Operation C

"A great game in the Contra series"

Operation C, an awesome game. What more is there to say? Not quite the Contra that we all remember on NES but in essence captures the same effect we look for when playing a game from the Contra series.

Gameplay: 8/10
Plays just like the original Contra for NES. You can shoot in all 8 directions (down if you jump and then aim down then shoot), the hero runs and sways his gun realistically instead of a stiff character who holds a gun and only moves his or her legs when they run, and the jumps look the same (Gotta love those tuck and roll jumps!). The only drawback in the jumps in Operation C is that the hero doesn't jump as far as you'd think he would. In the third level, if you don't jump at the exact edge of the gap, you wont make it (I lost 3 lives on that one gap....don't laugh, you'll probably lose more the first time around LOL)

Graphics: 10/10
For an original Gameboy game, the graphics on this game are superb. The explosions are realistic, the trees in the third level move with the wind, the water moves and the game never slows down due to too many sprites on the screen. Some might criticize this game for having bad graphics, but take yourself back to the good ol' days when the Gameboy was the best thing to hit the portable system scene. I think you'd agree that the graphics in this game are comparable to the Contra for NES minus the color scheme due to the Gameboy not being a ''color'' system.

Sound: 9/10
Gameboy game or not, the sounds on this game could pass for the original Contra for NES except certain notes didn't fully make it into Operation C. The classic level-ending music is audible in Operation C and done quite well. I thoroughly enjoyed pumping up the sound on my Gameboy as I shot my way through this game. Ultra Games did a great job yet again with the sound on Operation C.

Difficulty: 7/10
I only give this an 7/10 because towards the end (levels 4 & 5), it gets quite difficult to pass areas (or level bosses) without losing a life or two . Besides that, overall, the game is not too hard the first couple of time around. After a few times playing, the average game player should be comfortable with the first and second levels losing only one or two lives. A true master of this game might be able to pull off a perfect game (not losing a single life). I say might because even if a gamer knew where every enemy and weapon was, there are some spots where I doubt they'd be able to pass without losing a life.

Replay Value: 8/10
Some might not see any replay value in this game. Once they are done with this game, some might not play it again. However, I see a lot of replay value in the aspect of going through the game knowing which weapons to take during the level to possibly make it through without losing a life. I've gone through the first 3 or so levels a bunch of times so its always fun for me to see how far I can get without losing a life and picking up the best weapon for the occasion; In the fourth level, I prefer the Fire gun over the Spread or Homing gun!

Overall Grade: 8.4/10

Wrapping it all up:
Buying this game recently for only $9.99 at Gamestop, I can say I fully got my money's worth and then some. The ending isn't bad either; Don't worry, I wont spoil it for anyone. But I will tell you this: just like the Contra for NES, the developers figured you'd want to play this game again right after you finished it the first time. Once you beat it, you start off at the first level with however many lives you beat it with and all the score you've racked up. I took the developers ''advice'' and continued to play this game again.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/02, Updated 04/04/02