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Better and HARDER than Contra 3

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big Contra FAN, I bought this game the day it came out. I was worried this game was going to be bad knowing full well of Legacy, and C: The Contra Adventure. I was worried about the new weapon layout but when i put the game in I was hooked. I would have to say this not rules as the best Contra game and I think it is the Hardest one yet. This game is classic 2D side scolling action. You will even see plenty of bosses/mini bosses you have seen from previse Contra (including my all time favorite GB game Operation C) games. If your a fan you have to play it. All the memorys of yelling and getting into fights with your friends about "stop taking my lifes, your dead" might return all over again. Be warned this game is REALLY HARD but is well worth it. When you finally beat that one mission you have had a hard time getting past the classic Contra Theme at the end of the stage will make it all worth it. The one hit your dead and 3 continues is back...now is the KONAMI code working? up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, A, B, start :)

Fun and Hard

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Hands down contra is hard as hell but it is exactly like the first ones with some minor diferences. Of course the graphics are better and instead of trying to find different guns you get all your guns with you at the start of the game. And instead of Lance you get a girl named Lucia, Bills still there though.

If you like the old contra you will like this one.

What I didn't like about the game is that you can't save your progress, you have to sit and play it all day to beat it. The bosses are to repedative and they take forever to defeat.

Overall I would recomend this game to anyone.

Insanely Hard and Every Bit as Brilliant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Why oh why aren't there more 2D games like this being made? I've got nothing against 3D, but I don't like how gaming companies have completely stopped making classic style 2D games, such as this, and Contra: Shattered Soldier is a hell of a game.
It is incredibly difficult, so much that I completely gave up on it for awhile and was even tempted to sell it. But I didn't, and recently I gave it another go, and was glad I did so. This game can be mastered with only a moderate amount of effort, and is incredibly fun if you do so. The action is fast paced, unrelenting, unforgiving, and you have to get it down to a science. The graphics are beautiful, and makes me long terribly for more 2D action just like this(ahem...Symphony of the Night 2, please?). There is a huge variety of awesome looking creatures, mini bosses, and BIG bosses. The sounds are great, and the industrial metal soundtrack is really very good. All around an exceptional game. It even has unlockables you can achieve as your skills improve.
I highly recommend this game to fans of the series and lovers of difficult, 2D action. Stick with it and it's a very rewarding and enjoyable game that's great for letting off some steam. If, however, you think 2D is dead and should be left that way, or if you can't handle anything beyond the majority of squishy, easy games that come out these days, I suppose you should stay away.

Is the new Contra no fun, or did I just grow up?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 14
Date: April 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was addicted to Contra as a kid. On the old NES, there was hardly a better game, and I spend hundreds of hours on each one, fighting, shooting, blowing stuff up. I was so excited for this one I could hardly stand it, and I didn't care if it was 2-D. In fact, I WANTED the game to be exactly the same as the old ones. I bought the game, put it in, and started to play.

Then I got bored. Fast. I couldn't believe it. I played for about 20 minutes and couldn't take it anymore. I shot some stuff, but it just wasn't fun. One of two things happened. Either this game is horrible compared to the old games, or I just plain grew out of Contra. I hope it's the former.

This game is hard, but in a frustrating way. I don't recommend buying this game--rent it once and you will be sick of it before it's due back, even if you're a die-hard Contra fan.

HARDEST GAME EVER

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: June 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

DO not buy this game if you think it will be easy. I can't even beat it with cheat codes and with two players. There are only about 7 levels and I get to about the 4th. It is really really hard. The weapons are cool though.

For Contra Fans Only

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Long has it been since I've seen a game like this. Back When I was a small child, my favorite video games were ones like Super C for NES and Contra III: Alien Wars for the super nintendo. Both were hardcore action games. The feeling of being overwhelmed by enemies and battling supremely challenging foes was an intoxicating experience.

Now comes Contra: Shattered Soldier, reviving the nostalgia of impossibly difficult combat action. I would imagine only old-school Contra fans would enjoy this title, because it's so difficult, has very simplistic gameplay, and the overall genre of an action-arcade shooter.

My only complaint is that it is alittle too short, but other then that, its a classic.

Quite entertaining, but not enough of the old Contra.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am probably the biggest Contra fan in the world. I have played the old Contras for hours on end. So I have huge expectations when the old Contra would get a makeover on PS2. And, while I have to say it's a solid fun game, there are a few problems.

First, I know this has been adressed, but I really do miss seeing those flying pods you shoot to get weapons. What happened? I really don't want the rolling weapon, guys. I miss the spread. It's been used on every Contra, even the bad ones for PSX.

Second, why are there so many bosses? You don't need 5 bosses in one level. It makes the frustration rate go higer. Next time, please put more run and gun moments and maybe, 1 boss in a level like the old days.

However, it's still a fun game. The old 2 player fun is still there, the side scrolling gameplay is still there, the 1-shot-you're dead thing is still there. It's really putting the Contra on the Genesis and remaking it for PS2. I'm hoping to see a new one soon.

Best.Contra.Peroid.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Contra: Shattered Soldier's combination of old-school shooter gameplay and high-end graphics makes it a blast to play and a worthy successor to the legendary franchise. After two failed attempts on the PlayStation that tried to incorporate free 3D movement, Contra: Shattered Soldier for the PS2 returns the series to its roots as a side scrolling shooter. The intense action moves both vertically and horizontally, but the focus firmly remains on the 2D plane even though all the characters and objects are comprised of brightly detailed polygons. Don't get too distracted by the pretty pictures since the game's seven levels are insanely difficult. Playing with two players simultaneously is slightly easier and great fun, plus unlocking all the endings and hidden levels adds replay value. A hard-driving rock soundtrack is the stand-out on the auditory front. General sound effects like explosions could use a bit more punch, however. Much like in the early 8- and 16-bit versions, survival depends on memorizing the placement and patterns of enemies. Your arsenal consists of three different guns, which you must switch between depending on the task at hand. It takes lightning-quick reflexes to react correctly, and the responsive controls won't let you down. You can use either the analog stick or digital pad for movement, but you'll want to stick with the latter to get the precision needed to stay alive. Contra: Shattered Soldier is a must-have for fans of the originals and highly recommended for anyone looking for a tough-as-nails shooter.

Contra is back!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is great, the graphics are outstanding and the bosses are out of this world. This is an example of what a multiplayer game is indeed. buy it!!

Contra Shattered Controller

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Contra Shattered Soldier. One of the hardest games to ever come out on the PS2 besides exclusive japanese titles (Ibara, Shooting Love Trizeal, Mushihime-Sama,Imperishable Night, etc) The best thing about Contra Shattered Soldier is that it makes some minor changes to the original gameplay, but it still keeps the core elements of the Contra series which is great.

At first I would like to start out with the gameplay. Though most of the gameplay is the same as the original Contra, the one main difference that you will notice is that now you start of with 3 weapons instead of obtaining them, and the fact that the weapons can be charged up. I personally liked this because it adds more strategy to the gameplay and it is better than picking up individual weapons for different situations. You got everything you need all in one gun and a button push away. The other main difference is that they added a level completion percentage that raises everytime you kill a certain badguy or object.

Now it is time for the difficutly. Contra Shattered Soldier is a pretty challenging game (Not something that everybody claims to be challenging like Devil May Cry 3). The first time I played it I couldn't even get past the 1st level in a matter of tries, and even when I did pass the first level, I did not get 100% completion on it, because of the specific things you need to find and look for in the levels, and in the 2nd level I actually died a little bit over 30 times the first time I tried it, and I only kept on dying more and more as the levels went on. This game might be tough, but that's what makes it fun, i've never played any other game that has you fighting 7 bosses a level. The game itself takes only 30 minutes to beat if you are good at speed runs but you will be playing it for months untill then.

Now onto the level design. Contra Shattered Soldier has a pretty good level layout, there are many badguys and the nice 2D to 2.5D is pretty nice, it still keeps the Contra feelings.

Music. Contra Shattered Soldier has a good musical score in my opinion, even though it only has metal and trance songs, the music fits the levels and helps get that adrenaline pumping during battle. Actually out of all the hundreds of games that I have played in my whole life Contra SS has been the only game to make my heart pace.

Now the story. I think this is also one of the better things of Contra Shattered Soldier. The game doesn't really have a story, it's not that I don't enjoy a game with a good story, it's just that Contra has never been about that, so i'm glad they stuck nothing but gameplay. There are no stupid interrupt scenes like in Anubis. Zone of the Enders that cut away from the fun and destruction, as soon as the onslaught starts in Contra Shattered Soldier, it practically keeps on going on for the next 30 to 50 minutes.

All in all Contra Shattered Soldier is another great game to add to your PS2 collection that seperates the men from the boys, or if you are female the woman from the girls.

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