It's never given much attention in the game, but the story here concerns the efforts of expert soldiers named Marco, Eri, Tarma, and Fio as they overthrow an eyepatch-wearing dictator (who might as well be called "Hassan Kussein") and an enemy less terrestrial in origin. That's about it. The game ignores any real plot, and fortunately, it can afford to.

Essentially a modified version of the second game in the series, Metal Slug X sends a player through six “missions” with one of the four commandos, all of whom are more or less identical in terms of control (though I still like Eri best). The levels, conversely, vary from Mission 1's shootout through a Middle Eastern market to the exploration of a mummy-filled pyramid to a foray through the enemy's research laboratory. And every setting looks as unique as it should, thanks to some beautiful sprite work. Though it's not as immediately striking as polygon-aided affairs like Strider 2, Metal Slug X makes up for its shortage of flash with excellent detail and an amazing wealth of animation. Buildings burst into storms of debris, a cargo plane sends tanks crashing to pieces on the tarmac, and your character reloads during a breather or sinks to the ground when shot, which causes enemy soldiers to laugh and point and then shriek like something out of a Tex Avery short when your hero is revived. All blood has been removed for the American release, and a few animation frames from the Neo-Geo version are missing, but neither flaw takes much out of the game.

While Eri and the lesser heroes start off by shooting, jumping, and tossing grenades, there's a huge arsenal of weapon power-ups to be gathered by rescuing bearded, long-haired prisoners in all six missions. These grateful P.O.W.s supply you with lasers, machine guns, missile launchers, bouncing “drop shots,” shotguns, flamethrowers, and the oddly cute Iron Lizards. For even more fun, players can occasionally commandeer a minigun-carrying camel, a missile-laden fighter, the Slugnoid mecha, or my favorite, the pudgy little tank that gave the Metal Slug series its name.

Metal Slug's controls have always struck me as retrograde; jumping has a semi-floaty feel, and there's lack of genuine diagonal firing. Still, it's easy to get used to, and the gameplay makes up for it with lots of amusing touches. The Egyptian mummies on level 2 spit bullets that turn you into a slow-moving heap of bandages, forcing you to grab a power-up vial if you want to become human again. Pick up too many of the food items that litter the stages and your commando will suddenly become grossly obese, with sluggish control, bigger bullets, and a fork instead of knife.

With such prodigious weaponry and charming quirks to be found, it's initially disappointing to find that Metal Slug X has only six regular stages in which to experiment. The game also allows unlimited continues from any point, so plowing through the levels isn't all that difficult, not even when one hit takes your character down.

It would be a serious letdown if a half-dozen battles were the entirety of Metal Slug X, but there's more to this PlayStation port. Beating the arcade mode unlocks Another Mission, a series of skill tests that play like single stage sub-games. All of them provide unique challenges, whether they force you to leap from missile to missile across a pit or protect a baby as it crawls through a battlefield.

No, Instructor Meg doesn't really say this. Too bad.

Another bonus mode, Combat School, is available from the start, offering players the challenges of time trials or distance runs, all while under the tutelage of the initially perky Instructor Meg. Do well and Instructor Meg will smile and say nice things. Get a low score and Instructor Meg will give her best impression of R. Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket. And then she'll smile again. She's a fun gal.

My only complaint? While Metal Slug X has an accomplished sense of humor (there's even a parody of Independence Day), it often verges on the sadistic. Enemy soldiers are animated with an exaggeration that makes it all the more disturbing when they slump over the controls of vehicles or get hit by a flamethrower and fly into the air screaming and screaming and screaming. Even the mummy dogs in stage 2 give off pitiful yelps when they're killed. Yes, I'm a huge sissy and most players won't even notice these minutiae, but I still cringe inside when the game allows you to gun down a solder as he's sunbathing in a deck chair.

Grim gags and loose control aside, there's not much to dislike about Metal Slug X. It's innately fun, visually rich, and a wonderful escape for anyone who loved side-scrolling platformers back in the days of the Super NES and Sega Genesis. And for those who have never known the joys of great 2-D action games, Metal Slug X is the perfect place to start.