How can you not fucking love a game where you get to have a monkey with an uzi backing you up? Seriously... how awesome is that? Metal Slug 3 is classic arcade style blasting action at its finest. Sure, a lot of people might bitch about it being a waste of the vast resources of the almighty Xbox, but I have always been in the camp where a fun game remains a fun game, no matter what.

Metal Slug 3 is the latest home conversion of the beloved Neo Geo arcade series to hit the consoles and classic gamers couldn't be happier. The game isn't without its faults though. The difficulty is unnaturally raised due to whoever came up with the continue system, and that is guaranteed to frustrate gamers of all types. Basically, you have one chance to make it all the way through the level. One hit, for the most part, and you're a crispy critter. So, in most games of this nature, once you lose your lives, you continue from either right where you left off or from a mid point at least but not in Metal Slug 3! You get shot back to the very beginning of the level.

This is going to hurt the enjoyment of the game for a lot of people. The game is an arcade game. It is designed to suck up quarters. Sure, play enough an through trial and error, you hone your skills and learn all the patterns, but a lot of people out there are going to get killed. I understand wanting to extend the life of the game since it is potentially short, however many other developers have already figured out this issue with much better results. Take for instance the Treasure shooter, Ikaruga. You start with limited continues and gain more as your play time increases. This would have been perfect for Metal Slug 3.

Metal Slug 3 is still a blast to play no matter what. The action is classic Contra-style run and gun with loads of powerups and plenty of surprises along the way, like uzi packing monkeys. You start with the basics: one trusty pistol with unlimited ammo and ten grenades. As you play, you can find a ton of limited use weapons such as the classic heavy machine guns and rocket launchers as well as some new ones like the laser gun. Powerups are littered everywhere in the game and it pays to look for them. Most of the powerups are obtained from releasing POWs from captivity. Once you rescue them, they give you a reward which can be anything from a small trinket worth some points to a mighty weapon upgrade.

In addition to the weapon powerups, Metal Slug 3 throws out some of the funniest helper powerups I've ever seen. Seriously, a monkey with an uzi, you just can't beat that! Other odd objects can appear such as a storm cloud that just likes to zap bad guys or a an apparent VIP who calls up some of his people on his cell phone to shower you with rewards. Not only can you pick up different items, but you can also physically change as well. For example, in the second level, you can be turned into a zombie. Instead of dying right away, you can still fight, although your moveset is changed slightly. As a zombie, you can't duck, you are a little slower but your grenade move is changed to a 50% screen clearing arc of bloody zombie vomit. Last long enough as an undead zombie an you can stumble across a medical kit which will restore you to your original form.

There are also no shortage of vehicles that you can jump into in this game for an extra boost of offensive firepower. Throughout the levels you will find mechs, a side scuttling mech, a wooly mammoth with cannons, a camel with cannons, and various other animals that you can attach some hardcore weaponry to. The ostrich made me think of the classic Joust right away. For good measure, you also get some classic mini copter and jet action, and even blast into space for some traditional vertical shooting action towards the end of the game.

Not only is the gameplay pretty varied for a game of this type, but it also features a ton of branches in each level. Hidden areas are all around you, many offering some of the most fun portions of the game. Look for them all. Sometimes you will blindly fall into one by accident, but a lot of them actually take some thought. There is a ton of replay value just finding all of the hidden levels and special powerups in the game. This is another reason why I wished the continue setup was a little more lax. Since you only have a few lives, you basically feel like you can't take chances with exploring and such. Still, as you replay levels, you generally have time to experiment and find new things each time if you look.

Even though the graphics hardly tax the hardware, there is still plenty to enjoy about Metal Slug 3. Most of the game's charm is locked into the goofy cartoony gore. The hand drawn 2D graphics may earn the hatred of most of the gamers who think Sony invented video games, but this game shows just how much fun you can have with this style. The animation is simply lush. There is just so much going on and everything from the enemies to the backgrounds just feel alive. The animations are genuinely humorous too, a definite plus in the fun factor. Seeing the monkey waiving around an uzi is priceless. Watching you drag your foot as a zombie and then spew a stream of blood to take out the baddies is just fun, simple as that.

Even the enemies all have detailed animations, from the normal soldiers who freak out when they spot you to the man eating plants who are more than happy to gobble you up to a bloody mess. The animations in the game are just insane sometimes. I've often lost lives due to just trying to take in everything that is going on around the screen. The death animations are pretty awesome as well and there are plenty of them to see. Let's face facts. You will be seeing a lot of yourself dying, so I guess they had to make them enjoyable to see at least.

I really dig the sound in the Metal Slug series and 3 is no exception. The weapons sound great, there are a ton of explosions and shots fired around you and I love the announcer who calls out the weapon upgrades. Even the messed up way he drawls out "Rocket Louwncher." The monster sound effects are fun and you will find yourself wasting bombs just to hear your zombie belch out their power attack. The music has that classic arcade kitsch that I tend to enjoy a lot. The tunes fit in with the game and change pace with every new environment that you enter into. The music ranges from rock to classic military anthem style tracks which keep the game moving along nicely.

If you manage to make it through all of the levels, there are some rewards to look forward to. There are two bonus levels which you can play after completing the arcade missions. You can also check out some obscure stats such as how many of the prisoners you have freed in the game. Each one is actually unique and is given a different name which you can see in a information screen. Sure, it's a little thing, but it give something for those of us who like to obsess over finding everything a game is hiding.

Metal Slug 3 is a niche game. As much as I personally enjoy games like this, I can easily admit that it isn't for everyone. A lot of people wouldn't think that the game is worth full price since it is a port of an older arcade title, especially since the next two games in the series are being packaged on a single disc for sometime next year. I personally feel that the continue setup for the game takes away a little bit from the enjoyment. I understand the concept, but there are just better ways to implement it. Aside from that, I'm not upset that I picked the title up. Fans of old school style run and gun games should love the title since it easily beats out a game like Contra in the personality and overall fun factor. Give it a shot if you are fan, and be ready to put some effort into it.