It’s that time again. Time for some new VC games added to the Wii! Oh my goodness, there are TWO games being released this week! Maybe it’s only because it’s a holiday. This week, we’re getting City Connection from the NES and Metal Slug from the Neo-Geo. Let’s hear some more about them.
City Connection
-Genre: Platformer
-System: Nintendo Entertainment System
-Release Date: 1985
-Price: 500 Wii Points
Guy Desmarais: This is far from being the greatest game I have ever played (really far from it actually), but I did waste an unusual amount of time on it when I was young. First and foremost, a car that jumps was cool enough to keep me glued to the TV, and somehow, the challenge of driving all over the place without being caught was complicated enough for the skills of my young self to keep me coming back. Sometimes, the simplest games are the ones that you keep coming back to when you need a quick videogames fix (such as trying to complete Super Mario Bros. under 10 minutes when I get bored), but this one doesn’t bring anything revolutionary or addictive to the table. It was good enough when I was young, but it just doesn’t hold up anymore. Skip it, you won’t miss much.
Charlie Marsh: City Connection is simple and is actually…mildly fun. It’s like a game you’d play on your computer while in class or a meeting that you don’t want to pay attention to. It’s far from a must have, but if you’re looking for something unique to fill some time every now and then, you can do worse than this game.
Mark B.: City Connection is one of those mindlessly entertaining pieces of software that anyone can play and enjoy, but no one needs to actually own. If you’ve never played it, it’s a cute little game; you drive a jumping car and try to fill in all of the spaces in the “city” while avoiding cops and a pink devil thing that’ll keep you entertained. It’s really only amusing for small periods of time and wears on you quickly, but it’s okay for five or ten minutes at a stretch.
Christopher Bowen: Ever look at a game and go “Jesus, that’s so Japanese, I feel like grabbing some Pocky and getting violated by a squid”Â? That’s City Connection. You drive a car who’s only goal is to cover every inch of the street, while avoiding other cars and a cat-like thing, and when you die, you explode…into hearts. Only the Japanese could think that up. It’s a cute game, but some wonky controls and cheap deaths could throw the experience off for most. Thumbs in the middle, and it’s the eye of the beholder as to whether or not this is worth $5.
Metal Slug
-Genre: Run and Gun
-System: Neo-Geo
-Release Date: 1996
-Price: 900 Wii Points
Christopher Bowen: OK, this is getting ridiculous. If you own other systems, you can get Metal Slug on *deep breath* the PS2’s Metal Slug collection, SNK Arcade Collections Vol. 1 (both with unlockables), Gametap (for the cost of a subscription), and a superior sequel (Metal Slug 3) on XBLA. If you happen to only have a Wii, you can STILL get the Wii collection new for $20 new, and probably less if you buy used. $9 for one game with no enhancements is a slap in the face of the gamer that’s becoming more and more frequent with the VC lately.
Mark B.: Metal Slug is a hard game to recommend; on one hand it’s a really awesome game, but on the other, there are about ONE MILLION WAYS for you to play it, including the Metal Slug Anthology and the upcoming Wii SNK Arcade Classics alone. Considering that the game is $9, you can pay double that and get more than triple the content. In other words, if you don’t have Metal Slug, buy the Wii collection instead of this; this is, I’m sorry, a bit of a rip-off.
Charlie Marsh: Metal Slug is alright, but I can’t really recommend it. As noted by everyone else, you can get it elsewhere, along with many other good games. It’s good, but personally, I’m waiting for Contra, which isn’t as widely available.
Guy Desmarais: I am guessing this is pretty much the exact same game that you can find on the Metal Slug Anthology (although I don’t know if any changes were made for the compilation, since I never owned a Neo-Geo). If it is, then the verdict is pretty simple. Get it if you don’t have the Anthology, skip it if you do. I’m not much of a shooter fan, but Metal Slug manages to keep me interested. I guess I’ll wait for Lucard for the expert’s advice, but I would recommend it even for non-fans. Not that you should listen to me on that one. What do you say, Alex?
Alex Lucard: Considering that you can buy Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii for $39.99 and it contains seven different Metal Slugs, paying nine bucks for a single game in the series seems a bit wacky to me. Don’t get me wrong – Metal Slug is one of the best side scrolling shooters ever made with gigantic levels and hilarious characters, but this should only be purchased if you’re unsure about buying MSA and want to see what the gameplay is like first. I personally think the series peaked with MS3, and would push you towards that game, but MS is proof that SNK could make quality games that don’t feature Terry Bogard in some way.
So there you go. A rather polarizing week for the VC; some recommend each game, some don’t. Kind of weird. Well, until next week…where the hell is EarthBound?
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