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Contra 4 Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Great unlockables; fantastic graphics and music; fun (if slightly frustrating) gameplay.
Incredibly difficult; there's no two-player option for the classic NES games; nada Game Sharing.
OK, it's time to put the kids to bed and get yourself a real man game. I mean, a game so tough as nails that it'll test your very grit as a gamer, one that'll put you to the point that you may lob the Nintendo DS across the room. (So, be advised, you might want to try it on someone else's system first.) With that, Contra 4 is surprisingly enjoyable, despite its high difficulty factor. But that's just it, Contra's always been like that. I recall playing the game on the toughest difficulty available on the SNES, getting to the final Red Falcon encounter only to have the son-of-a-bitch come chasing after me and finish me off before I could make my clean escape. Bastard. Anyway, Contra 4 does it to you all over again, challenging you to your very core -- but in a fantastic way.
You play once again as Bill (and Lance, if a second player comes along), fending off the evil forces of Red Falcon once more. WayForward has paid great homage to the Contra legacy here, with outstanding graphics and music that stand on a league of their own and yet pay great tribute to the games from the past. It's a pure 2-D shootfest, right down to the manly running animations and the meaty explosions. There are the occasional effects that are questionable, like the macho shouts when a player returns to action after dying, but, really, it's totally forgivable. WayForward does great here.
The controls are also very responsive. Occasionally, you'll run into some slight disorientation as the action shifts from the screen above to the screen below (surprisingly, it uses both), but past that, you'll find no trouble running around and shooting everything in sight with a bevy of power-ups. The spread gun is always nice to see, along with the Hunter missile cannon. You also have access to a Bionic Commando-ish grappling arm, so you can reach for ledges above if you find yourself getting pummeled on the ground level. It's a neat addition, although it takes some practice during the boss levels. Be warned, these guys won't just hand you your ass. They'll literally follow through on the old Pee Wee's Big Adventure threat -- they'll stomp you, then they'll tattoo you, then they'll hang you and then they'll abruptly kill you.
In fact, the game as a whole is incredibly hard. But that's okay, it wasn't built for the wussies out there, but the real "manly" gamers that can handle something as this. Not that it's just limited to men, mind you -- I know a few female gamers that could hand you your ass in Ninja Gaiden times. But it's got that 80's Rambo feeling all over again, a feeling of pure satisfaction as you're mowing down an entire army. (Rather filling, really, since Rambo's on his way back to the big screen next year.) It's a satisfying feeling knowing that you died in battle and can go right back to the beginning of the level, knowing what to expect for next time -- or maybe not.
Best of all, Contra 4 has a few good unlockables. You can find the original NES Contras here, as both Contra and Super C are present. However, there's a slight problem -- you can't play them with two players. Oh, both characters can be on the screen at once, but you control both of them instead of assigning one to a friend. Huh? A virtual gallery is also available, along with a Challenge Mode with dozens of scenarios to blast through. Also, the game supports multi-card gameplay for two players, but Game Sharing isn't an option for some reason. If it were, there'd be no way this game would avoid a 5.
But a 4 it is, but a mighty, Hungry Man 4. Contra 4 is a wonderful throwback to the Contra days of old, a jam-packed blastathon guaranteed to get your blood pumping. Grab your gun and let's hit it, before you get stomped, tattooed, hanged and killed.
