Metal Slug: Commander
This bland strategy game is completely unsatisfying.
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Metal Slug: Commander
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Metal Slug: Commander is a strategy game for iOS and Android devices. This is the latest chapter in a long-running franchise. In it, players command soldiers and tanks to kill enemy combatants (many of whom are human) and destroy their weapons. But the game employs a pixelated, old school visual style, which means there's explosions and gunplay, but no blood or gore. In the menus, some female characters are wearing skimpy bikinis or midriff-baring tops, and many are well-endowed. As for representation, the game does a good job by having there be both male and female playable characters, a good will they undermine by also having stereotypical enemies like camel-riding Arab characters. The game provides players with tons of resources, rewards, and in-game currency just for playing, though more can be purchased for real money. These rewards, resources, and credits can then be used to purchase playable characters, or to upgrade ones already owned. Read the developer's privacy policy for details on how your (or your kids') information is collected, used, and shared, and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.
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What’s It About?
In METAL SLUG: COMMANDER, years had passed since the war against the combined forces of the Rebel Army and Space Invaders ended. But a competition for resources -- specifically, Lubis ore, which is only found on the Saru Island -- has led to a new conflict. That's why you must decide which of your G.I. Joe-like soldiers and crazy-looking tanks you will send into battle, and when they'll deploy their special attacks, in this action-oriented strategy game.
Is It Any Good?
By being a rather bland strategy game, and not the arcade shooter fans were hoping for, this ends up being a big disappointment to fans of both kinds of games. In Metal Slug: Commander, you have to fight a series of armed skirmishes by deciding which of your G.I. Joe-esque soldiers and over-the-top tanks you're going to send into a battle, as well as when they'll going to deploy their character-specific special attacks. (Well, assuming you don't hit the button to let your phone or tablet decide for you.) In doing so, you not only win victories that could help you ultimately win the war and save the planet, but you also earn the rewards, resources, and in-game currency you need to hire new soldiers, buy new tanks, and upgrade the ones you've got so they're up to whatever challenge they may face.
The problem being that, as these kind of action-oriented strategy games go, this is so typical that it's actually rather boring and dull. It adds nothing new to the formula. There's also little to no challenge, especially since you earn so many rewards that you can easily upgrade every soldier and tank to be super powered. Then there's the issue that long-time fans of this series will have, which is that the Metal Slug games have typically be side-scrolling arcade-style shooters, a kind of game that works well on phones and tablets, and this ain't that. Now, if you're unfamiliar with this kind of strategy game, and the Metal Slug series, and are looking for something fun but dumb, then you might enjoy this for a little while. But if you're a strategy veteran, or long-time fan of the series, Metal Slug: Commander is, well, sluggish.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Metal Slug: Commander affected by the lack of blood or gore, even though you use guns and special attacks to kill enemy soldiers? Does it bother you when you kill a fellow human in a game, as opposed to an alien or monster?
In Metal Slug: Commander, you earn a ton of currency, resources, and rewards just by playing, but you can also buy these things with real money, so how do you decide when to spend money on a free game, especially one as generous as this one?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: November 5, 2021
- Category: Strategy Games
- Topics: Adventures, Space and Aliens
- Publisher: SNK Corporation
- Version: 1.0.4
- Minimum software requirements: Requires iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.2 and up
- Last updated: December 12, 2021
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