Either way I will come clean now: I have never played a Metal Slug game. There, I’ve done it. My sins have been confessed. The fact that I have never played a Metal Slug game probably explains the reason why this game is holding such charm to me. On the other hand though, it may just be because the game genuinely looks like good fun.

Having never played the game, the reason I am so desperate to do so is because of the fact it is strongly regarded as the best side scrolling action game series. The game earned its crown by constantly providing rich bitmapped character sprites and vicious 2D warplanes creating for a vibrant and engaging experience time after time.

Metal Slug Anthology puts seven of the games from the series into one neat little package for the Nintendo Wii. Of those seven games available will be Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4, Metal Slug 5 and Metal Slug 6. As you can tell from the list there is a lot of content that SNK Playmore crammed into this package and all of the games are optimised to run in widescreen. Chances are this won’t be such a good point for people wanting an identical arcade experience, alas for the more casual gamer who wants to play an arcade classic on their widescreen TV – such changes won’t be noticeable. Early videos are showing that the game does run a lot smoother than the original Neo Geo counterparts which suffered from a lot of slowdown.

Out of the games included on the package, Metal Slug 6 will probably provide the most interest as this is the first home port of a fairly recent arcade release. There are a number of gameplay inclusions to Metal Slug 6 such as the ability to dual wield your weapons and also there are a number of more powerful melee attacks.

One of the main problem with home ports of arcade games over the last few years has been knowing how many continues to allow the gamer. Sometimes offering unlimited continues can cause for destroying the beauty of the coin operated style of play – but also this makes it more possible to complete the game. SNK Playmore have decided to provide the gamer with the option of how many continues they think will be needed before they play the game, however some unlockables will only be provided once the player completes the game with a certain number of continues used only. This makes for an incentive to play the game and hone your skills.

The unlockables on offer aren’t exactly original but are a nice addition for fans of the series including an interview with the developers of the game, sound samples and various artwork.

The main thing about Metal Slug Anthology for the Wii aside from the compilation of classic arcade titles is the fact that the game will make use of the Wiimote in a number of different ways. There are several different control setups – the main ones you can expect to use are either the GameCube controller, the Nintendo Classic Controller or your Wiimote turned on its side. These controls are the most intuitive and provide for the best playable experience. A nice touch on the control mechanism with the Wiimote on its side is in order to throw grenades you must flick the Wiimote forward.

However aside from these expected modes of control are some slightly less playable methods. There is a control method where you hold the Wiimote on its side again but as opposed to using the D-pad to move left and right, you tilt the controller (similarly to Excite Truck) to move around the screen.

You can also play with controls between the Wiimote and nunchuck split – so one does the moving and the other does the firing.

The last but not least insane control system is the “Arcade” style control setup. The Wiimote acts as a joystick by being held vertical. It’s all very clever but from early reports it doesn’t really work like it should.

Crazy controls aside, Metal Slug Anthology is looking insanely fun and it looks as though there will be plenty on offer for players to work their way through, whether (like me) they are new to the series or a veteran.