XBOX REVIEW | Metal Slug Tactics

Metal Slug Tactics is the first in the long-running Metal Slug series to feature rogue-like tactical gameplay. When it was first announced, the cartoon-style graphics instantly reminded me of Advance Wars: Dual Strike on the Nintendo DS, a game I have such fond memories of playing when commuting to and from work many years ago. Metal Slug Tactics is developed by Leikir Studio, whose previous games include Wondershot and Rogue Lords, and is a single-player game. Metal Slug Tactics features amazing pixel art style graphics and has a unique, funny sense of humour. There are 110 hand-crafted maps and 20 different mission types, such as killing marked targets, destroying the convoy before it reaches its target, and protecting the camp for a set number of turns. You have 9 iconic characters from the series to choose from, with over 30 loadouts and combos to experiment with as you try to outsmart your enemies. As you would expect, there are many famous bosses from the past Metal Slug universe for you to battle and take down.

Things I liked!

• Graphics | I was really impressed with the comic-book style pixel art graphics. They do a great job of bringing all the action to life in a vibrant, fluid way. While most of the maps may start out pretty small and expand as you play, the details on each map are very well implemented. You can easily see where the dangers are, as well as if enemies are on the ground level or higher up, such as standing on top of a building, which makes it easier when planning where to move your troops in battle.

• Sound | The music and sound effects in Metal Slug are spot on and complement the rest of the game perfectly. The sound effects during battle, with gunfire and airstrikes raining down from above, do a fantastic job of immersing you in the action. Metal Slug Tactics features an original game soundtrack by Tee Lopes, which is very impressive and matches the colourful and intense gameplay.

Mixed & disliked!

• Gameplay | Metal Slug Tactics is a turn-based strategy game with roguelike elements. You begin each run by picking three characters with different weapons and skills, and then choose which region you want to assault. Each region has a set of missions and a boss that appears after three victories. Generally, the aim is to beef up our soldiers so they can assault Sirocco City, the final region. If you fail a run, it’s back to the beginning, with your failure translated into cash to spend on new skills and weapon mods. The turn-based combat is grid-based. At the start of each battle, you place each of your three troops in the highlighted area shown on the map. Then, when you are ready, the battle commences. The best way to do the most damage is to line up your attacks so that a purple grid appears on the ground where your enemies are standing. This will trigger a SYNC attack, and enemies will take damage from more than one of your troops. It took me a while to master, like much of the other core mechanics found in Metal Slug Tactics. There is a lot of trial and error as the game does a poor job of explaining how things work, which is a shame. Different vehicles, such as tanks, often appear on the map. These can be very powerful but have limited aim, often only shooting in a straight line. You also have strategic assets that you can use during battle, such as air strikes, team heals, and many more. Most of the more powerful assets can only be used once per battle, so timing when to use them can be key. Each character also has special actions and passive abilities, which you can customise in the barracks before each run.

• Progression | As you play Metal Slug Tactics, especially when you start, you will die quite a lot and have to keep restarting. It will say ‘start a new game’ each time. What isn’t made very clear is that your progression, such as upgrades purchased and levelling up of your characters, all remains. It took me a while to figure this out. Upgrades that you purchase all seem to have minimal effect at first, but the more you play, you will eventually see that enemies are being defeated a little easier.
  
  
• Difficulty | Metal Slug Tactics is a very challenging game and often feels balanced against you as the player. You only have 3 troops at any given time, while you often have to take on a full army of enemy troops that, on some maps, will keep respawning. I lost count of the times I was close to completing a map when, all of a sudden, an enemy soldier appeared from nowhere to kill my last troop, meaning failure.
  
  
• Performance | On a couple of occasions during my 17 hours playing Metal Slug, the game has crashed on me, with the screen freezing and forcing me to restart the game. This, in turn, means starting a new run, which can be very annoying depending on how far I was. Other small details I have noticed are minor graphical glitches, such as when a player should be down wounded, but they appear as normal, standing up. I am sure this, as well as the crashes I experienced, will be patched as the developer rolls out updates.
  

How long did I play the review before publishing? 17 hours
How long to beat the story? 7 Hours
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 3/48 or 30/1000G
How long to achieve 1000G | 100 + Hours, very tough game
You’ll love this game if you like these | Gears Tactics & Space Hulk Tactics

CONCLUSION

Score: 67/100 – Metal Slug Tactics shows plenty of promise but is ultimately let down by poor balancing and performance issues such as game crashes. That said, gameplay is fun for the most part. The short tutorial at the beginning of the game does not do enough to explain how everything works, and you are quickly thrown into battle to fend for yourself as you learn the core mechanics. Once everything clicks after several hours, things become a bit easier, and you will continue to learn new things that Metal Slug Tactics has to offer the more you play. The comic book-style graphics look fantastic, and the music and sound effects are all implemented with great effect. Metal Slug Tactics has lots of great ideas, and hopefully, with a few future updates, it can become the game it should have been.