Metal Slug for Android

Though it never achieved Contra-like success, this game series ran for more than a decade and had a dozen titles. Now, you can have all the side-scrolling fun of Metal Slug on your Android gadget. It might not run smoothly on every gadget, but newer tablet and smartphone owners should have plenty of fun.

If you've ever played any of the arcade versions of the game, you'll feel right at home. If not, Metal Slug is a fairly typical scrolling shooter. You run through screen after screen, blasting away at aliens and tanks that threaten to take over the world. Thanks to only a few buttons, the game's controls won't feel bizarre on your smartphone. They will take up a good deal of room if you have a smaller screen, though. If your processor isn't up to snuff, the game might seize or run slowly. However, if you've got the specs to run it, the game plays wonderfully. Movement from screen to screen is fast and the levels and difficulty behave just like the console version.

If your smartphone or tablet has replaced your DS, this game can be an awesome addition to your library. It's hard to argue with hours of side-scrolling and tank-shooting fun. Metal Slug will be a fun blast from the past for older gamers but will still feel fresh to people who didn't grow up with it. The game is a little graphic intense, so be careful if you're using an older smartphone or tablet to run it.