| "Well, a little
'slow-mo' wouldn't hurt nobody... it keeps the bullets from enemies slower
right? Good."
- J.H. |
 
|
| Music: |
"Stage 1" |
 |
By:
? |
| Platform: |
NES
|
|
Developer(s):
|
Konami |
| Publisher(s): |
Konami |
| Designer(s):
|
N/A
|
| Release
Date(s):
|
  |
September,
1992 |
|
| Mode(s): |
1/2 Players
(Simultaneous) |
| Genre:
|
Action/Shooter/Side-Scroller |
| Saving Option: |
N/A |
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|
Contra
Force was the result of the incoming 16-bit era in the early 90's
and how lazy and greedy Konami were to make this game. The game has
nothing to do with commandos, aliens, and jungles... in my mind it
should've been another game without the Contra name. In
reality, it was supposed to
be called, Arc Hound for Famicom... but
Japan woke up and realized it was crap perhaps. Now, it's still a
pretty cool game and all... I'd play it over Contra: Hard Corps for the
Sega
Genesis any day! Contra Force has quite a bit of innovations
sadly not used in a real Contra game... I guess Contra Force will
always remain overshadowed.
|
|
|
 Storyline:
3/5 |
|
There's a group of mercenaries
named the Contra Force, a special forces team including; Commando Burn,
Smith, Beans, and Iron (protects Neo City) whose boss has been
kidnapped by the terrorist group, D.N.M.E.. So, it's off to venture through five fun levels (three
side-scrolling, two overhead) to save your boss. I guess it would be a
cool way to get a raise huh?
|
|
|
Graphics:
4/5 |
|
The sprites are nicely
animated with a style to each of his own. Each of them hold and fire
their weapons in the correct use of motion. Fantastic looking explosions
too. Some bosses are just ridiculously oversized and cartoony
and
certain backgrounds lack color most of the time.
In between dialogues
there are present, detailed facial expressions
and brief conversations revolving around Burns and the terrorists are
shown which is really cool. The only problem I had with this was the
fact that you hear nothing of the other C-Force members!
|
|
|
Audio:
3/5
|
|
Contra Force's
sound isn't too bad; nothing memorable, but nothing that makes me
want to run around outside and shoot people or anything lol. Anyways, the music is
decent, but not catchy or memorable or even semi-cool in any way. It
suits the game's theme, however. The sound is also okay; nothing
especially memorable.
|
|
|
Gameplay:
3/5
|
|
There's a lot of good
ideas in Contra Force... having multiple characters means that
each one has their own unique set of weaponry, which adds something to
the mix. Weapons are equipped exactly like Konami's Gradius series: you
pick up suitcases that advance the "power-up" meter and you
can choose to equip whichever armament you want. Usually, the more
powerful weapons are at the end of meter, meaning lots of suitcase
grabbing. Unfortunately, just like the old Contra games, if you die, you
lose your weapon and suitcases aren't exactly plentiful... so you're left
using your stupid short range pistol an awful lot.
There are other stupid
oversights as well. You can switch between any of the four characters at
any time and each has their own set of three lives (in theory, giving
you twelve lives total). However, if one runs out of their lives, you
don't switch to the next available character... it's just game over and
time to start the overlong levels at the beginning!
In another cool idea
that totally fails, Contra Force lets you blow up parts of the scenery,
sometimes yielding those elusive suitcases. As good as this idea sounds,
the poor gray box known as the NES totally chokes out... a good 50% of
the game is literally played in slow motion. This makes dodging bullets
easier, as any old school fan can tell you, but it doesn't make
for a pleasant gaming experience.
|
|
|
Control:
3.5/5
|
|
While the controls are
relatively simple and similar to other Contra games, the jump mechanism
is odd in that if you release the button early, the character stops in
the air and falls. While this is "normal" in some games, it's not a
good idea to mess with the standard Contra formula. The standard run,
jump, aim, shoot controls are still there, nothing has changed
drastically. The new feature is that you must press Select to get your
new weapon instead of just picking it up. This can be annoying if you
don't know about it. So, press select to switch to a new weapon
(depending on how many power ups you've collected), start to open the
menu so you can switch characters or call up a CPU partner). Simple huh?
|
|
|
Fun
Factor: 4/5 |
|
With tons of
explosions, team members to help you out by themselves or side by side
with you, and a soundtrack to keep you movin', there's a lot of stuff to
like about this game. Now, if only there was less slow motion and
freakin' flicker then you
wouldn't feel like you were in outer space or something! Well, a little
"slow-mo" wouldn't hurt nobody... it keeps the bullets from enemies slower
right? Good.
|
|
|
Frustration:
5/5
|
|
Well, there's plenty to
leave you frustrated over. Just
like the old Contra games, if you die, you lose your weapon and
you're stuck with the short range pistol like I said earlier. Also, when you switch between the four
characters and when you die you cannot use the other characters... and
then you die without getting to use the other guys since they are not
dead. Another problem is all the slow motion and flicker! I know every Konami game
has slow motion... but the whole game! Damn! At least you can dodge
bullets easily!
|
|
|
Overall:
3.5/5 |
| With all sorts of
improvements over the last 2 Contra games and some downgrades, Contra
Force is a game under some dispute-ness I guess. People probably would've
understood and tolerated it better if this was a different game altogether
and made by different company, and if it wasn't released in the 16-bit
era. But this is a Contra game, and it doesn't live up to its namesake in
any manner, sadly. It still was fun though.
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Related
Content:
|
|
|
  
- Juggalo/Hulkamaniac
|
