fire upon forward targets. Another player can "wing-walk", or ride on top of the plane.

Character transformation
Metal Slug 2 introduced the ability into the franchise for characters to transform into different variants during the course of the game. The first transformation is one into a mummy during the second mission of the game. Any hit from the purple tinged attacks of the mummy-variants or potions dropped by bats will trigger the transformation. This causes a drastic reduction in player movement speed and loss of any special weapon. Mummified characters hold only a pistol), which they fire at a rate of half as fast as normal, and they take time to toss a grenade. Players can not use the knife when transformed. Another hit by purple mist will cause the player, transformed as the mummy, to burn in a purple flame and die. There are antidotes hidden throughout the level and dropped by enemies that can restore the player to human form.

Also introduced in this game was the ability to become obese. This transformation is gained, logically, by the acquirement of many food items during a single game-life. Once enough food is obtained the announcer yells "Uh-oh, big!," and the character is radically transformed. Movement speed is slowed, but every weapon's attack is altered: melee attacks are changed from a knife to a fork (belt whip if sitting), grenades are changed to larger comedy-style bombs, and the current weapon is replaced with a version that has larger bullets and may have its properties altered. If a diet-powder canister is found, enough time passes without picking up any food items, or the player is killed, the player(s) will revert to their former average-girth selves.

Supporting characters
Metal Slug 2 is the first game in the series to provide characters to help the players in battle. The first is Hyakutaro Ichimonji, a prisoner who, when rescued, will fight alongside the player who saved him, throwing Hadoken balls at enemies, or roundhouse kicking them if they manage to get within melee range. Also appearing is Sergeant Rumi Aikawa, a Regular Army supplier who lacks a sense of direction, earning her the title "The Wandering Ghost"; she carries a huge, overstuffed backpack and drops items (more are dropped if the backpack is shot).