secretvampire Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 Talk about a game that has totally gotten lost in the shuffle, Neo Contra is a mere two weeks away from release. Anybody else excited for this? I'm a sucker for most anything Contra and the last PS2 title was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrJames Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 I'm taking a wait and see with this but its definitely on my radar. I haven't played a Contra game since the SNES days at a friends house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 The recent issue of OPM has a demo for Neo-Contra for those interested. After playing it to completion I feel Shattered Soldier is just a far better game (in relation to the demo). With that said, I do think Neo-Contra could end up being a good shooter. The controls take some getting used to (such as the hold target button which allows you to cease movement and fire in any direction you want) but once you get past the learning curve everything feels pretty intuitive. In a bit of an homage to Gradius, you can choose from three different weapon setups. Each one affecting the strategy you will use to defeat the opposition. The weapons range from the old school spread shot to the flamethrower and grenade launcher featured in Shattered Soldier. My main problem with the demo is that it just wasn't hectic enough. Enemy units were sparse and when they did attack it was usually in waves of three (that were easily dispatched). The difficulty seemed far too easy and the boss battle on the demo disc (which featured a crawling alien following you up a wall) was just an absolute cakewalk. I'm hoping this will be corrected for the final game. Graphics were nice and the game ran at a smooth clip. The environments do lack fine detail but the concentration is definitely on weapon effects and explosions so the lack of detail more than likely helps in keeping the game running smoothly. I'll reiterate I would like to see more enemies on screen than what was featured in the demo all things considered. It's also important to note the industrial setting of the demo level which features alot of "washed out" metallic surfaces and of course may not be indicative of the final game. The audio is similiar to Shattered Soldier. Alot of heavy rock and guitar riffs so not much to report in that department. I'm still looking forward to playing the final release but I walked away from the demo fairly unimpressed. (and this is coming from a major Contra fan) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Bling Bling Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 I'm interested because of the Contra name but the previews haven't impressed me, and FV's impressions add to that sentiment. I fear this may turn out like that horrible Contra on the PS1. Shattered Soldier was fine so why change it? It only needed some more ground to cover between each boss and all the old school contra weapons and it would have been perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Bling Bling Posted October 13, 2004 Report Share Posted October 13, 2004 After playing the demo, I agree with most of FV's points. However, I still liked the demo enough to buy the game when it comes out. It's not as good as Shattered Soldier, which is dissapointing, and the spreadshot is more like a shotgun blast than the old school spread, which is downright criminal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Did you happen to pick up the game Bling? I picked it up today and just got done putting in about an hour and half worth of play time and well, I beat it. I really don't know what to say except that this was about the easiest Contra game I've ever played. If you are a seasoned shooter fanatic you will blow through this game without stopping for a piss break. Mind you, Shattered Soldier was not a lengthy game in the least bit, but it provided one hell of a challenge that kept you coming back for more. Most if not all of the problems I mentioned above are still present in the final retail release. Enemies and boss battles are easy to the point of being ridiculous. Also, enemies attack in very specific (and far too easy to follow) patterns and I didn't find much of anything exciting in blasting away at them. After playing some quality shooters recently such as Gradius V and R-Type, I was downright bored with this one. It's sad to say but the recent demo for "The Red Star" was better than the entirety of this game both visually and in the gameplay department. (now if only someone would pick up the rights to release the game!) After revitalizing the series and taking some important steps forward with Shattered Solider, it feels as though Konami took three steps back with this release. It left a very bad taste in my mouth and I doubt I'll be hanging onto it. I'm very disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secretvampire Posted October 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 After revitalizing the series and taking some important steps forward with Shattered Solider, it feels as though Konami took three steps back with this release. It left a very bad taste in my mouth and I doubt I'll be hanging onto it. I'm wery disappointed. Damn! Thanks for your impressions, Romier. Looks like I'll be waiting until this hits the VERY cheap bin (like $5!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Bling Bling Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 I got it today but I haven't played it yet. I just love how Toys R Us decided to stock this instead of Otogi 2. Honestly I'm more inclined to play Kingdom Under Fire right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Bling Bling Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Well, I finally opened it and I'm enjoying it more than you did. It definately has its plusses and minuses, but the good outweighs the bad for me. In a game like this, I look for spectacle over substance, although substance is appreciated when it's there. Contra definately delivers spectacle, with riding dinosaurs, running across helicopter blades, etc. I also like having selectable weapons, and there are even more that you can unlock. I think the music is great, and the intro CG is the best I've seen in a while. I also like the box art, which looks very old school, and it's also reversible. Plus, it has more run and gun, as opposed to being a boss rush like Shattered Soldier. The main thing I dislike is the fact that a giant super-robot or some other monstrosity will plop down in front of you, then promptly die after like 2 shots. The color schemes in some of the levels are also way too similar. Also, the lack of stealth elements and open ended gameplay signify that Konami is out of touch with today's gamers. On second thought, scratch that last sentence. As for difficulty, I think it's harder than Shattered Soldier, assuming you want to go 3 lives, 3 continues. I don't like how a 30 life option is open from the start, you should have to use The Code. Did you play through it on easy? I wasn't able to get through the whole game my first time on normal. I think I'm still adjusting to the L2 and R2 button functions, and having a 'dodge' button doesn't feel intuitive in this type of game and I haven't really used it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Did you play through it on easy? I wasn't able to get through the whole game my first time on normal. Nope, played through the whole game on normal with default life settings. Mind you, I beat Shattered Soldier on hard (though it took me some serious time to accomplish) so I consider myself "seasoned" in the ways of Contra. Also, the lack of stealth elements and open ended gameplay signify that Konami is out of touch with today's gamers. On second thought, scratch that last sentence. Great comment. I couldn't help but giggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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