Contra

Contra is phenomenal fun that can’t be overestimated. It’s one of the best NES games and a testament to the NES library. A must-have masterpiece.

Well-executed pseudo-3D shooting levels elevate the game to the next level, and the bosses are immense but never frustrating. This game is challenging - the standard three lives is hardly sufficient - so don't hesitate to use the popular 30-life cheat code (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start at title screen). Contra is a classic NES shooter, and one of the definitive titles for the system. Konami released a sequel called Super C.

I’ve remarked that the presentation isn’t mindblowing. But it’s always easy to see what is what, and the soundtrack includes some of the catchiest melodies ever heard in a game. This title simply has no known weaknesses; just pick it up for a few bucks on Ebay. You’ll sing the very same tune.

Contra is one of the most popular titles for the NES and the definitive two-player simultaneous game. If you like shoot ‘em ups then this game is a no-brainer. Otherwise, it is still worth owning but not a top 20 type of game.

Grâce aux trente vies qu'il confère par continu, le jeu est alors beaucoup plus simple ce qui en fait l'un des titres les plus conviviaux à deux de la NES, surtout si vous jouez avec de moins bons joueurs. La possibilité d'emprunter des vies à son camarade est en cela une merveilleuse idée. En même temps, il permet, seul, de bien se familiariser avec le jeu dans son ensemble et après avoir enchaîné parties sur parties pendant des jours voire des semaines, de réaliser soudain qu'on est prêt à le finir sans le code. C'est là que le vrai défi peut commencer.

What really makes Gryzor stand out from the millions of other conversions of scrolling arcade games with silly names that seem to be pouring forth at the moment, is that this one actually feels like an arcade game. The 128K sound FX and music certainly help to create an atmosphere of fag smoke, fruit machines and leather jackets, something almost unheard of before on a Spectrum. I don't normally go in for the pumping-lead type of game, but they had to resort to crowbars to drag me away from this one and back into my straitjacket.

As an overall package, you'll be hard pressed to find a game that better designed than Contra. It's videogaming, the way it should be defined in Websters. "Video Game: Non stop, adrenaline pumping action between a player and a computer. Requires lighning fast reflexes and ridiculous amounts of button presses. See also: Contra"

One of the most solid packages for which a modern gamer could ask from Nintendo’s legendary machine. Contra is an excellent multiplayer title, an excellent steam releaser, and an excellent game overall. Go get it!

Bei Probotector haben die Programmierer von Konami den goldenen Mittelweg zwischen Lust und Frust gefunden. Das Spiel ist nicht gerade leicht, aber immer wieder herausfordernd und keinesfalls unfair. Grafisch wird das Nintendo Entertainment System hervorragend ausgenutzt. Jede Menge Sprites machen den Bildschirm unsicher, ohne daß es zu störendem Rucken oder Flackern kommt. Die Hintergrundbilder steigern sich von Level zu Level und bieten viel Abwechslung. Mal wird man von einem Schneesturm, mal von einem gruseligen Ober-Alien überrascht. Wer ein fantastisches Ballerspiel sucht, wird mit diesem Modul hochzufrieden sein. Probotector gehört spielerisch und technisch zum absolut Besten, was im Action-Genre derzeit für diese Konsole angeboten wird. Der Zwei-Spieler-Modus ist besonders empfehlenswert; wenn Ihr zusammenarbeitet, kommt Ihr im Teamwork auch etwas weiter.

Contra ist ein Pflichttitel für alle Actionfans, die sich für die Wurzeln ihres Lieblingsgenres interessieren. Nonstop Action und das typische Run & Gun Gameplay lassen Retroherzen höher schlagen. Grafisch hat der Titel leider nicht viel zu bieten, aber dies ist bei seinem Alter auch nicht weiter verwunderlich, wer damit leben kann greift zu!

Jeu culte par excellence, le soft de Konami n’aura peut-être pas traversé les esprits aussi bien que l’un de ses successeurs Contra III. Néanmoins, tout ceux qui l’ont connu savent à quel point ce jeu est l’icône du genre run & gun, monument du old school vénéré par les nostalgiques. Bien que caractérisé par sa difficulté extrême, Gryzor n’est pas crispant, bien au contraire. Il est un hymne aux films d’action des eighties, qui se doit d’être dévoré de la même manière, avec son couteau entre les dents. Un must have couleur treillis, entouré de barbelé, mais dont vous vous emparerez quand même !

Gryzor on the Amstrad is certainly the most action-packed and difficult, in fact a very powerful conversion which should not disappoint hardened arcade addicts with itchy trigger fingers.

Is the game worth 400 Marketplace points? The online Co-op mode alone is worth the price of admission. Nostalgia aside, the game is still quite enjoyable to play after years and years. With the co-op mode, this is an excellent arcade title for Dad to introduce the kids into what gaming was like when he was younger. I highly recommend purchasing Contra without even touching the demo. The twitch shooter style of gameplay is overly addictive and will stay active in 360 owners arcade collection for months to come.

An excellent example of the 2D shoot-em up genre, and one that inspired not only its successors but also a whole host of competing titles for years to come. There really isn’t anything to else to say, if you like modern interpretations of this kind of game then you could do a lot worse then taking a look at where it all began.

Neben dem sehr guten Nachfolger Super Contra, welcher ebenfalls bereits die Ehre hat in der Xbox LIVE Arcade zu verweilen, macht der Erstling der Serie, Contra, immer noch eine gute Figur. Mit aufpolierter Präsentation und dem knackigen Gameplay weiß der Action-Titel zu begeistern, vor allem im kooperativen Mehrspielermodus. Negativ finden wir die Tatsache, dass man statt der etwas humaneren Konsolenversion die bockschwere Spielhallenvariante als Grundlage verwendete.

The problem with this is that it's not particularly challenging. It takes a few goes to get used to the slightly ropey control method, and after that it's simply a case of blasting your way through the pretty weak alien defences. It's fun at first, due to the fact that you can get pretty far into the game, but once you've completed it, it all gets rather predictable. Gryzor fans might enjoy the action, but really you'd get far more out of something like Snake, Rattle 'n' Roll or Megaman 2.

Entre muitas adaptações de fliperamas da década de 80 para a Live Arcade, "Contra" é que encaixa melhor com a proposta do serviço. Pensando como um jogo cooperativo desde sua concepção, o modo multiplayer online chega com naturalidade ao Xbox 360. Mas o clássico da Konami oferece mais para valer seus 400 Microsoft Points (US$ 5). O estilo se desgastou no decorrer desses anos, com a chegada dos jogos em 3D, mas a ação rápida e exagerada rendem boas doses de adrenalina. E se visualmente não é páreo para a geração atual de guerrilheiros, a trilha sonora é sensacional.

The graphic design seems a bit smoother than you might remember it from back in the day, no doubt due to whatever tweaks Konami has done to it for the Xbox 360. If you’re a fan of the arcade version of this title and want to take a trip down memory lane, then the 400 Microsoft points will be well spent. If you’re an online gamer who gets horribly frustrated by lagging co-op play, then by all means stay away.

Despite all the caveats, fans of the better-known Contras should find the original arcade game an enjoyable curiosity, and it's also pretty cheap at only 400 Microsoft points. Throw in the prospect of 200 easy achievement points and you've got an couple fun hours of shootin' on your hands.

XBLA Contra’s main selling point is an online co-op mode over Xbox Live, which I’ve gotta admit, is much more fun than playing alone. But the game also suffers from intermittent lag which can make it feel unplayable. I also wasn’t given credit for the “score 100,000 points in the co-op” Achievement even though I sailed way past that milestone. Basically, co-op boils down to a fun experience that can be ruined by your Internet connection or if Live is feeling finicky.

Once you get past the arcade vs. NES debate, Contra plays accurately, and when you get a good connection, the true co-op gameplay is much better than the side-by-side co-op that many other Konami games have been doing on Xbox Live Arcade. If you're a fan of any version of Contra, you might want to give this one a look.

Konami’s Contra is a solid addition to Xbox Live Arcade, but it is simply just not the version of the game most of us will expect and prefer. Instead of delivering the NES build of the game, we are given the coin-op version that is designed to take quarters from your pocket, meaning it’s quite difficult, and without the thirty-lives code it gets frustrating very quickly. However, since we've confirmed that the code does work, you will definitely want to make use of it. Hopefully, there will be a patch in the near future that clears up some of the online multiplayer problems that have been reported with players losing connections during matches. Until then, anyone interested in checking Contra out on XBLA should definitely download the trial before making the decision to purchase the game for 400 Microsoft points.

If the Spectrum Gryzor fails to rise into the major league it is probably because the coin-op is too difficult to suit the machine's capabilities. That said, there is enough in it to keep you going for several weeks.

The arcade version of Contra was never as well-loved as its NES counterpart, so the choice to port it to the Xbox Live Arcade seems questionable...but not nearly as much as the dodgy online co-op implementation. The Enhanced options are nice and the game otherwise plays well offline in both singleplayer and co-op. Yet even at a mere 400 MS Points, Contra is an Arcade release that only the nostalgic or franchise fans should consider buying.

Digital Eclipse has done a nice job emulating Contra (arcade version). Unfortunately it wasn’t the NES version everyone wanted, but once you get over that issue you’ll discover it’s a fun game.

After flying through Contra, you'll sit back and wonder if the 400 points you spent to purchase this could have been better used elsewhere. It's worth noting that this is the first time the true arcade original has been presented on a home console in unaltered form. That's will end up a fair price to fans, while those with vague memories (or none at all) will be left saddened and angered at the useless online play.

The “price-tag” of Contra is 400 Microsoft points. If you are still catching onto the Microsoft points system, 400 Microsoft points converts into five dollars. It’s an attractive and affordable price, but Contra is clearly not the same game anymore. After playing coop with a few of my friends, we all were left disappointed expecting the same excitement we had on the NES. I guess nostalgia does wear off over time. It’s a shame that Contra didn’t grab a hold of my attention like I thought it would. Hopefully Konami is able to successfully port Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game to the Xbox Live Arcade later this year. That may be able to strike my fancy for some co-op entertainment.

The good news is that Contra is only 400 Microsoft points (which is $5), so it's not like you're going to break the bank when it comes to buying this game. But then, if you're going to spend the money to buy an Xbox Live Arcade game you might as well spend a little extra and buy something that isn't fundamentally broken. Perhaps it's time to give Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 a try, or maybe see why everybody loves Geometry Wars. Whatever you do, don't make the mistake that this is the NES Contra you remember from your childhood. This is not the classic everybody loves; this is a broken arcade port that is only fun for a few minutes.

Waarom wel: Biedt behoorlijk wat uitdaging, voor mensen die daar naar op zoek zijn. Nog aardig vermakelijk wanneer je het coöperatief speelt.
Waarom niet: Té frustrerend voor het gros van de gamers. De semi-3D onderdelen spelen niet heel erg lekker. Paar onvolkomenheden in de online mode.

In simple terms, Contra is still just about playable enough for real die-hard fans to plough through again and enjoy, but for outsiders who missed out the first time, the chances are you won't get what the fuss is about. Contra is a fairly typical example of one of those games from the period that's too unforgiving to be truly enjoyable, and suffers from too many annoying design conventions that were taken for granted back then.

Yes, Contra costs only 400 Microsoft points, or five bucks. And yes, going for the Achievements is fun and a great measure of your skill. The updated graphics are a bit annoying as the classic version still looks fine, but the updated soundtrack is kind of cool if you are looking for a change of pace. Single-player gameplay is great, but with online bugs and multiplayer bugs, you may want to buy a 12-pack of Keystone Light or five frosties from Wendy's instead of throwing down on this unfinished game. Wait to buy this game until news of a patch hits. Or just wait.