[360] Hard Corps: Uprising Review

[360] Hard Corps: Uprising Review

Title - Hard Corps: Uprising
Platforms - XBLA (Xbox 360), PSN (PS3)
Genre - Run and Gun
Release Date - Wednesday February 16th, 2011
PSN: TBA 2011

Another year another party on Xbox Live Arcade. Last year we were graced with the Block Party promotion which delivered us Perfect Dark, Scrap Metal, Toy Soldiers and the arcade game platform Game Room. This year things fall into a similar scheme with the House Party promotion Hard Corps: Uprising, Bejeweled Blitz, Beyond Good and Evil HD, Torchlight and a more abstract product in Full House Poker that aims to continue the community/competition based success of 1 Vs 100.

Back to the now with the first release of the 5 week promotion - Hard Corps: Uprising. The 13th game released in the classic Contra franchise, acting as a prequel to Contra: Hard Corps. The eagle eyed readers amongst you will realize this newest entry has dropped the Contra name and the game's producer, Kenji Yamamoto, has explained he hopes Hard Corps to become its own series. Though after playing through Hard Corps: Uprising I'm not sure why as the game is as Contra as it gets. And that's not a bad thing. In sticking to tried and tested methods of gameplay with slight adjustments and a visual overhaul Arc System have crafted an excellent title for Xbox Live Arcade that'll soon be gracing the Playstation Network too.

If you have played a Contra game before you'll feel immediately at home in Hard Corps: Uprising as the game fundamentally plays the same. Essentially point A to point B traveling left to right by running, jumping or even riding a vehicle. Enemies will spawn all around you and you have to gun them down in order to progress and you'll eventually reach one of the many climactic boss battles in which you'll have to memorize patterns and use your reflexes in order to defeat it and move on. From the moment you press start you're running the gauntlet. However there is more, much more, to this game than the simple mechanics suggest.

The game is set in 2613 and the world is under the oppressive rule of the dictatorship of the Commonwealth forces. You play as Bahamut, or as one of his squad members, as a resistance force that are up against impossible odds in order to defeat the Commonwealth. Don't worry, the game doesn't take itself too seriously and neither should you.

Though while the original Contra game may seem very America based - A commando fighting off alien invaders against a Vietnam-like backdrop. Hard Corps: Uprising has a very anime and manga based influence and this shines through in the presentation choices by Arc System. Anyone who has played their previous games such as BlazBlue will notice the care they have put into the presentation. The game starts off with a beautifully crafted anime cut scene that wouldn't look out of place in a TV series. Playing during the cut scene is a memorable rock piece with a surging guitar throughout, which reminded me of the previous Konami game on XBLA arcade (Castlevania: Harmony of Despair) which had a heavy rock soundtrack. The anime opening sequence should serve as a warning this game is not for the faint of heart, non-stop action through out and this carries over onto the game. The aesthetically pleasing presentation carries over into the game as the backdrop and certain foreground elements are 3D on a 2D plain whereas your character and the foot soldiers are hand drawn characters. A whole new approach for the series that pays off as it looks utterly wonderful.

BANG. BANG. BANG. BOOM. WOOOOOSH.
The gameplay while familiar has been enhanced. The HUD is simple and effective for this arcade-like experience, in the top left of the screen you have your score counter, your health and your lives as well as your two power ups which you can switch at will using the Y button. Throughout the levels you'll have to collect, switch out and upgrade the power ups that will be familiar to fans of the previous games - the scatter shot, among others return. You can shoot in 7 directions while moving and can go prone if you press down though if you hold the right trigger you become stationary and can then shoot directly downwards giving you an 8th direction to shoot. pressing A allows you to jump, pressing it twice gives a double jump. It is X to shoot, holding it will shoot automatically. The controls are precise and accessible though easy to learn and hard to master as the game gets extremely difficult and you'll have to have twitch reflexes and complete mastery of these controls in order to get past some of the situations the game will pit against you. The game changes on certain occasions for example during a Stage one boss fight you'll be riding a vehicle and therefore have to focus on driving, avoiding the bosses attacks and finding opportunities for you to attack - it becomes a juggling act.

The game has two modes. First up is the classic arcade mode, three hits and you lose a life. Start off with three lives and gain extra ones through the levels. No saving of progress. You die, you start from the beginning. It is a challenge for anyone to beat this mode and is the classic staple of the franchise. However in order to make the game more accessible to newcomers Arc System Works have added Uprising mode. Uprising mode starts off like Arcade mode however you now accumulate points and these points can be spent on permanent upgrades which make the game easier to tackle. These upgrades include more continues, better weapons, new dash techniques etc. Taking the sting out of the otherwise brutal yet addictive gameplay. The addition of these points not only gives you rewards but it also adds re-playability as you'll want to grind in order to unlock more and more of the upgrades. Another saving grace for those who find the game difficult is the addition of local or online co-op gameplay, having an extra gun on your side is a huge bonus and is a ton of fun however it is a double edged sword as now there is two of you to attack and if you have a less-experienced player with you then they will only hinder your chances of success.

As I previously mentioned the heavy rock piece in the intro is a scene of things to come and similar rock compositions are heard throughout the game and are top quality, though if you're not a fan they'll become repetitive and annoying. Also the enemies' death cries are low-quality and low in quantity so they fast become repetitive as if they weren't annoying enough as it was.

In conclusion Hard Corps: Uprising is a breath of fresh air into the Contra franchise, familiar yet completely new thanks to the excellent work of Arc System Works. Not only have they managed to cater for fans of the old games with the legendary difficulty but also managed to make the game more accessible to new comers, separately, by the inclusion of the fantastic Uprising mode and multiplayer. Also Arc Systems have worked their magic overhauling the games presentation and visuals making it a visually pleasing experience mixing hand drawn characters and 3D elements on a 2D plane. The guitar riffs while pleasing for some become repetitive and don't cater for everyone and the sounds of weapons shooting are quiet and low quality. The death cries of your enemies are incredibly limited and annoying. Finally it's hard to comment on the length of a game like this as some people will beat it in one attempt, others will never get past stage one. I'd say the average gamer could spend several hours playing this across all the modes and that would include trying to beat arcade and improving, unlocking things in Uprising mode. Some gamers however may spend 10 minutes on stage 1 get annoyed and never play it again. While I would heavily recommend this game to anyone who knows what they're getting into I'd recommend those new to the Run and Gun genre to try out the demo first.

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