Contra Force
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| Contra Force | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Platform(s) | NES |
| Release date | NA September 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Run and gun |
| Mode(s) | Single player, cooperative |
| Media | Cartridge |
Contra Force is a 1992 run and gun game for the Nintendo Entertainment System released by Konami. The game is a spin-off of the Contra series, but has no plot ties to the previous games (except for the mention of Neo City in the American Contra III manual) other than the game's title. Instead the game revolves around a special task force fighting human terrorists in a present day urban setting. The game was originally announced for Japanese release under the title of Arc Hound (アークハウンド Ākuhaundo?), with no ties to the Contra series. Arc Hound was promoted in a flyer included with the Famicom game Crisis Force and covered in Japanese game magazines, but was never released. The game's protagonists were identified in these previews as the "Independent Public Order Task Force Untouchable".[1][2]
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[edit] Plot
Set in fictional metropolis of "Neo City" in 1992, Contra Force centers around a counter-terrorist task force called the "Blue Group" (referred in the manual as "C-Force"). The Blue Group's leader, Burns, receives a phone call from an informant named Fox telling him that the team's Head of Intelligence is in danger. When Burns arrives at a Harbor to meet Fox, he finds Fox murdered and is attacked by an unknown armed group. With the help of his comrades Beans, Iron and Smith, Burns must neutralize the terrorists and solve the disappearance of the Head of Intelligence.
[edit] Gameplay
Contra Force departs from many of the Contra gameplay conventions. The game is still a combination of over-head and side-scrolling shooting, but many changes have been made. There are four characters to choose from, each with his own arsenal of weapons. Characters can be changed during gameplay by hitting the select button, and each one has his own amount of spare lives (the game ends if one of them runs out). The player can play the game alone, with a second player or with an AI-controlled partner. The AI-controlled partner can be called upon by the player during gameplay from the sub-menu and can be assigned to cover the player's character, attack incoming enemies or mimic the player's movement. However, the AI-controlled partner only stays on-screen for five seconds and must be summoned again.
Instead of picking up individual power-up items from flying capsules or sensors, the player has a 'power selection gauge' similar to the Gradius series. The player's character find briefcases hidden in the destroyable environment, which moves the selection cursor to the next power-up. If the player dies, not only is the current weapon lost, but also the amount built up in the power meter. The initial weapon, the pistol, does not even shoot bullets the length of the screen. Overall, the game plays much slower than other Contra titles.
There are a total of five stages in the game: three side-scrolling (odd-numbered stages) and two overhead (even-numbered stages). The levels also include a good amount of destructible terrain, sometimes yielding power-up brief cases, other times just needless destruction. The stages consist of a harbor, a ship, a construction site, an airplane and the team's headquarters.
[edit] Characters and weapons
There are four playable characters in the game, which the player switch forth during gameplay. Each character has their own set of weapons and abilities. All characters start the game with the Pistol as their default weapon, but can upgrade to their own specialized weapons as they move up their selection bar. Their arsenal reflect their position within the team.
- Burns - The team's leader. He has a standard arsenal and the highest jumping ability of the four.
- Hand Grenades (HG) - Thrown in a parabolic arc. Useful against enemies hiding behind obstructions.
- Machine Gun (MG) - Consecutive firing power and longer range than the pistol.
- Iron - A heavy weapon specialist. He has the strongest weapons of the team, but the lowest agility and jumping height.
- Flame Thrower (FT) - A short range weapon which fires whip-like burst of flames.
- Bazooka (B) - A powerful armor-piercing weapon. Useful against bosses.
- Smith - The team's sharpshooter. His weapons has the best firing range.
- Rifle (R) - Has a longer range than the machine gun, but less consecutive firing.
- Homing Missiles (HM) - Pursue target and detonates when it makes contact.
- Beans - The team's explosive specialist. His bombs can destroy a large number of on-screen enemies, but lack the precision or accuracy of his default pistol or any other firearms He is also the faster runner and the second highest jumper, as well as the only member who lies on his stomach when he crouches (instead of merely bending his knees).
- Time Bomb (TB) - An explosive which destroys enemies from a two or three feet radius.
- Time Mine (TM) - Same as the time bomb, but with a shorter detonation time.
[edit] General power-ups
- Pistol (P) - The default weapon for all four of the main characters. The player's character can revert to the default pistol even after upgrading to another weapon if desired.
- Turbo Shot (TS) - The fourth power-up for all characters. Enables either of the character's special weapons to be shot three times on-screen.
- Rolling Attack (RA) - Makes the character invulnerable in mid-air.
[edit] Cheats
Due to a bug, the characters can perform "air jumps", enabling the player to bypass most of the enemies in the game. To do so, the player pauses and enters the command "Select screen" when the characters are in mid-air. The jump button is then held while pressing Start to exit the "Select screen" command. After unpausing, the characters should jump again, even if they are not on the ground (this bug cannot be exploited in overhead stages).
