Metal Slug 2

Metal Slug 2 is the sequel that gave the series its full identity. It added two more playable mercenaries, the camel and ostrich vehicles, and enough new enemy types that the original's roster looks small in comparison.

The mercenary roster doubles to four - Marco, Tarma, Eri and Fio - each with slightly different handling, and the vehicle line expands well beyond the tank: a camel with a mounted gun, an ostrich you ride at full sprint, and a plane section late in the campaign. Enemies include mummies, diggers, insurgents with rocket launchers and the return of General Morden with reinforcements. The prisoners-of-war rescue system returns and is generous: freeing them drops weapons, food and items, and finding them all is a genuine score strategy. Its one well-documented flaw is slowdown - the Neo Geo hardware struggles with the density of later stages, which SNK fixed a year later with Metal Slug X, a rebuilt version of the same game.

• ▸Four playable mercenaries including Eri and Fio for the first time
• ▸Camel and ostrich vehicles alongside the classic tank
• ▸Mummies, diggers and a full new enemy roster
• ▸A documented slowdown problem, fixed in Metal Slug X