by To the uninitiated, Metal Slug 2 looks like any one of a number of old side-scrolling action games where you run around shooting guns in every direction – think Contra, but more cartoony. There’s a reason it’s kept its cult following (while remaining more or less unchanged) for 17 years, though; where other side-scrolling platformers are content to run players through repetitive encounters with a handful of interchangeable enemies, Metal Slug keeps up a manic pace while staying wildly imaginative throughout. Its detailed levels are filled with impressively animated monsters, unique vehicles, emotive characters, weird events that pop up in the background, and hordes of enemy soldiers who look identical but behave very differently. This is a blast-a-thon with heart, and it holds up better than you might expect.
On iOS, Metal Slug 2 is an arcade-perfect port of the 1998 original, right down to the slowdown whenever the screen gets too crowded.
