It’s been awhile since the last good Metal Slug game, and I think I’m starting to experience withdrawal symptoms: my hands are shaky, I have cold sweats, and I can’t play any modern FPS without screaming “ROCKET LAWNCHAIR” into my mic every time I pick up an explosive weapon. Thankfully, the team over at Tribute is looking to pick up where SNK left off, but they need your help on Kickstarter to do it.
Mercenary Kings is a 2D sidescrolling shooter that draws some pretty obvious influences from SNK’s arcade classic, but don’t label it as a simple knock-off: in addition to the classic run-and-gun gameplay, the game mixes in some RPG elements by letting players customize and improve their weapons.
The team at Tribute is made up of hardened industry veterans, including people who worked on Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Skullgirls, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Paul Robertson, probably best known for his work on the Scott Pilgrim game and for creating amazing web videos, is lending his amazing pixel-art style to the game.
I’m sorry if this post sounds like an ad, but I’ve loved every game that this team has worked on (seriously, go buy Wizorb off of Steam right now if you haven’t,) and I can’t wait to see their spin on the old arcade shooter, so let’s all try to get this game funded as soon as we can. Donating $15 guarantees you a copy of the game when it comes out for PC. Big spenders who drop $500 into the donation bin get a special hoodie designed by comic book artist Bryan Lee O’Malley.
As I write this, Mercenary Kings is already almost halfway to their $75,000 goal, so I’m sure it’ll be funded before it’s deadline arrives 28 days from now. But still, the game looks great, so you might as well guarantee your copy now. In the meantime, I’m going to go play through Metal Slug 3 for the billionth time.
Source: Kickstarter