Lead
| Familiar recipes and tastes |
On April 18, the IP action shooter mobile game "Metal Slugg: Awakening" developed by Tencent's TiMi Studio was officially launched. Although this product only received a player rating of 5.5 on Haoyou Express, it was first on the free list when it was launched, and it rushed to the second place on the best-selling list the next day, which seems to show the good strength of this IP adaptation product.
Compared with Tencent's many head masterpieces that are ready to be launched this year, "Metal Sluggish: Awakening" is obviously not enough to watch in terms of volume and audience, at most it is an "appetizer dessert". However, considering that the IP product "Contra: Return", also developed by TiMi Studio, has long been in the top 40 of the best-selling list for a long time after 6 years of its launch, it seems not surprising that the almost "same" "Metal Slugg: Awakening" can be "replicated" successfully. On the track of IP adaptation, Tencent, which has played so stably, seems to have found a stable and sustainable methodology.
01
Adaptations are not random compilations
Speaking of "Metal Slug", players after 80.90 may not be unfamiliar, as the two heavyweight IPs of SNK with the same name as "King of Fighters", there may be many players who go to arcades for "Metal Slug".
In the almost colorful arcade hall of the 90s, it is rare that "Metal Slughead" can be a latecomer (the first game released in 96). In my opinion, thanks to the excellent level design and refreshing and exciting mowing battles, "Metal Slug", which has almost no threshold to get started, has achieved the ultimate in the refreshing experience.
It is not difficult to see that the "Metal Slugg: Awakening" mobile game adapted by IP must work feelings and feel if it wants to be recognized by old players.
From the perspective of graphics, the choice of 3D rendering of "Metal Slugg: Awakening" is actually not very suitable for nostalgia, but considering the preferences of modern mobile game players, too modern pixel graphics are obviously not likely to please its entire audience, so in the case that the 3D style of "Contra: Return" has been verified by the market, this is more of a compromise choice.
However, the game still maintains the Q version ratio of the characters in the original work, and the overall art style chooses the exaggerated cartoon style of the original work, which makes many old players feel the essence. Coupled with the retention of the classic horizontal design, the integration between elements is more natural and not obtrusive, which can be regarded as making up for some of the emotional sense due to the lack of pixel art style.
It is worth mentioning that compared with the art style "Metal Slug: Awakening", the changes in gameplay are more obvious. In order to take care of the operation of mobile game players and reduce the difficulty in disguise, the game canceled the classic "one-hit kill" setting of the original game and replaced it with a more numerical form of health. Players can increase their HP by acquiring equipment, take more damage and extend their survival time.
Each level player can choose up to three characters to form a formation, and according to the initial weapon attributes of the match, it can provide four damage bonuses: weakness, heavy damage, burning, and freezing, so how to quickly stack the four attributes is the core of playing high burst damage. It is worth mentioning that the game also retains the classic ammunition that appeared in the original work, such as lasers, trolls, and missiles, and after obtaining, you can use the corresponding guns, and after consuming the ammunition, it will become the initial weapon.
In addition to the regular hit and jump operations in the original game, Metal Slugg: Awakening also adds 2 hero skills for each character, which improves the game's playability to a certain extent. For example, the heroic skill of the protagonist Marco is a powerful output skill, "Bounce Grenade" can deal large damage, and "Bullet Time" can be suspended for short bursts. Another protagonist, Fio, in addition to the output skill, the "Skyfall Refrigerator Rain" skill can give an additional rate of fire buff bonus. By changing different items, you can also get different skill form changes.
In addition, players can also obtain additional available items in the game, such as blood return first aid kits, frozen grenades, support drones, etc., but they can only carry one at the same time, which can be regarded as adding some strategic nature of the game in disguise.
After completing the early rookie missions, players will enter a large base, in addition to interacting with NPCs, they can also socialize with other players, which is quite the meaning of MMO games.
02
Nostalgic but new
The original "Metal Slugg" is not a product that is re-cultivated or suitable for repeated play, and the horizontal linear gameplay that can be passed in 1 hour is also destined to have a very limited amount of content for such products, so it actually brings a lot of challenges in the difficulty of adaptation. How to take care of new and old players, under the condition of controlling the feelings, constantly filling the content to extend the life cycle of the product may be the most important problem to solve.
In my opinion, although "Metal Slugg: Awakening" is not a high-quality TOP-level product, thanks to the mature gameplay framework of "Contra: Return" before, under the appropriate amount of content filling, the gameplay and feelings have been balanced.
To put it simply, based on the content of the original 1.2.3 generation, "Metal Slug: Awakening" disassembles and reintegrates various classic elements in the game, allowing players to feel nostalgic and experience novelty everywhere.
For example, the first level of the main story is a perfect reproduction of the first level of the 2nd generation, and the first feeling when entering the game is that the pixel screen has been upgraded, and the extremely familiar level design and character details also fill the feelings instantly.
The reminiscence mode is to remake the classic levels of various generations one by one and re-bring them to the table, nostalgic while experiencing the "high-definition" picture is a different flavor.
Of course, in addition to the nostalgia in the content, the development team also reflected a certain novelty in the level design.
The early main story adds a large number of vehicle battles, retaining the classic flavor while using different new vehicles to create a unique gameplay experience for players. In a certain level, the player can also transform into a monster, which reminds me of classic transformation designs such as the mummies of the 2nd generation and the zombies of the 3rd generation.
The horizontal version of the level design uses bouncing and parachutes to create a deep combat effect, and one of the processes even adds a gravity system, and the upside-down perspective brings a more fresh game experience.
In particular, the features of the original gameplay, such as branching routes and hidden rewards, are still preserved in the game, although this does not directly affect the player's game experience, but such details can also make people feel the care and sincerity of the development team.
If everything above still seems decent, then the addition of sub-gameplay obviously allows me to see where this product shines.
Aside from the boring PVP battles and the not-so-interesting maze challenges, the remaining three sub-gameplay are remarkable. For example, the hunt plan is a typical rogue gameplay, where players can get one of three BUFF rewards for killing enemies within a specified time.
Arcade Carnival focuses more on the original classic gameplay of the game and refines it, such as hitting cars and trains, and often filling the feeling of refreshment while obtaining materials.
"Joint Action" should be the most popular gameplay among players. Players can match through the world or friends, and form a squad of up to 3 people to challenge the boss level. Not only does each boss have a different appearance, but it is also uniquely designed in terms of combat mechanics. For example, the second stage player of the Magnetic Eye will stand on the boss and fight, while the Magnetic Guard will throw a flying saucer in the background at a certain stage, bringing 3D visual feedback. Online gameplay not only adds more social attributes, but also gives players the pleasure of sitting together and playing arcades when they were children.
epilogue
Of course, despite all the above, in my opinion, "Metal Slug: Awakening" is still a product that tends to be numeric, and the routine operations of numerical games such as character growth, weapon enhancement, and accessory accessories are all available, and there are many routines for selling Shenwu and characters out of the box.
However, this does not hinder its commercial success, nor does it hide its brilliance in some designs and gameplay. It is a side-scrolling shooter game that conforms to the tone of the original work, rather than tower defense, SLG and other products, which can already gain the favor of some players. After grasping the feelings and incorporating some innovative design concepts, which can bring players familiar and fresh "taste", they have grasped the innate IP advantages.
As I said above, as an adaptation above the passing line, Metal Slugg: Awakening is really not a stunning work, but I think it is enough for most players to find it worth a try.