A run-and-gun shooter inspired by Metal Slug... without understanding what made the Metal Slug games timeless and fun to play. Your default pistol has infinite ammo, and Jones can knife enemies if they get close enough. Weapon power-ups are placed generously throughout the map — the Machine Gun has a high rate of fire and can perform diagonal shots (again, exactly like Metal Slug), while the Flamethrower does the same, but with more ammo and higher damage.

So what is wrong with NWO Wars? Every time you fire a shot, the screen starts to shake. It's very jarring and eventually gave me a headache, since you are constantly shooting non-stop at hordes of enemies. Some bad guys are inconsistently designed and seem to serve no purpose — the flying bats and zombie cats don't do anything when they touch you.

Levels are very basic with no variation as you reach the final stages. There IS a cool sequence in stage 4 where you start the level fighting on an Info Wars truck, shooting at enemy vehicles. However this ends too quickly and feels like a wasted opportunity. Why not have Jones jumping from vehicle to vehicle as the stage progresses? Or introduce a turret-mounted weapon, like a rocket launcher, to blow up enemy tanks and drones?

With no difficulty levels or branching paths, or any incentive to replay the campaign (the high score table is very barebones and basic), I cannot recommend this game at all. Especially when there are so many other side scrollers available. Go replay the original Arcade Archives Metal Slug series on Switch/PS4 for an authentic arcade experience. Or Konami's recent Contra re-releases. Or wait for Black Finger Jet (from the original creators of Metal Slug) to be released.

A run-and-gun shooter inspired by Metal Slug... without understanding what made the Metal Slug games timeless and fun to play. Your default pistol has infinite ammo, and Jones can knife enemies if they get close enough. Weapon power-ups are placed generously throughout the map — the Machine Gun has a high rate of fire and can perform diagonal shots (again, exactly like Metal Slug), while the Flamethrower does the same, but with more ammo and higher damage. So what is wrong with NWO Wars? Every time you fire a shot, the screen starts to shake. It's very jarring and eventually gave me a headache, since you are constantly shooting non-stop at hordes of enemies. Some bad guys are inconsistently designed and seem to serve no purpose — the flying bats and zombie cats don't do anything when they touch you. Levels are very basic with no variation as you reach the final stages. There IS a cool sequence in stage 4 where you start the level fighting on an Info Wars truck, shooting at enemy vehicles. However this ends too quickly and feels like a wasted opportunity. Why not have Jones jumping from vehicle to vehicle as the stage progresses? Or introduce a turret-mounted weapon, like a rocket launcher, to blow up enemy tanks and drones? With no difficulty levels or branching paths, or any incentive to replay the campaign (the high score table is very barebones and basic), I cannot recommend this game at all. Especially when there are so many other side scrollers available. Go replay the original Arcade Archives Metal Slug series on Switch/PS4 for an authentic arcade experience. Or Konami's recent Contra re-releases. Or wait for Black Finger Jet (from the original creators of Metal Slug) to be released.