Metal Slug XX

Metal Slug XX for PSP is SNK Playmore's 2010 portable run-and-gun shooter, released in Japan in late 2009 and in North America by Atlus in February 2010. It is the expanded PlayStation Portable version of the Nintendo DS game Metal Slug 7, preserving the series' side-scrolling, hand-drawn action while adapting its mission-based campaign for the PSP. General Morden and his Rebel Army are again the central threat, drawing the Peregrine Falcon Strike Force, the SPARROWS and the Ikari Warriors into another all-out assault.

Players choose from returning Metal Slug regulars Marco Rossi, Tarma Roving, Eri Kasamoto and Fio Germi, alongside Ikari Warriors Ralf Jones and Clark Still. Each mission is a fast-moving trek through enemy territory: run and jump past hazards, fire in multiple directions, throw grenades, free captured prisoners of war and pick up temporary weapons. The familiar arsenal includes rapid-fire guns, heavier launchers and the new Thunder Shot, which sends an electric, seeking attack toward opponents.

The seven-mission campaign combines the arcade-style rhythm of surviving crowded encounters with the series' vehicles, known as Slugs. Armored machines give the soldiers extra firepower or change how a sequence is approached, while large bosses close out the stages. The adventure moves through locations including desert terrain, mountain areas, caves and volcanic surroundings as the forces pursuing Morden press toward the source of his new military support. Routes can branch within the stages, so repeat runs can reveal different layouts and enemy arrangements.

Metal Slug XX also restores two-player cooperation to this version of Metal Slug 7. On PSP, two nearby players can join forces through Ad Hoc play, sharing the screen's constant stream of soldiers, machines and oversized targets. The game supports one or two players and uses the compact PSP controls for the core run, jump, shoot and grenade actions, keeping its campaign direct even when the action fills the display.

Beyond the main missions, the PSP game includes Combat School, a set of challenge exercises that reuses campaign skills in focused tasks. More than 70 mini-games and a rank system give players goals beyond simply clearing the story, while the POW List records rescues made in each mission and rankings track performance. These modes make the branching campaign and its many prisoner locations worth revisiting.

As the last mainline Metal Slug entry before the series moved away from its original sequence of numbered releases, Metal Slug XX is closely tied to Metal Slug 7 but has its own PSP identity. Its original release also offered Leona Heidern from The King of Fighters' Ikari team as downloadable content. Later editions brought the game to other systems and made further presentation and multiplayer changes, but the PSP version remains the release that paired the revised seven-stage campaign with portable Ad Hoc cooperation and its optional Leona add-on.