Contra brings back old school 2D side scrolling alien stomping in this latest installment. Presented on the Nintendo DS, the newest iteration of Contra uses both screens to bring the alien carnage to you. The stylus is not necessary but a great amount of skill will come in handy as the difficulty of this title is rivaled by next to none.
Presentation & Graphics: Graphically this game is no slouch and brings the franchise to a nice new level even though it’s on a handheld. The use of the two screens is great and makes the field of player larger, although at times a bit frustrating as things can get lost in the gap between the two screens. 4 out of 5
Sounds & Music: The classic sounds of Contra are all present and they add to the gun touting mayhem just making you want to run out and blow up some more aliens. All the explosions and sounds of the classic titles are brought to you in great sound on the DS. 4 out of 5
Gameplay: Side-scrolling action returns in full force and the usual gameplay elements that made Contra what it is today have come roaring back as well. You still run through the stages either from left to right or in the ever-popular tunnel stages from bottom to top, with different weapon power ups scattered throughout. One quick change is the ability to upgrade your weapon with a second power up to really unleash its power, as well as the ability to store one of your power ups for later or to switch on the fly.
One drawback of the dual screens is having that small gap between the screens where you have a blind spot but for the most part you can work around this in most stages. The game provides three types of difficulty all of which are hard. Beat the game on any difficulty to open up challenge mode and grab some un-lockables. If you beat 8 challenges you will be able to play the original Contra from the NES and Super C from the NES.
Controls and buttons are great. And look for that classic Konami code to give you some valuable upgrades, I won’t spoil all of them for you but I would suggest trying to input the classic code wherever possible and find out. 4.5 out of 5
Lasting Appeal: Contra 4 is great fun and very challenging and even gives you the opportunity to play two old classics as well. It’s more Contra than you can shake a stick at and it is one great stick. 4.5 out of 5
Final Word: Contra on a handheld has never been so good, great for any hardcore Contra fan or even a casual fan.
Overall: 4.5 out of 5
2 Comments
Write a Comment»I’d love to try this out, but if it’s as hard as you say, I probably won’t get very far
I’m a big Contra fan, but the games have gotten entirely too hard. That’s going to make me pass on this one