Title - "Contra"
Alternative title(s) - N/A
Genre(s) - Shooter platform action
Platform(s) - Arcade and Famicom
I'll make this quick. In "Contra", a 1988 Konami game (1987 if we're talking about the arcade version), your objective is to shoot down an alien force known as the Red Falcon. So, pick up your weapon of choice and blast your way through eight levels of shooter madness. Oh and I suppose you'll need the Konami code too. (If you don't know what it is, and by golly, you should be ashamed of yourself, it's up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, and finally, Start. Add Select before Start if you want a two-player mode.)
Fun - 9
You shoot stuff. You shoot stuff again. After a moment, you shoot some more.
Um, it's pure shooter madness? What? You expect me to give a better detailed sentence than this? If there is one flaw, it's that the game was and still is pretty hard, especially if you did not put in the code.
Life - 10
It doesn't have a lot of extras, but that doesn't matter. It was fun. It still is fun.
Control - 10
A to jump, B to shoot, you can shoot in eight directions, which is a Famicom first. You get a special weapon and should you lose one of your first three lives when you still have it, you lose the weapon itself. Not hard to remember now, is it?
Audio - 9
The music knows how to get you into the mood of shooting. I especially like the theme of the first and seventh stage as well as the theme of the bases (which are stage two and four). The sound effects are just there, but I do hate that sound bit where you die.
Art - 10
So, it's not the best looking game in the world. Does it matter? No.
Story - N/A
Yes, there's a story. No, I don't think I cared back then and I don't think people still care about the story anyway. We play most of these for the pure shooting action.
Overall - 10
This was the shooter. This is the shooter. That is all you need to know.
+
Slick music, raw action, good golly, this is the blueprint of many shooters! What else do you need to know?
-
Um, this game will make you hate dying in games.
Date of creation - 8/9/04
Last update - 11/28