Overall 8.9 Graphics 8.3 Sound 8.9 Addictive 8.9 Story 6.2 Depth 7.7 Difficulty 8.4
7.5
Contra 3: The Alien Wars - is it alien wars if they are the only aliens? geeogree
Contra 3: The Alien Wars is a continuation of the NES series of Contra games and was released in 1992. As one of the earlier games for the SNES I was always impressed by it. The gameplay was definitely improved from the NES era. This game definitely made use of what the SNES was capable of. The story continues on from the end of the previous Contra games. The aliens have returned and instead of trying to take over a small part of the Earth they are waging full scale war. It is your job to fight them off but this time you have more weapons to do it with.
Graphics 8/10 – I loved the graphics for this game. From the moment you start you can tell there was a lot of time and effort put into the level design. From the foreground to the background there is something to look at all the time and it looks awesome. A nice change of pace for this game is that the levels are a lot more interactive. You get to blow up cars that get in your way, jump into a tank that you can drive around and blow up buildings as you pass by. There are also moments where you think something is part of the level design but instead it becomes an enemy you need to fight. It is so well done.
I love the look and feel of the character you get to play as well. The movement is so fluid. You have total control of the player again with regards to jumping and running and the responsiveness is top notch. I also love the new look for the weapons. I like that the spread gun shoots consistently now instead of only some of the possible 5 locations it used to shoot in the original game. I really like the flamethrower weapon on the side scrolling stages. Especially when you get 2 and do the double weapon jump. You almost seem invincible that way. The other weapons also look great and function as expected.
The only thing that I do not feel like was done as well as it could have been were the top down stages. They are not bad but I feel like they could have been improved. I do enjoy those levels but the design and animations for those levels do not feel as polished. I also was not a fan of the gameplay for those stages as I was in Super C. Still, I feel the graphics were well done and deserve high praise.
Sound 8/10 – I really enjoyed the music for this game. It really fit the overall style and theme of the game. Most of the tracks have a dark and hectic feel to them. Basically what you would expect the soundtrack to a high-paced alien invasion game should be. The music helped the game along and fit the gameplay really well.
I also enjoyed the sounds of the enemies and weapons for the game. They also felt like they belonged and made sense. Nothing felt out of place or artificially done. Bullets hitting metal or hitting flesh all had sounds that matched properly.
In the end though while I thought it was all well done there are always small rooms for improvement. Not every single track was as good as it could have been. It fit the game but I feel there were changes that could have been made that would have really put the game over the top.
Addictiveness 9/10 – this game is FUN! Serious amounts of fun. The single player alone is great and then you can also do 2 players. I have played this game so many times before and I keep coming back to it to play it again, though I am not as good at it as I was when I was younger. This is one of the only games I can think of that I was much better at when I was a kid than I am now. Still, I highly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of side-scrolling shooters like Contra. This game does everything right with its gameplay to make you want to come back over and over again.
Story 4/10 – What is there to say about this really? The same aliens that invaded the last 2 times are back…. AGAIN! Unlike last time though they are not happy to just try and take over a small military base or something before taking over the world. This time they are here in full force and ready for war! It is your job as the strangely named marines or whatever you are to get your weapons and take the aliens out. It might have been a cool storyline the first time or 2 but it feels so rehashed by this point that I can not give high marks for it. The story does the bare minimum it needs to in order to give you a reason to blow everything up and kill aliens and no more.
Depth 6/10 – The number of levels kind of limits how much of a depth rating I can give this game. There are not tons of weapons or anything to get so there is little to talk about there. There is more interaction with the environment which is fun. Jumping from missile to missile while shooting the flying ship thing was fun and a good change of pace. That is something this game does do well. The level styles change up often enough that no one aspect gets boring. I can not think of any secrets or anything like that in this game so you do not get much in the way of that sort of mechanic. The game is not bad but it follows the very straight forward side scroller gameplay pretty strictly. It is fun but beyond the level variety there is not much else going for it.
Difficulty 10/10 – this is one of the most difficult SNES games ever made. It regularly gets listed in top 10’s of the hardest SNES games ever made. And not hard because the controls are buggy or the gameplay is terrible but hard because the game is just hard. There is nothing cheap about this game. You have every opportunity to jump, duck and fight your way through every level but sometimes no matter how quick or agile you are you are going to die. There is no way around it. That is a big part of why you can pick 3, 5 or 7 lives to start the game and why you get more continues on the easier difficulty levels. Even with 7 lives on easy the game is still a challenge and like most games with difficulty settings you have not truly beaten the game until you have played it on hard with 3 lives. If you can do that then you have mastered this game.
Overall 7.5/10 – solid rating for a solid game. Obviously I feel like the graphics and sound, while well done, have room for improvement. Nothing drastic for either of them but some minor touch-ups in places. The gameplay is probably the best part of this game. It is extremely fun to play and really addicting. The variety in the levels is also great. Driving a tank, then a motorcycle and the hanging off of a helicopter and missiles is great. Keeps the game fresh and exciting. The story is a spot where the game could be improved but at the same time does not have to change. The story for Contra does not need to be complex for the game to be good. However, something slightly new to the story might have helped. A kidnapped girlfriend perhaps. That has not been overdone right? And the difficulty of this game is nearly unmatched for the SNES. I would only put the Star Wars games as being more difficult than this personally. The difficulty does not ruin the game though. In my opinion it has the right kind of difficulty which makes the game even more fun to beat because it feels like you really accomplished something rather than simply figuring out a fault gameplay mechanic. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed the previous Contra games or others like it.
Graphics 8 Sound 8 Addictive 9 Story 4 Depth 6 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 04-22-16
Review Replies: 10
8.5
Challenging, Laughably OTT and Simply Awesome!!! drlimple
After countless hours spent trying to beat this game I've finally decided to write up a detailed review of everything that makes it great IMHO.
So basically everyone and their next door neighbour knows that this is the third entry in Konami's iconic Contra series which has been challenging gamers worldwide since the late 80's. It is hailed by many as the best in the series. While I won't go so far as to say that, I have to admit that it is a very, very well made game in its own right and deserves all the praise that has been showered upon it. The comparison with its older NES brethren, however seems a bit unfair, because I feel Contra III is a different beast altogether. While the older games focused more on classic run and gun game play interspersed with boss fights at the end of stages, Contra III deviates from that formula in at least three of its six stages. Its focus appears to be more on orchestrating thrilling, edge of the seat action set pieces, and the latter stages in particular are littered with what would normally be referred to as bosses and mini bosses.This is not necessarily a bad thing. You are pitted in insane scenarios like having to jump from missile to missile, evading fire from an enemy helicarrier while shooting at its turrets or like the time the game has you shooting at a giant skeleton head which is breathing fire at you while it's two minion robo-skeletons try to riddle your character full of bullets. The boss fights, or set pieces really, are designed to thrill and they don't disappoint. They also seem to be the most logical next step in the evolution of the series. Having said that, those who are looking for traditional run and gun game play, in the vein of earlier Contras, would best look elsewhere.
Graphics 8:
The graphics of the game are great for the 16-Bit era. The characters are nicely detailed and the animations are fluid. Sh*t blows up real good and explosions bring the screen to life (especially in a couple of cut scenes early on). The backgrounds are also nicely drawn. Bear in mind that since this is one of the earlier released games for the SNES, the graphics may have been topped by later games, but at the time that it was released, it was definitely the best looking game on the market.
Having said that I do have a gripe with some of the design choices like the color of the laser and the animation of the spread gun. The laser's colour is an ugly mix of white and blue for some reason. Which is really strange because even the generic red coloured laser would have been better IMHO. The spread gun "bullets" also seemed ridiculously over sized to me, but I guess the designers were going for "bigger is better" philosophy. In any case these are only minor gripes and both these things do fit into the overall universe of the game, so no harm done.
Sound 9:
The sound is great as always with these Contra games. The standard gunfire and explosion effects are there as you would expect but there are also other nice little touches here and there like the faint poof sound every time an alien blows up. The weapon sound effects are overall pretty decent, the machine gun and the spread gun sounds being the best in my opinion.
The music while not as catchy as the one in the first Contra, is still pretty great. Some of it seems to be heavily inspired by 80's Arnold Schwarzenneger action movies like Commando and Predator, which does makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it. All in all it is a good package.
Addictiveness 10:
On your first try the game appears to be almost impossible because there is always so much going on on the screen. Odds are on your first 20-30 attempts you'll just be seeing the dying animation over and over again because of the one hit die mechanic. It is definitely very frustrating at first. So how can I give it a perfect addictiveness score? It's simple. Even though you will die A LOT, you never feel that you are completely out of the game EVER. The game always gives you the feeling that you are very close to solving the problem and getting through. And here is where the pure genius of the game shines through. The game is essentially a succession of puzzles because of the nature of its boss fights. Since every boss has a readily visible "weak point", you just have to figure out how to avoid its attacks for long enough so that you can hit its weak point enough times. The first few tries you are pretty much clueless. But slowly you start to crack the puzzle. Until, when you have given it enough tries, you finally figure it out! No other game IMHO gives a comparable feeling of satisfaction on beating it than one that challenges you fairly, as is the case here. And its a beautiful feeling! To finally overcome the challenges the game throws at you. The temptation to just open up youtube and see how other people beat the game is always there, but I would sincerely advise you against it. The game is most fun when you beat it yourself. Of course if you are absolutely stuck at some point for a long time and there seems to be no way out, a little peek won't hurt. But even then I would suggest using the emulator's save feature and having a few cracks at the unsolvable section in rapid succession before giving up. The meat and bones of the game is the challenge it offers and taking that challenge head on is the best way to enjoy the game.
Story 5:
The story, as expected from the genre, is really flimsy and threadbare. Something along the lines of Red Falcon launching another attack to take over the earth is shown in a very brief cutscene in the beginning. The characters have different names across different versions, in fact the entire player model is changed in the European PAL version, as was the case with previous Contras. All of this is fine because this isn't really an RPG to indulge you with an extensive background story anyway.
That's not to say, though, that the "story", or whatever little there is of it, doesn't add to the entertainment value. In line with the tradition of poorly translated Japanese games , there are a few lines here and there which will leave you chuckling. Of special note in this regard is Sully's line in the opening cutscene where he declares "Let's attack aggressively!!" (I agree it's always a bad idea to attack passively). That line is just pure comedy gold and has people laughing even to this day.
Depth 10:
On the face of it the game is only six stages long and sounds like a really short ride. In fact it is anything but! The game is really challenging as detailed earlier and if you play it fairly (without save states and help from walkthroughs- the way it was meant to be played) it will take you a considerable amount of time to get through it on Easy or Normal mode. But, as the ending message tells you, that is only the beginning. The real game awaits you in Hard mode with quite a few surprises as well and that is the mode which you should look to beat if you want to truly "finish" the game. This is also where I feel the game has been unfairly judged over the ages. In every review online you will see people complaining about the short length of the game. The fact is, the game's easier difficulty levels were designed as a sort of introduction the world of the game, in order to make the players familiar with it for the Hard mode. Something which wasn't available in other entries of the series. The hard difficulty setting of the game in my opinion has enough differences from the easier settings to merit a playthrough.
Another thing people complain about are the two top down stages. Some people complain they are too easy, others call the changed controls difficult to adjust to and call them too difficult. Some go so far as to ignore those stages completely when talking about the length of the game. All of this is really surprising to me, because personally I found them to be refreshing changes of pace and think they add a lot to the overall value of the game.
Difficulty 3:
The game is pretty challenging as detailed earlier. But since this review sub section is concerned with whether its controls are hard to learn and irritating, I would have to go with a really low score. I think the game is very easy to get into and the controls are very responsive. The action is pretty fast paced but the controls never frustrate you, which is a point in its favour.
Special Mention: The game's box art is truly gorgeous and is some of the best box art I have ever seen on the SNES. I loved how they worked different enemies from almost every stage of the game into one nice action filled picture. If you haven't seen it before, be sure to check it out, using this site's magnificent 3d boxart feature!
All in all this is a pretty solid action game. A must play for fans of the series and of the genre. Even to casual gamers the game offers a lot and is certainly worth checking out!
Graphics 8 Sound 9 Addictive 10 Story 5 Depth 10 Difficulty 3
Review Rating: 4.8/5
Submitted: 02-15-13
Updated: 11-17-15
Review Replies: 0
9
The hardest non-Hacked console game EVER!!! kirbyluver4life
Contra III-The Alien Wars
Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever review, Today I'll be reviewing contra III-The alien wars, this berserkly hard 2-D
shooter is the 3rd installment in the contra series. Being larger and harder than ever before Contra III is my favorite installment
in the whole series, however if you get frustrated easily DO NOT PLAY!!! Your head will blow of for the below reasons.Now then:
On to the review!
Graphics-7
the graphics have dramatically improved since Contra 2, now with much more vibrant colours and shading the graphics are now
(in comparison) AMAZING, if you like Contra's insane difficulty but dislike the cruddy graphics boot up the plug in and get playing!
Sound-9
The sound's are as enjoyable as ever, from the explosion of missile's, to the firing of the crush gun, to the ever so enjoyable
ZEEermm of a laser, the sounds have improved more than the graphics have. Making Contra better than ever, and for the best part is the hilarious ARRGH of an alien being shot, making contra III much more enjoyable.
Addictiveness-8
Contra is as addicting as always, when you fail at something you know is possible you try again, and the cycle repeats itself.
The game is possible(I should know, I beat it) even if it's extremely hard you can beat it, so if you don't like replaying things go
and play a Kirby game, but if you're a hardcore gamer start it up, lose, and try and try again.
Story-7
there's not much to say here, the red falcon is back and bent on exterminating the human race and has fledged a full out war on the earth. It's up to you to defeat red falcon and save what's left of the planet. That's pretty much all there is to it, so once again
hardcore gamer=stop reading and start playing (but rate first!)
Depth-6
the game itself is pretty short but the reason I gave depth a six since it is extremely hard and therefore will take you forever
to win. Even with save states it took me a long time to beat it, But don't take my word for it, try yourself!
Difficulty-10(+)
Of course a hard game like Contra get's a 10, but Contra III takes it to a whole new level, even with save states I was tearing my hair out of my head in frustration, but yet, Contra's addicting game play kept me playing and I eventually beat it.(note:this was on NORMAL difficulty)
Wrap up
Ok guy's time to review or scores:
Graphics:7
Sound:9
Addictiveness:8
Story:7
Depth:6
Difficulty:10(Obviously)
and the total score is:9
Contra III is my favorite game on the SNES hands down, no matter how frustrated I got and no matter how close I was to winning
and died, Contra III is excellent and probably the hardest console game in existence. I'll see you guy's next time, please comment
and rate!
Graphics 7 Sound 9 Addictive 8 Story 7 Depth 6 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 3.9/5
Submitted: 12-09-11
Updated: 01-07-12
Review Replies: 13
9
Contra III Alien Wars review mario166
Hello, and welcome to my third and probably last review! Contra III Alien Wars was not my favourite game, but I feel it is very important to say I LOVED Contra III Alien Wars! It is one of the few games I played with my brother. Let's get to the review than!
OVERALL- Overall, I give this game a 9. It is a very good game, and I strongly recommend you play it!
GRAPHICS- Graphics aren't the best, so I talked it over with my brother and together we rate it a 8. Still, graphics don't make a game entirely great or bad!
SOUND- Once again, I talked it over with my brother, and we pretty much rated the whole game. We rated sound a 7. We thought this game has a lot to offer, and sounds being only one!
ADDICTIVENESS- Well, me and my brother rate the addictiveness 8. As I said, this game has a lot to offer!
STORY- From side views, to top-views, shooting aliens, running from evil dogs, and fighting an evil alien brain menace, this game is great!
The story is simple, you are a soldier, (on co-op mode, you and your friend are both soldiers) who had already saved your country, and now are opposed with the greatest threat your world has ever seen! Aliens! Now, most games that have to do with Aliens are usually the same. Some aliens try to take over, you try to stop them, etc. Contra III has.... A different feel to it though. The aliens overlord is a giant brain-like thing, that you (and your partner if co-op) must kill.
DEPTH- This game can pretty much suck you in. Like most games I review, I loved it. I can remember waking up early on school days to play this with my brother. We never won!
DIFFICULTY- I found this game to be VERY challenging! I had to use an infinite-lives and infinite-bombs game genie code to finally win!
I highly recommend you play this game! It is worth the Viz! Thank you for reading another one of my reviews! Have a good day/night!
Graphics 8 Sound 7 Addictive 8 Story 7 Depth 9 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 3.4/5
Submitted: 03-17-12
Review Replies: 2
9
Contra 3 Mobouis1
Contra III is the first contra game for the snes. The creators decided to make this game harder and more annoying. The levels are also longer and they put multiple mini boss so when you think you beat the final boss nope there is more to the level. They also add a few new things like carry two weapons and carry bombs. Also to change difficult. Now on to the review now.
Graphics: 10 You have to admit that the graphics is good as ever for it's era.
Sound: 10 The music and the sound effect is the amazing like a lot of contra games.
Addictiveness: 10 The game is still addicting as ever like it ancestor. IT will keep you busy a while especially if you want to beat the whole game.
Story: 7 Still the same story from the past. Alien attacking the earth and try to destroy man-kind, and the only person to stop is you.
Depth: The game will take you a while to beat because how difficult it is and the levels are so long. In this one they make you carry two weapons instead and you could switch between them even when the game is pause. Also that mean you could have two spread gun. Die one time you still have the other so no worry there about the weapon. They also make you carry bombs which are very powerful.
Difficulty: 10 The game is harder than the first two contra games. When I play it it was like everything is attacking all at once so you need to be quick. Plus they give you small number of rest. They still have the one hit you die difficulty.
Overall: 9 The game is great no contra fan should not miss out the tons of fun you have while playing this game. The game will make rage quit. That happen to me when I play the game for a long time.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 7 Depth 10 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 3.4/5
Submitted: 09-15-12
Updated: 10-02-12
Review Replies: 3
3
Run and gun and die a cheap death! Rayman85
Please send this post to the Trash Can.
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 08-20-19
Updated: 11-16-19
Review Replies: 0