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[drohne]

i suppose it's become a tiresome routine for me to defend every other poorly-reviewed action game that comes out. but uh...i'm about to do it again.

right off, yes, it's much easier than shattered soldier. both in terms of survival and scoring. but you can address this simply by bumping yourself down to one life and only using one credit. that's not as unforgiving as it sounds -- you'll pick up extra lives as you go along. i've played it for about an hour this way, and haven't quite managed to clear the four initial stages. and an easy shooter isn't necessarily a bad shooter. i can think of several great, easy shooters. harmful park, zanac x zanac, thunderforce III...shock troopers is pretty easy too, and that's the best run and gun ever. it's frustrating that neo contra doesn't have a selectable hard mode, as contra III did. but it's enjoyable as it is.

and while there's a lack of difficulty, the game is in no way sedate or empty: it moves at a terrific clip, and there's lots of stuff to shoot and dodge. the satisfying shock troopers style run and gun is nicely punctuated by classic contra boss fights. and while there's long been a campy undercurrent to the contra games -- hanging on missiles, fighting a giant worm while riding a snowboard, er...hard corps generally -- neo contra brings campiness to the forefront. you get to ride dinosaurs, run on the spinning blades of a helicopter, and fight some exceedingly silly bosses. the cutscenes are transcendently silly. it's vaguely treasure-esque, but really it's more like hard corps with a production budget. i really dig it.

i suppose the other point of contention is the controls. i think the strafe-lock works beautifully. the opm demo drops you in a particularly demanding section, as far as the controls go...you shouldn't dismiss them based on that. a lot of people want smash tv controls. i find smash tv controls needlessly fussy, and i find smash tv to be an execrable credit-muncher, but i don't think i'll convince anyone. give neo contra's controls a chance. they work.

i'll write more when i've played more. but unless you're one of those shooter fans who'll only play teeth-clenchingly difficult games, or one of those general gamers who absolutely must use every continue they're given, don't neglect neo contra.

 

[Mejilan]

If I played and hated the recent demo, is there any reason to check this game out? That is, does it get better, or should I just stay away?

 

[drohne]

i guess that depends on why you hated the demo. if it's because you had a hard time managing the controls, then you'll probably find the full game more appealing. that section isn't really representative of the game's run and gun style, and the controls are usually more manageable. and as you get used to the controls, that part is perfectly manageable as well.

protip: use the strafe-lock constantly. i have it held down virtually all the time. when you want to change your direction of fire, momentarily release L2, tap the direction you want to shoot in, then get back on L2. it becomes second nature.

 

[Azrael]

I like it too. I would have prefered right analog shooting, and the game is much too forgiving as far as lives/continues are concerned, but I'd say it definitely deserves a 7/10. If the game had a stricter continue system and had been released at a $29 MSRP like Gradius V, I think it would have been received better. The game has a better balance of boss fights and run 'n gun style sections than Shattered Soldiers did, and the game design is more imaginative as well (Shattered Soldiers recycled a bit too much from previous games).

 

[sprsk]

havent played neocontra yet but ill agree about smash tv\total carnage. midway made some really shitty arcade games back in the day that were designed around hte premise of draining tokens.

 

[BlackClouds]

The game certainly looks like a 7/10 game, makes me wonder if graphics quality is the sole factor in most reviews. Action games in 3D get no respect, and are the hardest to make in 3D (fast controls test the hell out of camera systems, etc). Maybe if the game had sections of finding stuff, looking for clues and solving puzzles in a large free roaming 3D world, the game would get some better scores.

Keep up the good work, don't let yellow journalism win out.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

I really wish these new Contras had control schemes that were arcade stick friendly. I tried so hard to find a good setup for SS, but the fire-mode buttons just made it impossible.

 

[Socreges]

Damn, the reviewers were wrong on ANOTHER Treasure/KCET game? Who to trust these days!

Honestly, though, it does sound like the demo isn't representative of the full game and for that I'll give it a rent.

Btw, given that this was released so close to Gradius V, does that mean different people worked on it? Or was Gradius completed a long time ago and just took some time to be ported to the PS2?

 

[vireland]

If anyone had a doubt about the intentional goofiness of the game direction this time out, or the not-so-ambiguously gay duo leads in the game, the omake movie of them swimming through space lays any doubt to rest. It has to be the fruitiest thing since the original [censored] endings to Bust A Groove.

 

[drohne]

neo contra features 360 degree analog movement/aiming, so it really demands a pad. works surprisingly well, too. i had my doubts.

gradius v was developed by treasure and g-rev, and since it's only on ps2, there was never any porting involved. neo contra was internally developed at kcet, by basically the same team who did shattered soldier.

 

[john2kx]

Damn, the reviewers were wrong on ANOTHER Treasure/KCET game? Who to trust these days!

Treasure had nothing to do with this game, unfortunately. (or were you joking?)

 

[Socreges]

gradius v was developed by treasure and g-rev, and since it's only on ps2, there was never any porting involved. neo contra was internally developed at kcet, by basically the same team who did shattered soldier.

I guess I should quit trusting IGN for this type of information. They have Gradius V under KCET and not Treasure, though I did think Treasure was behind it.

Treasure had nothing to do with this game, unfortunately. (or were you joking?)

Well, it was sarcasm, but the "/" meant "or".

 

[drohne]

well, ign's error is understandable -- you won't see any reference to treasure or g-rev outside of the credits. the packaging and intro screens make it seem like a kcet game.

 

[mosaic]

I'm doing the wise thing and waiting for this sucker to drop to $20 in January along with the rest of the games not titled Halo 2, GTA: San Andreas, or anything from Nintendo. Learned my lesson last year. Post-holiday price drops made me their bitch then.

I'm sure some folks who bought Prince of Persia or Beyond Good and Evil in Nov/Dec 03 would agree (first the price drops, then the friggen buy 1 get 1 pack).

 

[ferricide]

I'm doing the wise thing and waiting for this sucker to drop to $20 in January along with the rest of the games not titled Halo 2, GTA: San Andreas, or anything from Nintendo. Learned my lesson last year. Post-holiday price drops made me their bitch then.

buying anything but games you Must Play Now is a total mistake this year.

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

I tried this out tonight, and it surprised the hell outta me. I dug it a lot.

My biggest complaint about Shattered Soldier was the lack of actual running 'n gunning. You'd go two screens, kill 2 guys, and then you'd fight a boss. And then another boss. And another. It felt like more of a boss-fest than Alien Soldier. I like killing wave after wave of scrubs, cuz it makes my dick feel big, and Neo Contra has a bunch of scrubs to kill. I also appreciate the fact that they expanded the color palette beyond three shades of gray, and that the music is something other than nu metal trash. Shattered Soldier was far too grim and humorless a Contra for me. I need more goofiness, and Neo brings the goof. The FMV is awesome, and "Love Theme From Neo Contra" is so the non-Katamari game song of the year. I've been listening to it for the last 20 minutes, trying to figure out what the hell this chick is saying. So far all I understand is "NEOOOO CONTRAAAAA" and I think she may be saying "AND WE BLOW THINGS UP!!" at one point, but the chances of that being the actual lyric are pretty slim, huh.

Controls are great, and there's something wrong with anyone who wants them Smash TV style. I don't see why they don't just map all the weapons to the face buttons, though. Circle's sitting there unused, and it would be much easier than using the shoulder buttons to swap main weapons.

Game is too easy. Didn't Shattered Soldier do like 200k? That's a hit. Why dumb down the difficulty? But it's still a lot of fun, and I'm gonna have to try the one life thing. I just checked gamefaqs to see if there's an unlockable hard mode, and it looks like there isn't. BUT it says you can unlock Bill and Jaguar thong models. Which I think makes up for it, if it's actually true.

I'm gonna pick it up at TRU tomorrow. Yeah, it'll be $20 in January, but I'd rather pay $4 more and have it now.

 

[XS+]

I actually didn't 'like' Contra Hard Corps because of the extreme camp (it's still a great game though, but I prefer Contra games like III and SS, which take themselves a little more seriously). Plus the preview trailers made NC look as serious/gritty as Contra III (..although Bill and Jaguar's design always gave off this Cho-Aniki vibe..). I had absolutely no problems with the control scheme though, and I can take a break from hardcore shooters that require meditation and summoning chi to finish.

Ordering the American version now..

 

[Jumpman]

i suppose it's become a tiresome routine for me to defend every other poorly-reviewed action game that comes out. but uh...i'm about to do it again.

right off, yes, it's much easier than shattered soldier. both in terms of survival and scoring. but you can address this simply by bumping yourself down to one life and only using one credit. that's not as unforgiving as it sounds -- you'll pick up extra lives as you go along. i've played it for about an hour this way, and haven't quite managed to clear the four initial stages. and an easy shooter isn't necessarily a bad shooter. i can think of several great, easy shooters. harmful park, zanac x zanac, thunderforce III...shock troopers is pretty easy too, and that's the best run and gun ever. it's frustrating that neo contra doesn't have a selectable hard mode, as contra III did. but it's enjoyable as it is.

and while there's a lack of difficulty, the game is in no way sedate or empty: it moves at a terrific clip, and there's lots of stuff to shoot and dodge. the satisfying shock troopers style run and gun is nicely punctuated by classic contra boss fights. and while there's long been a campy undercurrent to the contra games -- hanging on missiles, fighting a giant worm while riding a snowboard, er...hard corps generally -- neo contra brings campiness to the forefront. you get to ride dinosaurs, run on the spinning blades of a helicopter, and fight some exceedingly silly bosses. the cutscenes are transcendently silly. it's vaguely treasure-esque, but really it's more like hard corps with a production budget. i really dig it.

i suppose the other point of contention is the controls. i think the strafe-lock works beautifully. the opm demo drops you in a particularly demanding section, as far as the controls go...you shouldn't dismiss them based on that. a lot of people want smash tv controls. i find smash tv controls needlessly fussy, and i find smash tv to be an execrable credit-muncher, but i don't think i'll convince anyone. give neo contra's controls a chance. they work.

i'll write more when i've played more. but unless you're one of those shooter fans who'll only play teeth-clenchingly difficult games, or one of those general gamers who absolutely must use every continue they're given, don't neglect neo contra.

It's good to here some positive impressions on this game. I was beggining to think this one might belong in the same catagory as those PSone doorstops. Maybe I'll check this one out.

BUT it says you can unlock Bill and Jaguar thong models.

What in the...............how gay are they trying to make this game?

 

[Rummy Bunnz]

As far as homoerotic shooters go this is pretty tame. They shoulda gone totally balls out and tried to put all those Gunbird endings to shame.

I am very disappointed that this game does not work with HDLoader. Boo to you, Konami! Color manual is nice, though. And the game rocks hard. Ignore the hate! Buy it now!

 

[Azrael]

Lightning/Bazooka/Heaven's Laser (unlocked after first playthrough) are too overpowered. Third time through and I've beaten stages 1-7 with an overall A rank. Everything but the final set of bosses are a joke using them.

 

[drohne]

quick update: i've decided to play with three lives rather than one, which was just getting irritating. still only using one credit, of course, and staying away from the practice mode. the challenge still isn't where i'd like it, but a one credit clear isn't trivial. i've gotten as far as the second boss of stage 6. it's a really enjoyable run and gun, with solid mechanics and all the invention you'd expect of a contra game. the reviews are utterly false. if you like the genre, buy this game.

speaking of the reviews, i can confirm that there are at least six stages. at least. i assume that the later stages are accessed with high rankings, as they were in contra:ss. the gamespot review openly states that there are five...and yet complains that the game is too short and easy. well, apparently not short or easy enough that gamespot's reviewer can beat it properly! it's not as if maintaining an "a" rank is all that difficult...i assume the gamespot reviewer played on easy or shamelessly credit-fed. i understand that deadlines are tight, but this is bullshit. the "OMG I BEAT IT IN 45 MINUTES" people can get bent.

 

[Oh! My Car!]

The difference in style, or rather 'goofyness', may be related to having the lead designer of Shattered Soldier directing the game, while Nakazato was just supervising it.

Anyhoo, there are indeed 7 stages and it's quite good. Don't pay any attention to the weaksauce reviews, eg IGN and GS, it's a blast.

 

[AfroLuffy]

*BUMP!* I brought back r-type and skygunner(recently purchased used) to gamestop and bought this instead...

Jesus, I was a fool to dismiss this game after playing the demo!

My issues with the demo were largely control related. The unfamiliar controls, new game mechanics, and awkard perspective were too much for me. I had almost dismissed purchasing this game entirely due to these issues; i'm so glad i reconsidered.

Actually, all it took to get the control down was about 5 minutes into the first stage! ^^

When I played the demo level in the fullgame, i had none of the problems from before, meaning I jumped to conclusions too fast and possibly that picking that particular stage for a demo wasn't the best judgement call on konami's part.

Difficulty is always something of concern for these types of games. I do think the game is a little easy, but having never been in the upper echelon of skilled twitch gamers, i'm appreciative of the difficulty and look forward to limiting myself via lives/continues, as some of you have suggested, once I do improve.

Additionally, the grading system isn't nearly as harsh as SS, which i'm thankful for. I had a blast mastering the levels in SS, getting S rank on the first four and teaching my friend to do it along with me was great; however, we never got the consistency down and i'm ashamed to admit to never having cleared stage 5. It just didn't feel right continuing onto to stage 6 when we could never perfect stage 5. Eventually, we lost interest and stopped playing...

I have nothing bad to say about the graphics or music. The ingame designs are pleasing and while not the most complex models i've seen, they are colorful and do their job admirably. Although, i can't say much for jim lee cover art (not what i expected) or the strange changes made to Bill Rizer's face--he looks a little goofy in cutscenes, doesn't jive so well with his bad-ass persona--i'm very happy with the look of the game. As mentioned by others in the thread, the music is a departure from the SS metal/rock, which I was a fan of; but the new soundtrack, while of a different style altogether, is surprisingly noticeable and quite enjoyable.

I'm definately surprised by how much I like this game. If you are a fan of this genre but apprehensive and/or hesitant due to slightly negative reviews and a poor demo experience, put those worries to rest and give Neo Contra a shot--this is definately a respectable entry.

Tommorrow, I plan on inviting friends over for some quality 2 player action, can't wait!

 

[MoxManiac]

I rented this the other day, it's friggin' awesome. No doubt. Fuck the whining about length, the level design and control scheme is perfect. Maybe it isn't as challenging as Contra usually is, but it's still damn good.