Contra

When you think of challenging NES games, Contra is usually one of the games that come to mind, and for good reason. Originally ported from the Arcades and onto the NES, it not only set up the basic blueprint for just about every run and gun game that ever existed in the video game timeline, but it was also famous for incorporating 2-player co-op gameplay and more famous for being such a hard game. Regardless of near-control smashing difficulty that still manages to provide endless fun for the player, Contra is still one hell of a game and shouldn't be overlooked by NES owners.

Story: Simply put, a couple of guys from the army, Bill Rizer (codename - Mad Dog) and Lance Bean (codename - Scorpion) are sent to a remote island to destroy some alien fortress to prevent a take-over of Earth by an alien army known as the Red Falcon. This is quite a good story as it deviates itself from the countless Super Mario Brothers-based stories ala 'save the princess from the monster in a castle', and ...

THE GOOD:
Fast-paced, intense gameplay. Both side-scrolling and 3-D battles. Good variety of weapons.

THE BAD:
High difficulty level. Poor graphics and lots of flicker/breakup during gameplay.

SUMMARY:
Another arcade-to-NES port from the early days, Contra was in many ways a 2-player imitation of Rambo, of sorts. You took on the role of a hardbodied military guy, using a variety of futuristic weapons to rid the world of the alien Red Falcon and it's seemingly endless legion of minions in a game that spanned 8 large stages.
The coolest thing about gameplay is that while it's generally side-scrolling, 2 stages put you in battles with a 3-D behind the back perspective, a nice feature fot a platform shooter. There's also a good 2-player option, with a sneaky little fun extra thrown in...if you know how to, at the right time you can "steal" a life from the other player and get back in the game! Important because the difficulty level is quite high, and with Limited Continues you'll need plenty ...

THE GOOD:
Fast and furious action. Side-view and 3-D areas. Nice variety of weapons.

THE BAD:
High difficulty level. Some problems with graphics flickering and slowdown.

SUMMARY:
One of the original NES shooter games, Contra brought the intense action of the arcade version home. It also introduced the secret "Konami Code" for unlocking various goodies. The gameplay splits between side-scrolling and 3D/behind the back action and supports 1 or 2 players.
The graphics aren't the best but they do the job quite well. Backgrounds & bosses have a nice amount of detail. There is a problem with when a lot of objects are onscreen-either the game may slow down or there's enough flicker that objects even briefly disappear. Sounds are OK-weapon firing sounds are realistic otherwise not much to write home about. Controls are simple but responsive. The difficulty's a little in the high side and the game's hard to beat without the Konami Code, even with limited continues and 2-player option.
Almost 20 yea...