Sure, the latest 2D Street Fighter or Guilty Gear may have sharper characters and backgrounds but this isn't a stationary beat-'em-up. Indeed, it's thanks to this series that there are those of us for whom the prettiest face of videogames lies not in the future but in the past. Yes, sunsets are pretty to look at and yes, it's terribly impressive how life-like the metal on this AK-47 looks when viewed through that particle effect, but surely we play games to visit new worlds: not marvel at slightly more rubbish versions of the current one?Įxcuse the antagonism but, for fans of 2D pixel art, the decade-old Metal Slug series has never really been bettered for intricacy, personality, character and colour. One day soon, people will realise that there are only so many virtual suns reflecting on the surface of virtual lakes that one can go 'wow' at.

Forget Alan Wake, Metal Slug Anthology showcases the best graphics ever seen in a videogame.