The world of videogames is an ever changing land of vibrancy and creativity. Where the old and the new are both equally as accepted and adored by the legions of gaming fans. However, when it seems that the new guys on the block such as halo, splinter cell and grand theft auto are getting all the attention, the retro era releases something from its treasure chest of classics, something that will teach the new boys a thing or two. This month I tried one of those games, its name is “CONTRA 4”.
Few gaming series can hold a candle to the legacy of Contra. A series that has been running for over 20 years and produced 11 games. A series which is renowned amongst gamers as one of the most frustratingly difficult series of games ever made, and one which has spanned over 5 generations of consoles. Being a modern gamer I have very little experience withanything older than a ps1 game. I was told that I would be left crying like a little girl when I played this game, unfortunately the person who said that was right.
The game, as many would expect has stuck to its retro roots, choosing the side scrolling 2D view point to play the main game as well as including several semi 3D on the rail type shooting sequences. This is heavily sticking to the concept that the earlier games in the series adopted, it works very well on the Nintendo DS. The development team have completely left out the touch screen and microphone elements for the game, possibly so as to keep the retro charm that this game emits. One obvious advancement is the use of the Dual screens, a feature which the DS is renowned for. I must say this feature is superb, albeit a slight annoyance at first. The 2 screens are both used at the same time in the gameplay. The play will often differentiate between the two, and more often than not there are several routes for the protagonist to take, each offering a different challenge.
The gameplay is basic but infuriatingly difficult. Swarms of enemies shoot at you from every which way, there is no cover, there are no health packs, its one hit and you die, depending on what difficulty you play on you get a certain amounts of restarts in the game and once they’ve all gone you have to use a restart which restarts the level (these are limited as well). The only way to avoid getting hit is from jumping to dodge the bullets and enemies; this sounds simple but is practice is anything but. In game power-ups allow you to upgrade your weapon to one of several types including a flame thrower, bean gun and the classic 5 bullet spread gun. These are a massive help in game but take one hit and you lose the power-up, meaning you’re stuck with your bog standard rifle again. The game also has a grapple hook. This isn’t a weapon but is used frequently in game to reach high ledges, bridges and in order to navigate over various un-climbable obstacles. Each level usually contains 1 or 2 bosses. These creatures look like they would seem more at home in “shadow of the colossus”, they literally take up most of the screen space and keeping with tradition, will always have a variable weak spot for you to expose. These fights are both horrifying as yet again one touch will kill you and exhilarating as you dash about like a mad man, weaving between tentacles and dodging blows from fire breathing giants to locate and exploit that weak spot.
Control wise the game is pretty solid. As I mentioned earlier the developers clearly haven’t wanted to impede the retro legacy of this game by tacking on unnecessary touch screen elements. The movement is limited and it doesn’t seem to be possible to shoot diagonally without also running in that direction, whether this is a trait or earlier Contra games I’m not sure, but as a gamer this did start to grate on me after a while. The inability to change direction whilst in strafe mode was an annoyance as well not forgetting to mention the difficulties faced when trying to kill an enemy who is beneath you, this requires patience of a saint and heavy use of the jump button.
Overall this game is a tribute to its name, its fans and its legacy. Despite being a more modern gamer, even I could feel the gaming nostalgia that this game seemingly emits at every turn. In summary Contra 4 defines classic retro gaming. It’s simple and basic to play, deviously hard to complete, and is full of that Charm that only a game with 2d graphics and dodgy audio can have. It’s a must have for a DS owner, whether you fancy a blast from the past of a whole new challenge, this game will fulfil any of your needs.
10/10
