Sorry for the late review I have been quite busy with other more important matters this week and the one before it, on with our review of yet another classic.

This game is synonymous for being one thing: HARD. This is a true fact. But I think that it shows more of why it is a classic for that very reason. Now a day’s most games are fairly easy if you do not get it the first time you will probably get it the second time. This game is not like that. If you do not get it the first time and you do not get it the second time you better memorize some patters because otherwise you will not get it the third time. This game is all about patterns and just being good at the game. This game requires skill especially since you only get three lives. That almost seems cruel the first time you play it and do not even get to the boss before they are gone, but I can see why they did it. This really does make the game not only longer but more fun. You trudge on restart after restart just a bit each time. This slows down the pace but really you will not notice. Though if you are a wussy you can enter in the infamous Konami code and get thirty lives. This makes the game a lot easier but less intense in my opinion. When you have three lives you hold them dear, when you have 30 it does not even matter anymore. I like the addition but play the game without it I dare ya.

The game looks pretty good. Old for sure, but it looks old in a good way. As opposed to some NES games that look and play outdated that is not the case here. This game looks like it is new, partly because there are so many games that are going for the same 8 bit shmup kind of game right now that it would fit in perfectly. I love how they have the flips for each of the jumps similar to Metroid except they look far better here. The different guns look good too and unlike many other games of the day this game does not slow down quite as much as when you get a whole ton of enemies as well as bullets on the screen. The game has varied environments and there is a part where it is in 3D! Well it is not really 3D but for the time it probably looked great as you went through the halls camera facing your back. Though I consider that one of the worst parts of the game. But that is a minor pet peeve in one turn for the bad as far as the art style goes. I love the enemies, I love the people, and I love the bosses. Wow I love the bosses. Mini or otherwise, they look great and they all have a distinct style that makes them loveable. Well not really loveable because you want to kill them but you get my point.

This game also has a really good sound department going for it. This game has many classic sounds from years past that you will be happy to hear. The first tune you here is immediately recognizable as the Contra theme. Then once you hit start and hear an explosion, which also sounds great, you are blasted with this great music that falls somewhere between old orchestra and classic rock. It is a good mix and it fits the game almost perfectly. I can not get enough of the music. Then all of the sound effects sound great as well. Every shot of your spreader or every crack of you machine gun sounds fairly varied from one another. The more powerful guns sound more powerful, and the weaker guns could not sound much weaker. They knew what they were doing in the sound department. Almost sounds like it is Rambo the video game with all of the explosions and the gunshots. I do have to say one thing though; the music towards the end is definitely not as good as the first half. Still fairly good quality but it is just not the best though the last level is a good song in its own right. You will want to have the sound on the whole time with this one.

The game play is classic shoot em up fun. If you have played Contra or any other games in the Shoot Em Up category such as Sunset Riders, you will feel at home. The control is tight and responsive as you would expect and you have many different power ups. This I think was the first game to feature a very influential gun in the video game world. The spreader. The spreader is a gun to end all guns in this game, if you have it you will be killing everything and everyone. It helps that in this came you can shoot through walls but enemies can do the same thing. So be careful while running and seeing enemies under you. This adds to the surprise when you get killed because you were not careful as all of the bullets hurled towards you. The beauty is that you hold down the shoot button you run to the right and you hope that your skill will hold up. If you are like me it will, though if you are not you will die very fast. The bad part is in classic fashion after you die you lose all of your power ups but start right where you died. You will die a lot like I said before but it is all part of the learning. This makes the game addictive. The deaths will keep you coming back till you beat the game and luckily the game is fairly short. If the game were longer it would not be as addictive just because of the fact that you are going to die every single level. Unless you are cheating or just that good.

All in all the game is great. I did not really have a section on depth just because the game is as deep as it could be. You run you shoot and you repeat over and over. Though the thing is it never gets repetitive like some other shmups. That is what makes this game a classic above all others. One of my favorites and I definitely recommend it. Though I am sure you want to see my run down so here it is:

Graphics: 8 – They look good and honestly they look like they are trying to mimic many of the new games that they are releasing to look like this style. I love how they took everything and the bosses look very stunning.

Sound: 7 – Though the sound is good for the most part you will get a little bit tired hearing the same thing over and over again as you die. Though luckily the music holds up until you get till the latter half of the game.

Addictiveness: 10 – You want to win. There is not a way around that. This is one of the only games that the whole time I played I wanted to win. You can not just sit back in this game either. Hardcore and you will love it more for that.

Depth: 8 – Power ups, lives, strategy. The game is pretty deep for the most part. I would have liked to see them branch out a bit more but how it is now I like it. I could not really imagine it different.

Difficulty: 10 – The game is hard. This is a good hard though. I really loved getting my butt kicked every level and trying to come back for more. The game beats you into the ground then puts its hand out too pick you back up, brilliant.

Overall: 9.4 – Not quite perfect but it is cookie cutter shmup. Then again it did set the standard for all of them that came afterward. You will want to play this one and I know that you will beat it if you like these kinds of games regardless of how long it takes you. The hard factor is part of the fun here. Shmup at its most basic un altered form.

I hate Contra, I could never beat the first level.  The game is way too hard, making it not fun.  Good review.

Marcmoney : Ya, that is what I was trying to get off in the review. I like hard games that chop of my genitals shove them in my face and tell me too eat them, they seem fun to me. Though some people just hate hard games. I see both sides. I hate games that should not be hard but are due to issues with something or another.

Thanks!