The Metal Slug series has been around for quite some time now, and Neo Geo fans have endured every entry in the series with a great deal of gaming pride and respect. Only recently have console fans been granted a taste of the Metal Slug franchise, with the releases of Metal Slug X for the PlayStation from Agetec and Metal Slug 3 for the Xbox, straight from SNK. Now, SNK is delivering even more Metal Slug action later this year with not one but two games, packaged into one devastating combo.

Metal Slug 4 & 5 packages, you guessed it, both Metal Slug 4 and Metal Slug 5, which now stand at nearly $200+ on Ebay or wherever you can buy Neo Geo games... each! And this time around, the action will be shared to both PlayStation 2 and Xbox fans, so PS2 owners won't feel so left out of the action this time around. Good news for them.

Both games allow you to choose from four different players, two males and two females, and then puts you right in the action. In Metal Slug 4, you battle a cyber-terrorist group ready to unleash a horrible virus online that could cause disaster for military systems. In Metal Slug 5, a stolen disc with new Metal Slug information must be uncovered before the information can be used for evil purposes. Either way, you're in for some fast-paced gun-toting action against a different variety of human and inhuman foes.

Like Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4 & 5 will feature immense challenges over a number of stages, with a limited number of continues at hand to keep you coming back for more. The games can be played solo or with a friend, and a friend will definitely help as the later stages become mind-numbingly hard in terms of dodging bullets and taking down enemies.

You have a number of hearty power-ups available to you, including the flame thrower, the heavy machine gun, and other great weapons to help you deliver mass destruction. You also have access to a number of Metal Slugs, vehicles that can help you further in your journey. They range from the awesome (a twin-barreled Slugbot) to the downright strange (a Camel Slug, a camel that packs a side cannon). However, they're all equally effective.

The games should pretty much be exact to their arcade ports, and we're pretty sure that SNK will also pack some sort of bonus features in the home versions, like new modes, mini-games, and possible other goodies. Metal Slug 4 & 5 is due to arrive this fall, and, from the looks of things, the greatness that the series is known for shows no signs of slowing down. Long live the Slug!