After taking a look at the Quick Look on Metal Slug XX, I decided to whip out my PlayStation 2 and spend some time with the Metal Slug Anthology.
 
This is exactly what makes games fun. Metal fuckin' Slug. This franchise is all about mindless, fast-paced shooting and super fast button presses to escape death. Metal Slug never fails to make smoking a bunch of baddies + metal slugs satisfying. Running right and chucking out four bombs and loads of grenades and watching everything in that vicinity explode and die. There are obviously other enjoyable franchises, but Metal Slug comes from a time where even though it's twitch based and mindless shooting, but it still requires impeccably fast reflexes and timing to overcome simple enemies all the way to complicated boss fights. Not to mention, the music in Metal Slug is absolutely stellar! Rock/traditional metal based tunes really top off the war-driven action and give you some amazing tunes to destroy baddies to.
 
Besides, how could you overlook a level as awesome as this? ADRENALINE! So Metal Slug, even though you are incredibly formulaic, you never fail to entertain me, if at least for an hour. Metal Slug <3.

I could not agree more : )
 
I purchased the entire Metal slug collection and have played through them countless times. Such a great franchise. Slaying Aliens, Zombies, Giant Tanks, Helicopters, Submarines, you name it! I think it's the fast paced gameplay and awesome assortment of weapons that makes it great in my opinion.
 
I'm hoping they will continue to make Metal Slug games for many years to come.

I totally agree, but I thought the port job they did on the PS2 anthology was kinda bad. I haven't played it in a while, but I remember they messed up a bunch of the sound effects and I think they had to add some load times. Now that you have officially bought the game and no longer need to feel any guilt, you might want to consider busting out Mame and trying the Neo Geo original versions.
 
But yeah, you can't go wrong with Metal Slug, they are endlessly replayable, have great graphics and animation, and are just fun all around. Don't listen to Jeff in that quick look, I think he's secretly anti-retro to anything after the Atari-/C64 era.

The first, second and third Metal Slug games are fucking awesome, but the fourth, fifth and sixth are god-awful. If it weren't for them, it could've been one of the greatest franchises ever, but as it is now... nah, not really.

" @Icemael:  I'll agree on the fourth being pretty bad but I thought 5 was pretty good. It had those shadowy guys with knock offs of your Metal Slugs, added the slide mechanic, and the final boss was awesome. Can't remember 6 so well. "

Started playing Metal Slug 4 again recently, and I've changed my mind: it's absolutely fantastic! Easily as good as X and 3. Hell, I actually think I like it more: it's really intense and tough from the outset, whereas for example X takes a while to get going (it's not until stage 3 that I can get really excited in that game). I have no idea why I disliked it, but yeah, me from two years ago can suck a dick concerning the quality of Metal Slug 4. I also played a credit or two of Metal Slug 5 the other day, and that game seems better than I remembered as well. I don't particularly like the slide since I sometimes end up accidentally using it and dying when I'm just trying to jump, but maybe I won't mind it when I get used to it.

This really is one of the very best video game series of all time. Top five at the very least as far as I'm concerned. Gonna have to give 6 a second chance one of these days!

Have had the Anthology for a while but just recently decided to play it again; my oath, I can't stop playing it! So addictive, and constantly trying to beat high scores, and now playing on hard just to punish myself even more... but still loving it.

Got to agree with what some previous posters said; it is definitely one of the greatest franchises.

As for the loading times, come on, they aren't that bad; is 5 seconds so long to wait? Only on Metal Slug 3 it can get annoying for me, but the others are fine.

Still, awesome anthology. Any word on whether there will be any new additions out in the future? Would love to play a modern version of Metal Slug.

The third MS is the best. Although, it's still a coin-chugging machine. Not very challenging outside of the arcades.

The Metal Slug games are great. I have a soft spot for Metal Slug 2, but the sheer scope of action in Metal Slug 3 is astounding. I think the games work best when you aren't playing them back to back to back. These games end up being very similar to each other and I think it spoils the enjoyment of the individual games if you take them all on at once. It's fun to revisit them every once in a while and appreciate the beautiful 2-D animation and relentless action.

The third MS is the best. Although, it's still a coin-chugging machine. Not very challenging outside of the arcades.