Metal Slug Anthology - yay or nay?
Dec 21, 2006 20:24:15 GMT -5
Post by klausien on Dec 21, 2006 20:24:15 GMT -5
It is very unfortunate that the PS2 version is currently vaporware; banished to the realm of the uncertain. SNK/Playmore even removed the message board for it on their site. I am praying that it happens, I think...
Let the ranting begin...
I bought Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii the day it came out, and just traded it in for Painkiller on the XBox tonight. Couldn't return it and was impatient, so I just unloaded it then and there. I haven't traded a game in at a chain store for several years, and make it a point to disuade others from doing so as well. That is how upsetting this release is. I knew all 7 Metal Slug arcade games on one disc was too good to be true.
I can live with the budget menus and the like, though a 10th Anniversary-branded product should celebrate a bit more. I can live with the mid-level loading times, though don't feel like they should be there at this point. The problem is the two larger failures with the product, one of which has been detailed above. (Skip the next paragraph if you wish to avoid yet another round of bitching about the control)
The control options are absolutely atrocious. I understand the playing around with motion control, but not having a d-pad & grenade button option in-game is a nightmare. The precision necessary for these games is simply not possible with analog control. The lack of Classic Controller support and fact that the menus don't use the GC analog when you are forced to use it in-game are a big slap in the face.
As I was giving them the benefit of the doubt for the control based upon the fact that all 7 games are on there, I began to notice that something else wasn't right. "Hmm... why am I not hitting the boss? No, wait, I am. They removed the flashing when you hit enemies? You've got to be kidding me!" Now, I could have lived with the control, but the lack of hit-flashes totally ruins the experience. It sounds so minor, but it really isn't. It can be tough to mentally register how many times you are hitting something, if you can tell you are hitting it at all. More abstractly, it also ruins the arcade aesthetic of the games. The excuse is that Nintendo made them do it due to photosensitivity guidelines, but there had to be a better way. The fact that certain enemies/objects actually do slightly flash occasionally further infuriates. This is TOTALLY unacceptable.
All the criticism Digital Eclipse has taken for their work on Capcom Classics and like has been entirely overblown in the face of this atrocity. Terminal Reality really killed this collection. THIS is how NOT to do a classics comp. I will take some aliasing, artificial display modes, and lack of tate mode over this garbage ANY day.
I may have taken a bath on this one, but at least I own all of the games except 2 & 6 on acceptable formats and can play 1 - 5 on the XBox via emulation. If I really want 6 and the PS2 Anthology has the same hit-flash issues/isn't released, I'll import it for PS2. If you lack that luxury, this is actually not too bad, but go for the PSP version if you have one. Even the crappy PSP D-pad is better than what they did to these classics on the Wii. SNK/Playmore took a big steaming dump on one of their most beloved series for its 10th anniversary. I am still dumbfounded. This might be the worst collection of great games ever produced.
Let the ranting begin...
I bought Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii the day it came out, and just traded it in for Painkiller on the XBox tonight. Couldn't return it and was impatient, so I just unloaded it then and there. I haven't traded a game in at a chain store for several years, and make it a point to disuade others from doing so as well. That is how upsetting this release is. I knew all 7 Metal Slug arcade games on one disc was too good to be true.
I can live with the budget menus and the like, though a 10th Anniversary-branded product should celebrate a bit more. I can live with the mid-level loading times, though don't feel like they should be there at this point. The problem is the two larger failures with the product, one of which has been detailed above. (Skip the next paragraph if you wish to avoid yet another round of bitching about the control)
The control options are absolutely atrocious. I understand the playing around with motion control, but not having a d-pad & grenade button option in-game is a nightmare. The precision necessary for these games is simply not possible with analog control. The lack of Classic Controller support and fact that the menus don't use the GC analog when you are forced to use it in-game are a big slap in the face.
As I was giving them the benefit of the doubt for the control based upon the fact that all 7 games are on there, I began to notice that something else wasn't right. "Hmm... why am I not hitting the boss? No, wait, I am. They removed the flashing when you hit enemies? You've got to be kidding me!" Now, I could have lived with the control, but the lack of hit-flashes totally ruins the experience. It sounds so minor, but it really isn't. It can be tough to mentally register how many times you are hitting something, if you can tell you are hitting it at all. More abstractly, it also ruins the arcade aesthetic of the games. The excuse is that Nintendo made them do it due to photosensitivity guidelines, but there had to be a better way. The fact that certain enemies/objects actually do slightly flash occasionally further infuriates. This is TOTALLY unacceptable.
All the criticism Digital Eclipse has taken for their work on Capcom Classics and like has been entirely overblown in the face of this atrocity. Terminal Reality really killed this collection. THIS is how NOT to do a classics comp. I will take some aliasing, artificial display modes, and lack of tate mode over this garbage ANY day.
I may have taken a bath on this one, but at least I own all of the games except 2 & 6 on acceptable formats and can play 1 - 5 on the XBox via emulation. If I really want 6 and the PS2 Anthology has the same hit-flash issues/isn't released, I'll import it for PS2. If you lack that luxury, this is actually not too bad, but go for the PSP version if you have one. Even the crappy PSP D-pad is better than what they did to these classics on the Wii. SNK/Playmore took a big steaming dump on one of their most beloved series for its 10th anniversary. I am still dumbfounded. This might be the worst collection of great games ever produced.