{"id":164840,"date":"2019-09-27T22:00:25","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T14:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1805443\/"},"modified":"2019-09-27T22:00:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T14:00:25","slug":"review-contra-rogue-corps-is-fun-if-you-dont-think-of-it-as-a-contra-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/09\/27\/review-contra-rogue-corps-is-fun-if-you-dont-think-of-it-as-a-contra-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: \u2018Contra: Rogue Corps\u2019 Is Fun if You Don\u2019t Think of it as a \u2018Contra\u2019 Game"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Contra: Rogue Corps<\/em> marks the return of one of gaming\u2019s class<\/a>ic franchises. Given the legendary status of the series, it\u2019s no surprise the game comes saddled with a ton of expectations from long-time fans. As someone who has played Contra<\/em> since the \u201980s, Rogue Corps<\/em> puts me in an interesting position as a reviewer. I have deep admiration for the franchise and feel its class<\/a>ic gameplay style is near perfect. However, I also see value in shaking things up and bringing something new to the table. Contra: Rogue Corps<\/em> is a fun game on its own merits, but it may not be what the Contra<\/em>-faithful desired.<\/p>\n

The level of enjoyment you get from Contra: Rogue Corps<\/em> depends on what you want out of it. If you go in expecting an old-school Contra<\/em> experience then you\u2019re going to walk away disappointed. On the other hand, if you come in wanting to play a fun, over-the-top twin-stick shooter, you\u2019re going to have a good time. This is something that became evident to me during Rogue Corps<\/em>\u2019 very first mission. With the exception of small nods to the past in the form of story references, musical cues, and power-ups, I had a hard time seeing this as a Contra<\/em> game. As I blasted my way through hordes of alien baddies, I found myself likening this experience to something like Dead Nation<\/em>, or for you old-schoolers, Smash TV<\/em>. This is the best way to approach Rogue Corps<\/em>. This ain’t Contra III: The Alien Wars<\/em>. (If that’s what you want, check out Blazing Chrome<\/em><\/a>)<\/p>\n

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The story takes place sometime after the Alien Wars. An alien city suddenly appears and it\u2019s up to the Rogue Corps to go into the hellish metropolis and kill everything within. The story won\u2019t win any awards. It serves as a way to get you to each of the game\u2019s stages. While the narrative isn\u2019t all that compelling, the motion comics cutscenes illustrated by artist Emilio Lopez<\/a> at least give you pretty pictures to look at. I would be more critical of Rogue Corps<\/em>\u2019 lackluster story, but let\u2019s be honest, you don\u2019t play Contra<\/em> or any twin-stick shooter for the plot. The story does what it needs to do to keep things moving.<\/p>\n

You can select from one of four characters. While all four have the same basic moves in terms of shooting and dodging, they play differently enough from each other. Kaiser and Hungry Beast attack with fast-shooting guns while Ms. Harakiri and The Gentleman use laser weapons. The latter two take some getting used to as their weapons do not instantly kill foes. The former is more for pick up and play gamers. Each character\u2019s secondary weapons and their specific super moves also help differentiate them. Personally, I\u2019m a fan of Hungry Beast because he\u2019s a big angry panda. Who can\u2019t love that?<\/p>\n

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Twin-stick shooters are all about throwing endless waves of foes at players and Contra: Rogue Corps<\/em> is no exception. At first, it can get monotonous fighting off so many waves of monsters. Once you\u2019ve mastered dashing and using explosive barrels or vehicles to your advantage, it becomes a lot of fun to mop up the enemy masses. The only drawback here is how you sometimes have to fight the controls. For the most part, it is easy to run around shooting stuff. But when you\u2019re in the thick of it, the controls can let you down when you need a higher degree of precision. This is why it\u2019s always good to think on your feet and navigate the environment to see what you can use to help you.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a surprising amount of customization and upgrade options for players who love to tinker with stats and power-ups. As you blast enemies away, you\u2019ll collect random parts and currency. You can then take these to your home base and use them to upgrade and build parts. As I said, the enemy hordes can get pretty overwhelming. Having weapons that hit harder and upgrades that give you higher durability come in very handy, especially when replaying levels. Different body parts can help offset some of the movement issues I mentioned before. I can understand how some may not want this much customization out of a shooting game. But I found it gives Contra: Rogue Corps<\/em> replayability.<\/p>\n

Speaking about replayability, there\u2019s a rather robust multiplayer component. Co-op (both online and couch) can help the game feel a little like the old Contra<\/em> titles. The camera doesn\u2019t always accommodate the added players but playing with others is a blast (pun intended). The PvP modes are interesting in that I\u2019m confused as to why they weren\u2019t more heavily advertised. My favorite PvP mode was Contra\u2019s<\/em> take on soccer; where the aim is getting a giant alien ball into the goal (a giant shredder). I can totally see Rogue Corps<\/em>\u2019 PvP becoming a hit on streaming services like Twitch or Mixer<\/a> since it is a lot of fun to watch.<\/p>\n