First Impressions: New Contra? But I'm old school baby!
I feel as though I owe a great debt to Konami. The 2D platform shooter is a dying art and somehow they were able to distill the pure essence of that genre into Contra: Shattered Soldier, my favorite game of 2002 and all of this current generation. It was also the first Contra game in the last five years to be created in 2D after the failed 3D experiments that were Contra: Legacy of War and C: The Contra Adventure. But the siren song of bringing their old classics to 3D is just too much for Konami (just look at Castlevania) and Neo Contra will make the jump back to 3D.
It is my belief that the failure of the first two PlayStation Contra adventures lies squarely with the developer, Appaloosa Interactive. Coincidentally, the producers of this new title revealed they feel the same way in a recent interview with EGM. Thankfully, just like Shattered Soldier, Konami has decided to do the development on Neo Contra in house. And while the perspective will change, a lot of what made Shattered Soldier a phenomenal game will crossover into Neo Contra.
But first and foremost: the Spread Gun is back! Konami has heard the cries from fans and the Spread Gun will make an appearance in Neo Contra. The weapon system will actually remain the same as it was in Shattered Soldier. No Weapon Eagles, but instead you always have access to three guns that can be switched to at any time. Each weapon will also have a secondary fire mode that will double your firepower to six. In Neo Contra however, there will be more than just the standard set of three guns. Gamers will be given a choice of at least six different weapons at the start of each level. Old standbys the machine gun, the charge shot, the rocket launcher and the flamethrower will be there. And in the shiny brand new pile will be a lock-on laser, the Spread Gun, and a fancy little toy called the Lightning Gun. Each will naturally have a (at this point unknown) secondary function. Tim Allen would be grunting right about now.
While the perspective may have changed, it won't be totally alien to Contra players. Most of the game is actually said to take place in a top down 3D style that looks very similar to Contra: Legacy of War. My distaste for that game notwithstanding, I believe Konami has learned from their mistakes and will be able to create a very Contra-like feel for the game. They have already assured fans that the game will not be completely in 3D. Side scrolling, isometric, and vehicle levels will dot your quest and should attempt to please everyone. But you know what they say happens when you try to please all of the people some of the time...
With a new perspective for the camera comes a new perspective for the story as well. Contra has never had much of a story. Stop the alien invasion with Rambo tactics is the extent of the story for the first five games of the series. Shattered Soldier attempted to add a conspiracy plot with the ruling council and a betrayal of the former second player to the Contra mythos, but players largely ignored it for more shooting action. This time around Konami has stated that Neo Contra will have a lot of cutscenes (ugh) and a greatly expanded storyline (possible ugh). They also plan to create a fleshed out backstory for the new player two, a futuristic samurai named Genbei Jaguar Yagyu.
This new 3D design has also led to a restructuring of the game's levels. The levels are said to be huge and traversing them alive will require some serious skills due to their size. In another new twist for the series, the environments will be completely destructible. One of the problems with the PlayStation 3D games was their lack of solid action; I guess Konami wants to fix that.
One thing that has not changed about the levels though will be the giant boss battle. Several screens of the bosses have already been revealed and they are appropriately slimy, slick, and very sweet looking. Of course nothing looks as out and out disgusting as the first boss from Shattered Solder yet, but creating aliens that outgross the previous installment is almost a requirement at this point.
