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| Contra |
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| Oh 80's with your shirtless actions starts |
I wasn't able to post yesterday because I was stuck playing
Contra
attempting to get past the 2nd level. Not really, but seriously it took
me forever to beat my way to level 5 (I finally resorted to the
Konami Code) and I have been messing around seeing what other stuff I
could do with this site. What would you think about in-game music that I
would record? Not sure if I would put it on auto-play for the sake of
all you people pretending to work right now.
Anyways, back to the
hardest game I have yet to play (and I only got half way through!). The
story seems simple yet completely ridiculous at the same time. Some
mysterious asteroid hits Earth and everyone decides it's nothing, then
all of a sudden aliens start swarming out. What does the US decide to
do? Send one guy (two if you play co-op) in to take care of it. But don't
worry, this guy can shoot
while he flips around the screen. Even the manual continually tells you that you can't possibly beat it... Now compare this to any modern game and tell me if you have played anything even remotely this difficult recently. You know why? Because today's generation of gamers don't like to die in our games. We don't like the difficult games that make us practice levels again and again until we finally get it right, just to go die at the next level and have to start all over. Many older gamers will hate on this fact, but it's a simple difference of taste in games (probably based on the games we grew up on. N64 games were way easier, meaning I prefer easier games?)
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| Because apparently flipping makes you jump better |
So as I started the game, I immediately knew that this was going to be one of the most frustrating games I'll ever play. I had heard of the difficulty before, but I was a little skeptical until I was already restarting the game after 5 minutes. This usually would have just made me angry and quit the game, but I was determined to get past the first level. The upgrading system was nice, except for R. I have no idea what R does (help me in the comments please!). And after retrying for about an hour, I finally was able to beat the first level and I felt this odd feeling. It was a sense of accomplishment that washed over me and, to my surprise, made me keep playing this game that I kept dying in (Konami Code used around then-ish). I do not know why, but this urge to keep playing kept me going through the end of level 4 with the same gratifying sense of accomplishment coming at the end of each level.
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I'm pretty sure I died more in 3 hours with this game than I have
all year in other single player games | |
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What I Loved: In case you couldn't tell, I loved the game after that first level. Once I finally was able to beat it, I just couldn't stop playing it. The game became more fun and dying simply stopped making me mad; I was more focused on learning from how I died, rather than the fact that I had died. I don't remember ever feeling like this towards a game, but then again, I have never played a game where I died so much.
What I Hated: The first level. It's like jumping into a freezing cold pool. It sucks, but once you're numb, it's not as bad. Also I disliked the laser upgrade, but that was just random. And that's about it. After you get used to the difficulty, this game is really enjoyable.
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| They send one guy after all of this? Good idea! |
My General Impression: This game was ridiculously hard, by far the hardest game I have ever played. But it also is the
most enjoyable game I have played in a long time. Sure, it's annoying to die a lot, but it only makes victory that much sweeter. This is something that we gamers of this generation are missing out on, especially since game developers are most likely too afraid of backlash from fans to make anything with this sort of game difficulty. After playing this game, I have to say that I feel everyone must experience this to truly call themselves a gamer. Awesome
103 comments:
hahaha, friggin retro man, i remember when i used to play my dads amiga when I was only small :D
Another game you should check out is Battletoads. Battletoads and Castlevania will make you rethink your definition of hard. I still have nightmares about them :)
I've been warned about those haha. I'll check them out over the weekend, maybe put those up monday morning.
def try out battle toads and if you can beat the speed bike level you can consider yourself a gaming god...
Or try to beat ghost and ghouls...
contra is such a solid game to this day.
its fast paced, action, guns, mang.
one of the greats.
I believe the 'R' power-up stands for 'Rapidfire' and is supposed to increase the gun's rate of fire, although it was hardly ever noticeable to me.
I played all these games as a kid that were brutal hard... way before the internet. We were forced to actually figure out what we were supposed to do, not search online when stumped for a few minutes. What path were you supposed to take? Which item to use? You had to figure out attack and defense patterns. I don't believe that most kid gamers today would have what it takes to complete these games.
One of the main reasons gamers don't put up with difficult games these days is because they have options. There are tons of games out there for them to play, in every genre and type.
Back when Contra was out, that was about it for that type of game. You either played it or didn't. I still have yet to beat the game and I get the bug to try (via a ROM) every couple of months.
You should try Battletoads next. It's only a touch harder than Contra. MUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
Battletoads is definitely one of the hardest, longest games out there, and without cheats is almost impossible to beat; also the fact that you can kick the crap out of your co-player is awesome as well.
You should give Contra 3 for SNES a try.
Best.
Game.
Ever.
How funny. My buddy and I played this soon after it first came out in 1988 and we generally try to get together and play it once every few years or so to relive the memories. I suppose it is hard, but once you've played it as many times as we have it's not as bad.
Have 30 minutes to spare??? Let's go beat Contra!
30 minutes? It took me an hour to beat the first level haha
Try The Goonies 2
Great story. Some quick math tells me I'm 10 years your senior and yeah some of the nes games are insanely difficult. Battletoads gets thrown out there a lot but like someone above said Ghosts and Goblins was always the most frustrating.
But the point I was gonna get to. Raised on games like those yeah this generations games are kind of weak except one. Demons Souls. You could easily replace Contra in your article with Demons Souls and it air be the same story. You can get it used for $20 now probably.
Hope to read more from you.
I'm 28. This article kinda solidifies I don't belong in videogames anymore.
Props to figuring out the sense of accomplishment thing. Pretty good article. You stayed with the game after being challenged. Good for you!
'R' powerup is for Rapid fire. It's a stupid name because it works in a roundabout way.
The powerup is actually increasing the speed of your bullets. This can make all the difference between you and letting the enemy get a shot off (especially in later loops).
In addition, since you can only have a limited number of your bullets on the screen (with default white shot being a maximum of four), your standard missed shots can tend to linger, possibly preventing you to get another shot off in time to prevent an enemy from attacking. With 'R', your shots exit the screen faster so you can press the fire button (or autofire controller) your weapon a lot faster.
In example, get the Spread shot and stand at the back of the screen and mash the fire button as fast as you can. Notice the 5-way spread breaking apart and not really being a 5-way? Well if you get 'S' then 'R' after that, try it again, and likely you will be able to fire 5-way spread shots almost constantly because not as many bullets are hanging out on the screen together simultaneously (because of hardware/software limitations). Hence, the backwards-ass term "Rapid Shot"
Futhermore, most people don't realize 'R' is the only powerup that adds-on to any attack powerup in the game. So you need to pick up the powerup you want first, say 'F', then get 'R' after that, you'll have a faster speed version of the circle fireballs. Buuuut, if you get any other attack powerup with 'R' enabled on something, you lose the "rapid fire" and will have to get the 'R' powerup again to enable it with your new weapons.
Good luck with your 1CC. I'm off to buy a cane and sit on a front porch.
Contra is definitely a wonderful game from my childhood. if you want another tough game try double dragon 2
DJ Incompetent nailed it. This "limited number of bullets onscreen at any given time" mechanic was very common in old games.
L(aser) is arguably worse than the starting rifle. The thing is that first off you have to break the habit of firing continuously. But also you have to realize that just because you shot directly at something doesn't mean it's dead, since your projectile will disappear if you fire in a different direction. With other weapons you can somewhat focus on one threat after another, but with L you still have to keep track of the ones you've already "dealt with." Very hard.
It's also a little bit better if you're playing two-player and the other player has something like S, so he can keep the screen clear while you deal heavy damage. But you still have to be pretty good to pull this off: he won't be able to save you from everything. I usually prefer F in situations like that, especially in later Contra games.
And on that note: play Contra III. Still the same basic gameplay but one level has you riding a motorcycle, then hanging from the side of a helicopter, and I'm not even going to try describing what comes after that. It's also about 30-40% made up of boss fights, and they're all amazing.
I read all your reviews and seems like you are having a good time! Try out mega man next time!
Great game BTW no need to play music for the game on the site as soon as I started reading the music just started playing in my head. I remember this game fondly my cousin and I would play this game so much we could beat it without dying for at least 3 play throughs.
Go ahead and try freaking Ninja Gaiden !! Was so hard and so frustrating !!
"R" lets you have more than 3 shots on the screen at once with the default gun, the spread shot, and maybe a couple of the other weapons if I remember correctly. Great for fast button-mashers (the kind that just constantly hit B no matter what).
Hahahah - You died on level 1? Is that even possible?! Nahh - I kid, I kid - I just played that level so many times I know every enemy in it by heart.
I would recommend playing the DS Contra 4 - it's just as fun as the first one, but looks a lot better.
If you want to play the best NES game ever made (that's actually beatable), play The Guardian Legend. It combines vertical-scrolling-shooter with top-down-labrynth (e.g. legend of zelda) and is insanely fun.
You want a hard game? Try Rush'N Attack on the NES. Same concept except your main weapon is a knife.
battletoads or gtfo
Try Lifeforce, great game that works with the Konami code.
I admire you're willingness to admit that an old game can be difficult. A lot of people in the current generation of gamers write off the classics thanks to the simple graphics and gameplay mechanics, but the challenge was still very real. Why else do you think we spent hours working through these games that really only offer about 30 minutes of actual play once you learn how to beat it? Great story. Keep up the good work.
By the way, regarding the difficulty, you have to realize Contra was also an arcade game. Which means it's designed to seriously challenge you, kill you quickly, and demand another quarter.
Game designers back then got very good at making difficult games whose primary appeal was the gratification of a hard-earned victory. Partially that's because arcades were popular; partially because this is probably the easiest way to make a fun game (since things like art and storyline require rare skills that few posessed, especially in the early days of the gaming industry). Also because limited storage capacity meant many games were very short. After all, Contra is only about 30 minutes long at most, right? If it were easy, it would be a waste of money.
With that said, you can still find games that cater to this sort of demand. Especially "old school" tributes like the new Ninja Gaiden series, Mega Man 9/10, Punch-Out, Geometry Wars, or any shmup (the new Gradius game comes to mind, and Ikaruga is really die-hard).
Speaking of which, you should play Mega Man 2 (later ones are OK but don't under any circumstances play the original) and Punch-Out, if you like a challenge. I don't think the old Ninja Gaiden games have aged well but I'm in the minority on that one.
Contra was fun and enjoyable.
The hardest NES game that I remember playing was Blaster Master. It was a cool game, but I wouldn't dare play it again without an emulator to save the state. Dieing was just too frustrating.
Also I believe everyone is missing this, but I'm pretty sure Rapid Shot let's you hold down the button for a machine gun type effect rather than mashing all day forever. Pretty big deal in these old NES games. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't believe I am.
Try Batman for NES.
R is for Rapid
This is something that kind of irritates me as someone who likes classic games. People assume the correct method is to mash because they can get more bullets on the screen faster, never thinking outside of the box. This is not always true, but it can in effect change games. In Galaga the bullets shoot as the last one disappears, so if you hold down the button as a swarm comes at your face, the ship actually shoots very quickly probably increasing your rate of fire more than your mashing and taking out the whole line swarm.
Yes, Battletoads is hard, but it's not very fun.
I'd recommend Ghosts & Goblins (or Ghouls & Ghosts) for a good game that's "arcade-hard".
My favorite NES game is Wizards & Warriors. The sequel is good too, even if it does have Fabio on the cover.
May I recommend Gradius 3. I'm a bit older, 27, and Contra wasn't such a shock when I played it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gradius_III
Try Snake's Revenge
"The game was produced as a sequel to the NES version of the original Metal Gear, made specifically for the North American and PAL market following the success of the first NES game. However, Hideo Kojima, the game designer of the original Metal Gear, was unaware of Snake's Revenge, and decided to develop his own sequel for the MSX2 computer after being informed of the game's creation"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake%27s_Revenge
The feelings of nostalgia kicked up by this post cannot be understated. Just like every 12yr old kid at that time, I frikin' loved Contra. It's definitely cool to see it still getting props after all these years. I always had a soft spot for the laser though. Up close, you could turn it into a rapid fire blow torch and melt the 1st level wall like butter. Good times, good times.
24 year old SNEShead / flash developer here
As far as constantly dying an old school games; yes, some are freaking impossible (life force, super ghouls n ghosts, etc) but point is:
NES / SNES (average):
Play -> 3-5min
Die -> 5 seconds
Restart -> 5 seconds
New Game (PS3 / XBOX360)
Play -> 20 / 30min
Death movie -> 20sec
Loading Screen -> 2min
Restart -> Microwave Popcorn is ready
The older games i feel require much less time to do things, much more on hand-eye coordination and skill then movie watching / 12 button scheme memorization
But that is just me and my biased opinion
...and i do love me some MW2 ;)
Battletoads would kill you.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
WOW
I'm fucking OLD man. And I'm only 29!
My Father and I used to play, and subsequently BEAT Contra every time we sat down to play it. It was EASY for us. Strange eh?
R is for RAPID fire. It allows you to MANUALLY shoot about as quickly as the M (machine gun).
Play with two players, and have one guy grab the R while the other dude uses his standard Pea Shooter. You'll notice a difference then of how many more bullets dude with the R upgrade is able to push out of his gun.
:^)
Amazing article! Really interesting insight.
I was amused to see that you had noticed that you don't 'die' as much in games anymore. I just wanted to point out that in the beginning, you had to plunk quarters into a machine to play, and dying was good for business. It wasn't good business to let some kid play for an hour on one quarter while everyone else watched. Now that most people(if not all) play their games at home, dying to increase revenue does not make any sense.
Ive beaten just about everything for NES (not battletoads) including Ghosts and Ghouls, Double Dragon, Batman, Contra 1, 2 and 3, but the game I couldnt beat no matter how hard I tried was the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Ive beaten Contra and Super C without dying at all. I had a long summer once and those were my only games...
up up down down left right left right b a b start
R stands for Regular. It's not an upgrade, just a waste. In some situations where you're forced to jump, you accidentally jump into the R...losing your awesome S (Spread). FFUUUUUUU!!!
I thought R was for an extra life. They called them rests back then.
Contra was a sweet game. When I beat I was like "HEALL YES!"
My roommate in college and I could beat this game in under 15 minutes without losing a single life. No kidding. But we had both been playing it for 10 years prior. It was the first NES game that I ever bought.
One of the greatest games ever. You should really give battletoads a try. :D
Don't forget that games 30 years ago were predominantly coin-op. Nobody wants to create an arcade that can be played for hours at a time off one quarter. On the other hand, they DO want it to be enough fun that the player is willing to put in that second, third, and twenty-seventh quarter.
I've always assumed that's what inspired the difficulty level of many NES games. It's just what the gaming industry knew. Now that everybody either owns or has easy access to a console, it's more about appeasing your, um, "less than stellar" gamers.
What about Super Mario Bros?! That's THE Nintendo game, man! I did love Contra, I never got past the 1st level cause I didn't have an NES and I could only play at my friends' houses.
Jackal, Contra, Double Dragon, Ninga Gaiden, Castlevania, where my favorites, I remember playing Metal Gear and I had to play constantly because you couldn't just turn off the nes console and start where you left off, also it was a long game so it felt great once you finished it...I loved Gradius altough I couldn't finish it because it was so difficult at the end..Oh and what about Punch Out...did any one here beat Mike Tyson?
Games get easier as you get older. I remember not being able to see the light after level 5 in Circus Charlie for the NES. I tried again a while ago, and I passed through it in a breeze (just to find that the game repeats itself over and over). Also, the R stands for "rapid fire". Combined with the S (spread or shotgun) becomes quite a weapon.
i loved this game when i was younger
Ghosts and Goblins is IMPOSSIBLE. Even if you get through the story one time you still don't beat the game! WHAT THE FUCK!?!? Not only is going through the story nearly impossible in its self, but after you do that you need to get some "special weapon" in the first level (on your second time through the game) and then not get hit THE ENTIRE GAME.
I wont even get started with Battle Toads either. That jetski/bike level is seriously messed up, but do able at least.
If you are looking for some challanging and excellent titles, I would like to reccomend the following:
Double Dragon 2 (give 1 a shot too!)
Mike Tysons Punch out (007 373 5963 woot!)
Gradius I,II & III
Ninja Gaiden
Super Mario 3
I know all these have been said already, but I just wanted to confirm that they are excellent games.
BTW, don't bother with Metal Gear. That game is hard, but not very good imo.
man, this game brings me back. I'm going to have to get it on my emulator. It's funny. I don't remember it being that hard. If you want hard, try playing the sequels to Contra. Contra III was freak'n impossible. Seriously, impossible. My little bro and I could rock this game though. But it was one of the first games i ever played, so maybe it just didn't seem hard because I had not much to compare it to. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this.
Oh, you should totally play Out of This World. There is so much dying in that game. It's a PC game, but you can get it on SNES. I've never gotten so much satisfaction from passing a game than I did from Out of This World.
no the R stands for Range, so it allows you to shoot further ;)
Good review, glad you didn't just ragequit.
Hardest damn game known to man, I used to play Contra 3 for SNES all the time and ragequit.
Great review. I've only played the first two levels of Contra, and yet I was shocked to learn it was about an alien invasion. I always thought it was supposed to be an exaggerated Vietnam war or something.
Platoon. For NES.
I don't think I ever got past the second level.
Try the original TMNT for NES
haha well thats what they mean when they talk about retro or nes hard. also check on youtube there is a guy that beats in like 15 mins or something like that
you might enjoy ABADOX for the nes. its a space shooter that scrolls top to bottom. i had this game when i was 8 and it was awesome, but way too hard for me. then my 19 year old cousin came from a country where they don't even have shoes and he got really good at it in a week. i think he might have passed it; i don't remember. i DO remember feeling really jealous.
Yo, you get lots of props for doing this straight up. I'll be following it!
I wouldn't hold yourself to a game a day. Personally, if/when you get to some of my favorites (Zelda 2 + Bionic Commando), I'd rather you not have just a cursory glance at them.
Anyway, said it on another comment, but I love the blog. I subbed to the rss feed too.
I agree. You really ought to spend more time with the games to get the proper experience, especially if you like the game.
if you would like to try some modern day hardcore games, try out Demons Souls for ps3, Monster Hunter for psp/wii, or Eve Online. other than some schmups that randomly release, those are the main major titles that are major hard. Or Ninja Gaiden. That game is like contra but maybe even harder since you dont have a gun.
Cool Blog! I'm 12 years older than you and grew up playing all these games. It's a lot of fun to relive them through someone playing them for the first time. Keep it up. I've read that a few other people suggested it, but you should check out Goonies 2, definitely one of my favorites, like Metroid and Zelda but a little more linear.
Good job on the blog, one thing i miss about the older games is the simplicity and most importantly the playability of the games.
1 game that i went back to recently was Alex the Kidd in Miracle world. I did a quick search and its now playable in the browser.
http://mastersystem8.com/game/13/alex_kidd_in_miracle_world/
The reason i mention this is the last level of this game anyone that had the patience to reach it will remember how unbelievably frustrating it was and just damn weird.
bet it tho. :)
man i miss contra.. i used to play it so much i could start out with 3 lives(no contra code) and finish the game on solo with 10 lives left.. just never died and kept getting 1-ups.. =) i'm pretty sure if you give me a couple hours i'd be able to do it again.. my brother and i had competitions to see which one of us could finish the game with more lives at the end of winning, with No continues.. =)
Megaman 2, Castlevania 3, and Bionic Commando were the best games. It took me two years to beat Rygar (yes... I did it). You can downloade an updated Bionic Commando on the PS3 that has better graphics and gameplay just like the original. I would play those games, but you have to actually play MM2 all the way through, and CV3 1/2 through (at least) to understand how much fun they were.
Hey, I really love reading your blog, I'm an hardcore retro gamer. Please continue with those awesome posts, I'll be sure to daily check on you!
OMG.
i played this game when i was six :DD
I still play this game to this day only now I play in on my Wii threw an homebrew emulator. But without the 40 lifes this shit seems impossible to beat.
Contra one of the best game I've ever played. It's hard but fun to play, isn't it?
This game is so hard. It's impossible to finish this game way back then when I was still a child. Probably the hardest game that I've played in my life.
Oh, Contra, how I hated thee. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. As I recall, I never made it past level 1, though I didn't play it often...I had a sega, and one of my friends had an NES. We'd play Contra when it rained. And we'd use loads of profanity.
I'll think the most important thing about the difficult here is: If you die, it's not cause the game was unfair or you just had no luck. It's because you made a mistake.
I start hating games when it's simply not my fault when I die. I can't count all those continue-screens I've seen in all the Contra - games so far, but everytime it was a challenge for me. I KNEW I can do it, I just need to get better.
Anyway, I'll go and play some Maniac Mansion on my NES now. Only 1 chance to die makes a game a lot more easy. ;)
My goodness you make me feel old. I'm only 27!
I remember this game..I used to where it out on my nintendo. I don't think I ever mastered it in all those years.
The game is way easier if you have a second player helping you...
...and use the cheat code!
All of you saying you're old is hilarious! I'm 40!
second the cheat codes - companies used to publish books with the cheats for everything from Mario Bros to this game.
the only game on earth where you will prolly or better yet surely die a lot of times.. though very frustrating but it helped me really figured how to achieve in any games, or the like.. missing it much.. the last time i played contra was like ages ago with my cousins. fun!
The game was great, playing with one of my buddies we had a lot of hours logged.
Yeah, the R is for Rapid fire. Once you get it, you can hold down the shoot button and its faster. I know I'm late but I didn't know about this blog until today. Dude..you are an awesome kid for doing this. You're bringing me back to the oldies and you got mad respect from me. I'm 26 so I got about that 10 year curve on you. lol
the best game i have ever played. ryan? i couldnt figure out what r was either lol :P
:D I used to play it with my little brother on our "polystation" hahahaha OMG... good times... :)
Ahhhhh Contra, the beginning of my gaming obsession. How I love those little shirtless men who blow crap up :) was so stoked when I managed to get it on my xbox :)
oh man- my cousin and I used to beat it- died out tonnes of times, but always used the "continue code" mentioned earlier. Contra was sweet. TMNT was also good- and HARD!! never beat that one. You know the one game that really messed me up was Super Pitfall. The controlls were challenging to use. There were pits. And you didn't even get a gun unless you found one. I was so frusterated with that one. Try it out some time! another favorite by far was Advneture Island 2- who doesn't love riding dinosaurs?
I've already played this game when 10 years old... nice games
i remember this one,.. i got a cheat on 100 lives.. its up down up down left right left right, a, b, a, b then select then start..
Hahaha... I've Finished this game many times before!!!
Find Contra 2 its much fun to play...
Someone or perhaps many have already mentioned this, but play Contra with someone else. By the time Contra came out kids were negotiating with their friends on who would own which games. They were like cigarettes in prison. No parent was going to buy very many so you had to network. If your friend bought Contra, you bought Double Dragon and then everyone played together or would have all-nighters to see who could get the farthest.
For other added enjoyment, NetFlix RAMBO the TV show. Oh dear lord, it is so AWESOME and is a wonderful supplement to the Contra game.
I actually had the arcade of this in my bedroom as a child.(product of some drug payment or something) I was so small I had to stand on a chair to play it but needless to say I ended up being able to beat it. Thus my gamerism began. Glad to see some of the younger crowd playing some real games!
I remember beating this game before school one day when I was 8 years old. I did it without the infinite lives, which in it self is a miracle. I believe this game helped prepare me for many challenges I would face in the future. Perseverance is key.
DJ incompetent is right about the 'R' thingy.
I thought it's a Rocket Launcher(I'm a Metal Slug fan)(About Metal Slug:PLZ PLAY IT!I'd reccomend to you the first one,cuz' it's a series of kinda 9 or more games)
Haha was taking an Excel course the other day and the instructer was talking about moving around the cells. He said "Up down Up Down" and I immediatly jumped in with ab ba lol. Contra is a killer game. I sadly never beat it with out the code. Furthest I got was second to last stage. Props to yo youngin' for checking out all this classic gaming goodness. Didn't look at the rest of the games you played but - Super Mario 3, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Legend of Zelda, Dr. Mario, Blades of Steel should all be on your list
Its a very good game, addictive and frustrating, I used to play this as a kid, many other games were better from this for ex- contra force, River City.
The Game of my childhood :) Greetings from psychoterapia Wrocław
i add this to my http://www.gamecardmarkt.nl/category/xbox. I like xbox arcade and indie game ;)
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