"Best Contra game since the NES days"

Throughout each consoles lifespan, certain memories and experiences are remembered and carried over with you throughout time. Like the NES, finding the "lost levels" on accident in Super Mario Brothers on NES, or playing your first game of Tecmo Super Bowl. Using the "swimsuit" password on Metroid or finally knocking out Iron Mike in Mike Tysons Punch Out!. The NES had many many great games and many many great memories. However, one stands above them all in my mind...

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The infamous Konami code, made infamous by one game, Contra. Combining frantic action, controller-tossing difficulty and two player gameplay, Contra remains one of the best games of all time. There have been many other games in the Contra universe, some good and some horrid. However, none of them succeeded in recapturing the feel or thrill of the original, not even Alien Wars on the SNES.

Finally, after the worst of the bunch appeared on the PSX, Konami has returned the series to its roots and got the original developers on board for this newest Contra. The end result is a return to the Contra of old, which means you better have one or three extra Dual Shock 2's lying around.

Presentation

The story in Shattered Soldier is simple enough. You are Bill Rizer, otherwise known as "Player 1" or "that blue guy" from the original Contra. You are in prison for the murder of Lance, aka "Player 2", or "the red dude". However, Lance is not dead, and returns in this game. There is a new terror in ranks with the aliens and they plan to take over the world. As the only person that can take them down, Bill is released from prison and has a new partner, Lucia, a cyborg. Together(well.. if you play 2 players anyway) they are Earths only hope.

Yea, it sounds like a bad action flick. But is makes for an awesome action game. The story has never been a truly important part of the Contra franchise, and SS will not change that. In fact, the game doesn't even have voice overs for the story. It is all text based. You can view that as a bad thing or a simple throwback to the originals.

The game also throws classic graphical flair at you, completing an "old school" feel that Contra fans like myself definitely appreciate.

Graphics

A side scrolling game on a next-gen console? That's right. The visuals in Shattered Soldier are a perfect blend of new age power with old school throwbacks, such as classic Contra animations as well as bosses.

Speaking of bosses, they look phenomenal. Konami hired a comic book artist named Ashley Wood to create the environments and atmosphere for SS, and the result is a dark, war ridden world that makes the old Contra worlds seem like Disney World. The backgrounds are dark and full of activity, and the lighting effects on them are top notch.

The game also boasts great special effects, though with the small amount of weapons, you don't really see many. You get great missile trails and awesome fire effects(flamethrower rocks).

Of course, with it being on PS2, the graphics definitely could look a lot better, and there could be more animations. But with a game that chimes in length-wise at just above an hour(an action packed, no holds barred hour), you won't really notice anyway.

Sound

As an action game, Shattered Soldier does not disappoint sound wise. You get great effects such as explosions, gun shots, explosions, missile propulsion, and explosions. Not the greatest example of sound in the gaming world by far(that belongs to Medal of Honor), but SS delivers the goods on par with every other action game.

As a Contra game though, the music in Shattered Soldier could be a lot better. There are too few old school tracks, and even the ones they give you are remixed and not the originals. It's not that the new electronic music sucks, but when the rest of the game pays so much tribute and stays so true to old school Contra, the music department should definitely follow suit. Good selection of songs that fit the action theme nonetheless.

Gameplay

If you have played a Contra game before, you know the name of the game here. Contra basically writes the book of the action genre. There's virtually no moment in the game where you're not blasting away hordes of enemies or decimating a huge boss.

Just like the graphics and sound, Shattered Soldier pays homage to classic Contra games and remains somewhat true to the road the earlier games laid out. One hit will still kill you, and the game is still unbelievably hard. The old side scrolling and forward scrolling levels are back, as well as a couple other variations.

The games main change is the weapon system. Instead of obtaining new weapons through pick-ups and upgrades, you've got three main weapons, which are available at any time. You've got a machine gun, a rocket launcher and a flamethrower. Each weapon also has a secondary fire mode when you charge it up. What? Only THREE weapons you say? Slow down there. Three may not be too much, but the game uses those three very well. Remember Galaga, where the enemies also followed pre-set patterns and it didn't matter whether you were a single ship or a double ship, both methods of attack were fine? The same could also be said about the old Contras. Well, Shattered Soldier changes all that. Now, the game throws enemies at you in various patterns and ways that make certain weapons and fire modes much more appealing to the situation. It breaks up the repetition and adds more depth to the game.

The game has two difficulty settings, and they actually mean something in this game. There's easy mode for the wussies out there. You get too many continues to count here 99 of them to be exact, and 9 lives each. Then there's the big boy mode, Normal, which drops those lives down to three per continue, 3 continues allowed. You'll need weeks and weeks and weeks of mastering Normal mode to get the most out of this game too. It's only about 2 hours long, but you won't make it those 2 hours until you've put in a lot of playtime.

No game is perfect though, and Shattered Soldier does have its flaws. Though obvious effort was put into branching out the weapon system deeper than just the weapons you can choose from, more weapons would've been nice. Also, 2 hours, while it will take you a long time to fully beat this game, is still a very short time to be complete with a game. However, hardcore Contra buffs would probably scoff at the notion that those are faults to be had with this game. I guess it all depends on your perception of the franchise.

Conclusion

Huge, dominating bosses. Insane amount of difficulty. Multiple endings and other secrets. Great two player action. Shattered Soldier has it all, and then some. It's not without its faults, but it was well worth the wait and absolutely does the series justice. Even if you're one of the poor souls that's never experienced Contra before, if you're an action fan, don't miss out on this one.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/18/04