Contra 4 (DS)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Alex Navarro
• Reviewed on: 12/04/2007
• Released on: 11/13/2007
• Originally published on GameSpot: Contra 4 (DS) Review

Contra 4 is awesome. And it is awesome in exactly the same ways as the classic games that bear the crest of Contra. Contra 4 is also mean. And it is mean in exactly the same ways as its forebears. That's perhaps a longwinded way to say, "Contra 4 is totally Contra," but regardless, the point remains. From its slavish dedication and great execution of the "run to the right, shoot stuff, don't get shot" formula, to its utterly ludicrous difficulty, Contra 4 is not a game for the easily vexed, but it is one for anyone who loves a challenging shooter.

While the numerical designation of "4" might not exactly be true, Contra 4 feels like more of an honest to god sequel to the classic Contra games as anything in recent memory. Part of that is thanks to developer WayForward's apparent deep, deep love of all things Contra. If you remember the classic arcade and NES games, you'll remember a lot of what goes on here. From the reuse of notable Contra heroes Bill and Lance (or Scorpion and Mad Dog, if you prefer), to the healthy smattering of classic Contra weaponry (the machine gun, the flamethrower, the ever-popular spread gun), and the subtle (and occasionally not-so-subtle) references to levels and bosses of Contra yesteryear, Contra 4 feels like a celebration of the franchise's heyday, a return to what made the series so fantastic in the first place.

And it holds up better than you might think. The developers took few, if any, risks with the formula here, turning in a gameplay design that just feels like a souped-up, two-screened version of 16-bit-era Contra. You run to the right, occasionally run up (in a nod to the behind-the-back levels from the original Contra), and just shoot every bit of vile alien scum that crosses your path while picking up some of the baddest guns around. The level designs here are top flight in every way. There's just enough nostalgia sprinkled in to send the fans into giggle fits, but at the same time, none of this stuff feels rehashed. These levels manage to feel new and exciting, even if they are just based on an age-old formula, while the boss fights are some of the most intense action you're going to find on the DS, period.

Intensity is really the name of the game here, and it's likely that it's going to be too much for some. More than perhaps any Contra game before it, Contra 4 is hard. Almost excruciatingly so. Normal difficulty is like some kind of cruel joke. Enemies and bullets appear from every which direction, often hanging out in the exact spot you're about to jump to or the area you'd most likely run to in order to duck certain death. Keeping yourself alive is as much about memorization of enemy attack patterns as it is about any measure of quantifiable skill. You get multiple continues if you happen to run out of lives on a given stage, but once you're out of continues, you start the game anew. Granted, this isn't an especially long game, but the odds of players blowing through this thing on their first, second, or even third sittings hover somewhere around the zero mark. To be fair, the game is extremely up front about its toughness, frequently mentioning the challenges you'll face and even making it abundantly clear that easy mode doesn't include the last two levels of the game. The difficulty itself feels almost like an in-joke for the fans. While it's bound to frustrate a number of people, those who can stomach it will persevere and enjoy themselves a great deal.

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