Metal Slug Touch Comes To iPhone
SNK just released Metal Slug Touch to the iPhone App Store for $4.99, but it's not a port of the original Metal Slug. It's more of an adaptation; it uses the same graphics and kind of the same gameplay as the originals except you're inside the Metal Slug vehicle at all times and never on foot.
I just downloaded it before writing this article to test it out, and the controls are... Weird. You use the accelerometer to go forwards, backwards or sit still, based on the angle you hold your iPhone. Kind of like how you moved in Yoshi's Topsy Turvy when Yoshi was on a ball. That alone is a little weird, but then you also aim your constant stream of bullets (there's no fire button) by rotating the stream clockwise or counter clockwise using big buttons that act as sort of a border around the screen. Also, there are touch screen buttons for 'avoid' (where your character jumps out of the tank for a few seconds to completely avoid all damage) and a button for 'cannon' which shoots a stronger attack in the direction you're already aiming.
The controls are kind of awkward, but don't seem beyond getting used to. They're far from elegant. It seems like it'd make more sense to me to be able to control the movement of the tank with the big frame buttons and map the aiming of the gun to the accelerometer or the touch screen, but what do I know. It's worth checking out if you're hard up for satisfying actiony iPhone games (I know I am) and can overcome the $5 price tag.
Metal Slug arrives on iPhone, sort of [via Joystiq]
Bradamantium
Posted to Video Games on 18 December 2009
Other stuff like this: app store, iPhone, iPod Touch, Metal Slug, neo-geo, SNK
