If you’re a diehard game collector then there is a good chance you know about the 24-bit Neo Geo Advance Entertainment System. The home cartridge games for the NG were not only arcade perfect translations, but most of the games are easy enough in design so that anybody could pick up and play them. One Neo Geo fan favourite was definitely the acclaimed Metal Slug series. In these MS games you get to shoot away at countless enemies and ride in some cool vehicles. Out of the many Metal Slug games available for the NG, most consider part 3 to be the best of all of them. There is just one little problem with getting my hands on Metal Slug 3 for my Neo Geo though. I looked on auction sites like eBay and THE BLOODY THING WAS 400 BUCKS!! It may be hard to believe but I’m not kidding here. Most Neo Geo games are some of the rarest cartridges in the world and that means only a few would actually be able to play Metal Slug 3. There is another way however, SNK Playmore has announced that the game will finally be coming soon to the Xbox.

For those of you that never heard of this game before, Metal Slug is a crazy action game that was first introduced in 1996. It was a fun run and gun 2D platform shooter with stylist cartoon visuals, interesting characters, and it sure had lots of good old fashion on screen madness. Just imagine a cross between Konami’s Contra (or at least the good ones), Treasure’s Gunstar Heroes, and SNK’s Ikari Warriors, and you’ve got Metal Slug. Metal Slug 3 isn’t too different from the last couple of games in the series, but SNK has listened to some of the concerns regarding the replay value and they managed to fix a few things for part 3. Instead of just running to point A and B all the time, you can now find some stages that include multiple paths, so the game play is far less linear this time around.

What would a good shooter be without some killer weapons, eh? Each one of the four characters can save hostages that may give you cool stuff in return: Rocket Launchers, Shotguns, a monkey with an Uzi, Lasers, and lots more. MS3 also has an impressive list of 10 different vehicles and large animals to use for additional firepower and defence. You can even get the chance to ride on the back of a two-ton elephant that’s wearing a heavy machine gun. This game has no shortage of special weapons to find, that’s for sure.

One thing I really liked about the Metal Slug games were some of the silly comical features, which were designed to break away from the seriousness of the war-like atmosphere. Players can eat food that is lying around, and you can actually see your character get fatter in the process. The game is not only a great shooter, but it’s also good for a few laughs. Although some of the graphics are very cartoon-like, the game is still quite violent -- believe it or not. You can see the blood fly after stabbing your opponents up close, and why not see some of them scream in agony after burning them to a crisp thanks to your trusty flamethrower? There is enough carnage here to make movies like Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ jealous! I hope SNK decides to include some bonus artwork like they did with Metal Slug X for the Playstation. It’s a great way to see all the dedication going into the game.