Contra
November 11,2006 - Most people would consider Contra to be a true classic. Everyone seems to have a story to tell of old friends playing Contra co-op after school or up late on a Saturday night. Every one of those people remembers the NES version of Contra. The arcade version of Contra is a mystery to most people. It comes as a bit surprising that Konami would choose to bring the arcade version of the game to the Xbox Live Arcade as opposed to the NES version. Still, Contra is a solid game, and if you’ve never played the original arcade version you’ll be getting a whole new experience.

Contra puts you in the combat boots of one of two soldiers, Lance or Bill. Their job is to rid the earth of the alien menace known as Red Falcon. They’ll have to fight their way through all kinds of jungles, tunnels, factories, and frozen wastes to finally reach the aliens’ lair. They have a wide assortment of weaponry to use on the various bad guys, including machine guns, lasers, and the versatile spread shot. You can play the game on your own, or you can play with a friend, either locally or via Xbox Live.

The arcade version of Contra was always a bit different than the NES version. Most notably, levels in the arcade version are significantly shorter than they were on the NES version. Those people who are used to the length of the levels on the NES version will find this version somewhat truncated. With that said, the gameplay is largely the same. You still run, jump, and shoot everything that moves, and in a few cases, you’ll shoot stuff that doesn’t move. If you take your time, you can finish the game in less than thirty minutes. If, on the other hand, you are the sort of person that likes to do a speed-run through games, you will be happy to see an achievement for beating the game in less than twelve minutes. That’s one of the harder achievements to get, along with completing the game in one credit. The rest of the achievement points are relatively easy to attain with a bit of practice. Once you memorize the patterns the enemies follow, the game becomes a lot easier. Konami has included the old Contra code in this version as well, but keep in mind that if you use it, it will disable the achievements for that run through. Something else that’s worth mentioning is this version does have the “off the screen” glitch from the arcade version. This means that if you jump off the screen to jump over some enemies, you won’t be able to shoot downwards at them.

Playing cooperatively was always a lot of fun in Contra. In this version you can play with two players on the same Xbox 360, or via Xbox Live. The online play seems to be very inconsistent. Online performance is very sensitive to latency and packet loss, so to get a smooth game, you’ll need a very clean connection with the other player.

Konami has done a very good job with the emulation of the arcade version of Contra. By default the game will use an enhanced graphics and sound mode, but if you prefer the original look and sound, you can switch to those in the options menu. You also have the ability to change the size and position of the screen, which is nice for owners of HDTV’s. The enhanced graphics make the game look a lot better on an HDTV set, while still retaining that retro vibe. The same is true for the enhanced sound. It replaces the original music and sound effects, which were all done via FM synthesis, with something that sounds like it might have come from a Super NES system. It sounds better, but still quite retro. The way in which Konami handles enhancements in their Live Arcade games should definitely be studied closely by other companies.

The Xbox Live Arcade version of Contra is very well done. It faithfully brings the arcade version of Contra to the Xbox 360, with enhanced graphics and sound. The online two player co-op is fun when you can get a good connection with another player. All in all, it’s a solid arcade title, but those people that were expecting to find the NES version will be disappointed.

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