How many times have you sat and complained that a certain game just wasn\'t difficult enough? That games now\'a\'days are just "too easy"? That the hardest thing about most games now are the stupid, yet simple puzzles. Well, my friend, Konami has made a game for you ...or at least a game that will make you put your money with your mouth is...Contra: Shattered Solider\'s.
As any fan of the 8-bit or 16-bit days know, Contra was always a \'balls to the wall\' type of game. It was simple, you was a solider who went against all odds and shot everything in sight, while facing some impossible bosses. It was a simple, yet addictive and fun formula. Sadly, with the progression of 3D games became more complicated and often less fun. That\'s where Contra comes in to play.
Gameplay
The set up is simple. Once again, you can go at this alone or with a friend , though we all know true men go at it alone. You get three weapons (gernade launcher, spread gun and flame thrower) and eight lives -a life equal one hit, by the way. There isn\'t much to confuse you. All you need to do is run, duck, jump and shot. Simple, right? Well, it would be if it wasn\'t for the ungodly amounts of enemies and the marvelous amount of gunfire goin\' on. Not to mention the fact that there is mini-boss, after mini-boss, until you reached the actual boss.
My point? Make no mistake, this game is hard. You will die again and again. And of course, most will want to play it on Easy the first time through - well, HA! The only thing easy does is gives you more continues (99) and a limited amount of levels. Yes, that\'s right, if you want to see past level four, you must go to Normal mode. And don\'t even think about saving your progress after you beat a level , because there is no such thing. The game only saves your stats.... Oh and did I mention the game rates your preformance the whole time?
The simple fact is, most people will never get past level two of this game - at least not in a legit manner (*points to all those gamesharkers*). The game is frustrating , but it is fun. It is not cheap. When you die, you know it was because of your own human error and that, my friends is what makes this game so great. It reminds you of the older days when games was all about your own skill. This game will make you check your ego at the door and will either polish those old rusty skills or make you give up altogether.
Wusses need not apply.
Graphics
The game is 2D in its play, but the graphics are polygonal. They are not overly impressive, but they are not terrible. The fact is, they\'re just right. The flash has been taken away, so that the game is focused on skill. Some frames of animation are missing, which makes it look like the older games. Konami was truly trying to bring back the \'golden days\' when they developed this game.
Sound
Someone kill me. I hate this heavy metal, Japanese music. Sure, it fits the game, but it is giving me a headache....
Overall
Great game, that you won\'t master anytime soon. Honestly, if you buy it , don\'t expect to beat it, unless you\'re truly dedicated.
As much as I harp on Konami for selling out and what not, I just gained some more respect for them, because this was obviously goin\' to be a commercial failure and yet they went ahead with it.
Kudos to Konami!