Contra IV Contra returns this time for the Nintendo DS.

I’m not going to lie I’ve been playing Contra IV for the Nintendo DS on easy mode. For a while I was playing on normal mode. Lots of difficulties came about on the second stage (waterfall stage). Falling boulders from the holes in the wall would hit me a lot as would the scuba diver and his bombs. Another problem is that I am so used to playing Contra on a full screen T.V and not dual screen. Usually normal is the difficulty chosen for Contra games. When so much action is taking place, sometimes focusing on two screens can be very difficult. Normal mode was tried for a while. Don’t worry though some differences between the two modes of play will be discussed. Currently two Contra games have been beaten, Contra Hard Corps (Sega Genesis) and Contra Shattered Soldier (PS2).

 Despite beating only two games in the series over five have been played. I regret trading in my Super Nintendo with Contra III Alien Wars before finishing the game. My progress for Alien Wars was advancing well. At the time the newer games just seemed too good. Oh! Well the past is the past; just have to learn to not make the same mistakes.

 Story

The setting is two years after the Alien Wars. Red Falcon (main alien enemy from previous titles) was only sending the first wave of invaders. Black Viper another main alien villain arrives with more bloodthirsty beings ready to conquer earth. Give into to their demands, no you send the four best soldiers known to man. These warriors are Bill Rizer (Contra NES, Shattered Soldier) Lance Bean (Contra NES) Mad Dog and Scorpion.

Power ups for weapons (appear as boxes with wings and letters)
Collect more than one box of the same letter and the weapon becomes more powerful. Example spread shot will now have a wider path.

List of Power ups

Crush- missiles that travel a short distance but are very powerful

Flame- a spinning fireball

Homing –heat seeking missiles

Laser- a straight energy beam

Machine gun –very fast reddish orange circular bullets

Spread shot- like the machine gun but bullets go out in a wider triangular shaped pattern.

Barrier-force shield

Smart Bomb- destroys enemies on screen.

Grappling hook- aids in reaching difficult areas

Level 1 Jungle

This level is a lot like the first level in the original Contra. This stage is the jungle. Movement through this board is seen from the side scroller viewpoint. Enemies projectiles will fly at you slowly. However like in many Contra Games the enemy kills you just by making contact. He runs into me, I run; jump, into him yep dead. There’s a vehicle which moves on and attacks from a railing. Not a hundred percent certain but I believe this vehicle wasn’t in the original Contra’s first stage.

The crush shot is a good weapon to use against the railing vehicle. The boss here is a base with armed guards on the top, cannons and two circular glowing red weak points that shoot laser beams. Reaching the upper level of this base is done by using the grappling hook on the helicopter. In the back ground trees can be seen which look to be hand drawn. These trees also so not have as much color as the rest of the stage.


 Before starting the stage you will chose between the four soldiers. . Unfortunately they all look basically the same. Many small squares put together to form a man with different coloring added for the clothing and skin complexions. There is some detail like the bicep and chest muscles but it’s not like you’d expect to see today. The faces are not highly defined for example the eyes look like dots. Graphically the game looks to me like it was pulled from the sixteen bit era with some enhancement. If each character was given at least one different weapon, this I feel would make the different characters a little more interesting. Let’s say Bill has a different type of weapon than Lance and not all of the power-ups are the same. Even one unique power-up for each character ,and the same weapon would make choosing the different characters more interesting.

Level Two- Laboratory/Waterfall
 
A side scrolling/up and down viewpoint level.  On the waterfall the screen will be moving upward. The boss battle has a scene where the screen moves downward really fast. Some boss’s just can’t die the first time around. Choose normal mode and boulders will fall from the walls of the waterfall. Easy mode and there are no boulders. Easy mode has ten lives per continue. Normal mode allows fives lives per continue. In the laboratory you’ll encounter human experiments gone wrong who make a whining sound when shot. These experiments also explode into green energy balls. Watch for the brown four legged aliens crawling down the screen. They make a screeching sound when killed. As for the boss I will say that he has claws and spits blue energy balls. The boss also pulls the platform you’re on close to his face.

Level 3 Base

Just like the name implies you’ll run through a base shooting at guards in red uniforms. Now you’ll actually see your character make turns, and run towards armed gates. This level is also similar to a Contra NES level. Our final enemy appears in front of some kind of screen. This enemy is made of faces and attacks with blue and red energy balls.

Level 4 Harbor 

Want to destroy a large sea vessel with laser beams? How about ride a rocket with a missile launching robot, swatting at you with his hand? Want to see blue red bird men attacking from platforms. This will happen in stage four. How about blast a two legged robot to pieces, only to watch him rebuild and move on all fours.

A total of nine stages exists in this game,and multiplayer mode is available. You'll need to know someone with another Nintendo DS and a Contra 4 cartridge. The DS will scan the area for the second player. There's also an unlock-able challenge mode.One task in the challenge mode is attacking with a limited amount of ammunition. Forty challenges are available in this mode.

Graphics and Sound
 
Like said earlier the graphics are not as detailed as some might expect. Example jump into water the splash goes upward but there is no ripple effect. The sound of the splash does not sound like I’d expect a real splash to sound. Trees and plants will move a little; this action gives a wind effect. Facial features are hard to make out on all the characters I’ve seen except for the end level enemies. After you die you’ll hear words like take ‘em out, lock and load. The explosions usually consist of one small orange/red explosion or a series of mini explosions. Weapons make different sounds, laser has a zapping noise. Two laser power-ups and you’ll hear both a zapping and a ringing sound. The ringing sound comes after the button is released. Like in many games the music does become more intense during an end board boss battle. Nicely drawn still art with a little animation is shown without pushing the start button. The DS uses both screens for the still images and the animation.

Final Thoughts

Overall I like Contra IV the game is challenging,fun but can be frustrating at times. I like games where the character you can control can take more than one shot. The barrier power-up provides some relief but it only comes along every once in a blue moon. The slow moving shots of some enemies can get you, even after taking an enemy down. This aspect annoys me very much at times. Despite it's downfalls overall this is a good game. Being able to blast many enemies to smithereens feels great.

Trying out different weapons and seeing the different effects on enemies is also good. What I mean by this is  flame-shot taking down an enemy quicker than laser. Taking down a boss gives me a great adrenaline rush especially when the boss battle is tough. I also like how each weapon has a second power-up level. Example machine gun fires a reddish orange straight line of circles bullets,two machine gun power-ups and now there's two rows and more damage effect. I can't wait to see the unlock able challenges.

 If your the type who wants to  learn of Contra's history, that is viewable and from the very begining. not just the history itself but screen shots of previous games are viewable. I really liked reading about the games and viewing the different screen shots seeing how Contra's graphics have changed over the past twenty years.
 
Rating
 
1. Graphics-6
2. Challenge-8.
3. Buy as a gift-8
4. Story-7
5. Innovation-7
6. Fun-8
7. Play with a friend-8
8. Addictiveness-7
9. Boss battles-8
10. Price-9
 
Overall Rating 7.6