Demon Front Now Playable

[gamez fan]

well along with ddp2 it's been along time coming but this game is now playable it should be in the next MAME and FBA releases
its a blatant metal slug clone but im sure you'll agree it does look kinda good
more infohttp://mamedev.emulab.it/haze/


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH_DD-CWERo

got lucky with this one i wouldnt expect the other later igs/pgm games eg the gladiator to work anytime soon

[StarCreator]

This is probably a more logical place for it, but already being discussed here.

[Estebang]

Okay, I don't like this game. It attempts to imitate Metal Slug without actually understanding what made Slug work. It's nice to see it preserved for posterity, though.

The levels completely lack any sense of pacing or progression--rather, they clumsily meander forward. The game just kind of chucks shit at you instead of carefully placing enemies and obstacles throughout the levels. There's far too many times where you're simply waiting for the game to finish throwing popcorn enemies at you so you can move on. It's missing many of the little nuances that made Slug what it was, like the heavy machine gun curving to shoot at diagonals. There aren't even any grenades you can use (the charge shots don't count), nor are there any drivable vehicles.

The graphics are very detailed, possibly moreso than the original two Slugs (love the skeletal village), but they lack any kind of cohesive theme. The cave, valley, and jungle stages just kind of blend into each other, without many distinguishing features. Most of the time, the levels don't even have many platforms to speak of. Sure, there's different enemies, but they don't have meaningfully differentiated attacks. The playable characters are weird and unappealing, though it's nice that the game beat Slug to the punch at giving them unique characteristics (different charge attacks).

Furthermore, it's just too easy. You're given far too many concessions to difficulty: a powerful charge attack accessible at any time, the ability to glide in the air, and a full-body shield that can sustain numerous hits (after powering it up with close-range attacks). The "regular" shotgun is more like Slug's Big Shotgun, and all the weapons have tons of ammo. This might be excusable in a console game--however, Demon Front was for the arcades. The boss fights are the most challenging part of the game, but they're just not frantic enough compared to Slug's. I could see myself 1CCing this after only a couple days' practice, though I don't know how much things ramp up in the late stages.

So what we have here is a collection of great pixel art without solid game mechanics or aesthetic themes tying it all together. I will say that I very much like the over-the-top announcer who enthusiastically shouts the name of every boss and level area. They managed to top Slug in this regard, at least.

MAME stretched it horizontally a bit, but here's a good example of the graphical detail:

[Enemy]

looks like they are looking to get these games in the Xbox Final burn Legends as well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voajECVq ... r_embedded

follow progress on

http://www.1emulation.com/forums/index. ... 34125&st=0

[BPzeBanshee]

Don't know what you did to stretch it but it's a fine 4:3 aspect on my monitor.

As for the rest of your complaints, clear the game and then tell us it's easy. I'm having a hard time beating the first three stages even with the shield, and the charge shots don't seem all that good to me. That being said I'm enjoying it more than the Metal Slugs because this actually looks like it's clearable with some practice. Aesthetically I thought it got darker (like the forest got more dense and in one of the others you went into a cave that got darker) the further through the stage you got but that might've been a select few.

[Vamos]

That being said I'm enjoying it more than the Metal Slugs because this actually looks like it's clearable with some practice.

So are the metal slugs.

[BPzeBanshee]

So are the metal slugs.

You missed the point. This DOES look easier than the Metal Slugs, which Estebang and I both agree on to some extent. Estebang makes it seem overkill though which it isn't.

[Nasirosuchus]

So are the metal slugs.

You missed the point. This DOES look easier than the Metal Slugs, which Estebang and I both agree on to some extent. Estebang makes it seem overkill though which it isn't.

It is indeed noticeably easier than the Metal Slug games.

[Cellinaire]

So are the metal slugs.

You missed the point. This DOES look easier than the Metal Slugs, which Estebang and I both agree on to some extent. Estebang makes it seem overkill though which it isn't.

It is indeed noticeably easier than the Metal Slug games.

Cute little elemental friends which also act as a shield(can replenish sometimes), glide mode, powerful weapons, weapons and special attacks that can even erase enemy bullets, lack of many challenging moments in stage phase(all of which made me tense and pay close attention in Mslug series. You could die all of a sudden if you don't focus in MS), a bit slower speed of enemy's bullets and attacks, lack of 'randomness' in patterns, very very powerful combo attack in 2p mode, bosses that die fast...etc

but fun game, anyway

[null1024]

Don't know what you did to stretch it but it's a fine 4:3 aspect on my monitor.

That's because the PGM hardware doesn't use square pixels, and MAME properly corrects for that when displaying to the screen, but not when saving raw screenshots.

I'm also tempted to say being easier than the Metal Slug games is a bit of a good thing, but I'd need to try the game out myself to make a call, which I will get around to doing eventually.

[BPzeBanshee]

Don't know what you did to stretch it but it's a fine 4:3 aspect on my monitor.

That's because the PGM hardware doesn't use square pixels, and MAME properly corrects for that when displaying to the screen, but not when saving raw screenshots.

I'm also tempted to say being easier than the Metal Slug games is a bit of a good thing, but I'd need to try the game out myself to make a call, which I will get around to doing eventually.

Well that makes more sense. I thought they had options for MAME regarding the screenshot aspect ratio though I guess it either doesn't work or not many people know about it. I personally couldn't give a rats so I never make use of it.

Definitely give this game a go. I'm still trying to get somewhere in the game but other interests are winning over at the moment.

[Ed Oscuro]

MAME properly corrects for that when displaying to the screen, but not when saving raw screenshots.

At least in GUI MAMEs you can easily change the setting for how screenshots are output, too (although I didn't play with it enough and just got blurred images when I tried, so I stuck with the default).

[Skykid]

The DF emu talk encouraged me to put this back in my cab.

Superb game, love it. I greatly like the fact it's not as hard as MS, nor as monotonous and boring, and I tip my hat to the dev for giving you a fuckton of weapons, a nifty and useful glide and a novel demon familiar system.

The graphics are incredible and the stages are nice and large. The weakest aspect for me is the music, it's just not very memorable. We had lots of fun over the weekend trying to locate all the hidden keys and artefacts. Unfortunately I just can't figure out how to get the key and dungeon on the snow level, can someone help me with that?