Contra-4
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DS Fanswag: End of the Year Blowout!
It's been a good year, but sadly, like all those other years, it must come to an end. Before we roll out the red carpet for 2008, however, we wanted to give 2007 the send-off it deserves -- and what better way to do that than by offering up huge prize packs for our loyal readers? All you have to do is leave a comment on this very post telling us which DS model(s) you own, between now and December 26. The giveaway closes that night at 11:59 p.m. EST, and we'll announce the winners, chosen in a random drawing, on December 27. You may only enter once per day, and as usual, entries are limited to legal U.S. residents age 18 and older. Please check the official rules for any other questions.But enough of the details -- let's get to the prize packages!DS Fanboy's End of Year Fanswag BlowoutGrand Prize Limited Edition Gold DS Lite + The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (bundle) ($149.99) Nintendo DS headset ($9.99) Custom Robo ($29.99) Dementium ($29.99) Drawn to Life ($29.99) Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game ($19.99) John Deere: Harvest in the Heartland ($29.99) Mega Man ZX ($29.99) Pokémon Diamond ($34.99) The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night (GBA) ($19.99) Geometry Wars: Galaxies swag Dementium skin Pokémon Diamond stylus Cruise on past the break to see the rest of the prizes!
Five gifts that are Contra 4
Gaming sites are inundated with holiday gift guides at the end of the year, listing the best and most popular games that everyone pretty much already has (or knows about). Well, we're not going in for that this year. Our gift guide will help you find the best gifts in categories the other sites won't cover -- because we just made them up. All year, we held out vain hope that the American-developed DS Contra sequel wouldn't be terrible. We tried to put our memories of Appaloosa Interactive's two PlayStation failures out of our minds and have faith in WayForward. We did our best to believe that a new 2D Contra had the potential not to be a crushing disappointment. We were rewarded with one of the best games on the DS, and possibly the best game in the Contra series. It's hard to think of a better DS game than Konami's mind-blowingly manly Contra 4. So we didn't try. We've put together this guide to five of the best gifts you can give this holiday season, all of which are Contra 4. While it would most certainly be enough to list Contra 4 five times, we thought we would break it up by listing five different ways to package the gift of Contra.
DS Daily: Your greatest moment
In today's edition of DS Daily, we want you to brag. Brag like your life damn well depended on it. Tell us all about the achievements you're most proud of in your DS gaming career.Have you collected absolutely everything there is to collect for your museum in Animal Crossing: Wild World? Racked up three stars in every cup in Mario Kart DS? Completed all 40 of the challenges in Contra 4's granite-hard Challenge mode? Cast your modesty aside, dear reader, revel in your own gaming greatness, and share the DS-related achievements you're proudest of.(Note: We're only joking about the Contra one, incidentally -- that's just fricken' humanly impossible. OR IS IT?)
Gifts for us (or people like us)
Gaming sites are inundated with holiday gift guides at the end of the year, listing the best and most popular games that everyone pretty much already has (or knows about). Well, we're not going in for that this year. Our gift guide will help you find the best gifts in categories the other sites won't cover -- because we just made them up. Of course we recommend buying DS games and accessories for everyone on your shopping list -- whether they want them or not. But, ironically, the hardest people to give the gift of DS are the people who love the DS the most -- people who live the DS. In a word, us. Game bloggers. Well, not us specifically, but people like us who are far too enthusiastic about the Nintendo DS. We're so nuts about the DS that we devote most of our lives to talking about it. We know pretty much everything out there, and we spend entirely too much time building our collections. We're emblematic of exactly the kind of brutally insane people for whom it's nearly impossible to shop. That's why we've put together this handy guide to the kind of stuff we would love, but wouldn't necessarily think to buy ourselves. Not because we want you to buy gifts for us, although we certainly won't stop you if you think we deserve a little token of appreciation. See what we did there? We've given you the gift of an obvious opening through which to insult us! 'Tis the season!
Contra 4's 99-extra-lives cheat doesn't come easy
Has Contra 4's grueling difficulty kept you from even seeing its second stage? The Konami code, while useful, only upgrades your weapons instead of rewarding you with the extra mans you need to die-n-gun your way past enemies and their scattered shots. During the throes of one of his many deaths, GameFAQs poster Empty2002120141 stumbled upon a neat, albeit elaborate, trick for getting 99 free lives in Contra 4. First, you'll need to make sure you currently have zero lives. Next, you have to die at either the exact moment or right after you kill something that pushes your score up high enough to get an extra life. Those who've pulled off the trick suggest trying it with the first level's mini-boss. This should work across all three difficulty modes!We're not sure if WayForward programmed this as an intentional cheat or if it's actually a game glitch, but it sure sounds helpful (if you can actually execute the maneuver). [Via GameFAQs]
More Contra 4 footage to nudge you in the right direction
The "right direction" being your nearest games emporium to pick up Contra 4. If you missed the perfect score we awarded to Konami's brilliant shooter earlier today, or just need a little more gentle encouragement, we'd advise watching these videos of the title in action. Both the first and second stages (the latter of which had this writer tied in knots for close to an hour) are featured here in their entirety, including the frankly nasty boss at the end of the Laboratory stage. Take your ripped physique past the post break for a second video.
DS Fanboy Review: Contra 4
The first time I played Contra 4, I died within a few seconds, having ignored the bullet that sneak-attacked my ankle. I remarked at the accuracy of the death sound and at the humorous Duke Nukem-style taunt that my dude issued afterward, and tried again. The same result. During that first session, I lost all of my lives before the halfway point of the first level. You have probably read about Contra 4's difficulty in previews. If you thought that those writers were inflating the game's difficulty because of suboptimal trade-show settings or lack of familiarity with Contra, allow me to disabuse you of that notion. If anything, they have undersold the game's difficulty. Contra 4 is hard. It's probably the hardest Contra game ever made. After that first trip through ... part of the first level, I tried again and made it through more of the first level. Then I made it to the boss before losing all my lives. I found that I could get a little further. As I replayed the levels, a combination of memory and improved response time had me sailing through the early levels like a badass. I was very rapidly getting better at the game, and, because it's so frenetic and twitchy, being demonstrably better at it made me feel awesome. %Gallery-4738%
WRUP: Grab some baby oil edition
Why would you need the baby oil? To grease up that buff chest of yours, of course! As you navigate many a hostile environment, keep your hands clenched tight around your trusty gun. Oh, gun ... how you never let us down, keep us safe at night. This is our gun, there are many like it, but this one is ours. There were some other interesting releases this week, but for us, none ranks higher than Contra 4. But, maybe you're of the mind that you'd rather play something else? We can't possibly understand why, but we'll promise to try, if you let us. So, what are you playing?
DS releases for the week of November 12th
Hmm, with all the games out this week, it seems like there should be something that really gets our hearts pumping. Maybe it's WordJong. After all, we liked it, but nah, that's not really an incomparable thrill ride. Cooking Mama 2? Just doesn't seem like it. We can cross off Baby Pals and all the Petz and Horsez games, too. It's right there, on the tip of the tongue ... what could it be?Oh yeah: Contra 4. At last, dear friends, it's here! Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? Baby Pals Contra 4 Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders Impossible Mission Jenga Monster Jam Need for Speed ProStreet Orcs & Elves Petz: Catz 2 Petz: Dogz 2 Petz: Hamsterz Life 2 Petz: Horsez 2 Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Strawberry Shortcake: The Four Seasons Cake Super Fruit Fall Ultimate Mortal Kombat WordJong WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008
Contra 4 owns your face even more with its official site
Rather than throw together the usual, predictable site for Contra 4, Konami and WayForward pulled out all the stops and packed the official page with everything fans could ever ask for -- ridiculous explosions with every clicked link, remixed music from Virt, and hilarious descriptions for different game elements. Check out the text for random lackey Dirk McShooter:"Dirk thought he was the luckiest alien humanoid around when he saw the job posting: good pay, benefits, free trip to Earth, stand in place, decent aim preferred. In the moments since the shirtless super-commando opened fire, he's begun questioning that decision."You'll also find five wicked wallpapers, seven video clips for the different weapons, and twenty new screenshots at the site. Contra 4 kicks down the door and guns down your family this November 13th, the same week Super Mario Galaxy hits stores. Make sure to mark that date on your calendar; it's an important one.
GamePro agrees, you need Contra 4
If it's one thing we can't stress enough, it's that Contra 4 is the kind of game that can change your outlook on things. It can alter your state of consciousness and very much improve your love life. It can give you the moon and the stars and also fill in scratches on your car. This game can give your life meaning.So, we were glad to read GamePro's article on their top five lesser-known titles at E For All. Why? Because their best game in the piece was none other than Contra 4.
DS Daily: And then the DS accidentally fell right under my shoe.
With Contra 4 about to give us a heart attack, and Ninja Gaiden also on the way to make us doubt our ability to do things, we thought we'd ask you about the difficulty of currently-available DS games. There are some brutally hard games out there, and we're sure you've run into one of them. Some are difficult for not-so-great reasons, like control issues, but some are just hard.What's the most difficult game you've played on the DS? And did you enjoy it? Bonus points if the game isn't Trauma Center.
'Even on Normal difficulty, Contra 4 is brutal'
Normally, we're too weaksauce for exceptionally difficult games, but we want Contra 4 to be hard. Maybe that's because we want it to last for a long time (ideally the rest of our lives.) According to IGN's Craig Harris, it took over an hour of retrying just to make it all the way through the first level of the game while recording video. And the video is split into two parts, which makes us suspicious that developer assistance did not occur around the midpoint. The video depicts most of the first level, if not all of it-- we can't tell with the split. It really seems to capture the same feeling as the Jungle level of the first Contra, but with the level of red guys running at you ratcheted way up. We can't believe we're really going to get to play this game soon. It'll be sad to stop posting news and previews about it, but on the other hand, we won't care about our jobs anymore.
Contra in LEGOs is formula for greatness
When two beloved things like Contra and the DS collide, it's hard not to feel giddy all over. As the release date for Contra 4 gets closer and closer, we thought there was no way that our lust for this game could grow even stronger. Well, as it turns out, we were dead wrong.Upon viewing an image of this NES classic in LEGO form, we were forced to schedule endless sobbing into our daily routines until Contra 4 is released. Since we'll be able to play the original game on our Contra 4 carts, we wonder if we'll be thinking of LEGOs now as we take advantage of that glorious feature.As an added bonus, skinny coder's flickr gallery has pictures of other NES classics that he made in LEGO form, including Duck Hunt, Castlevania, Metal Gear, Excitebike, and Bionic Commando. We absolutely recommend checking them out. Which "LEGOed" classic is your favorite?
Contra 4 packed with Contra, Super C, robots
When you're buying Contra 4, you're not just buying a game. You're buying a lifestyle. You're saying "Hey, world! My name is [insert your name here] and I really enjoy Contra. I celebrate the entire canon! Why, right here for instance, I have a cart that features features a new game, plus the NES versions of Contra and Super C! Also, there's a "20th Anniversary Virtual Museum" and two digital comics from Contra artist Atsushi Tsijumoto. Oh, and five hidden characters, one of which ... is Probotector." Though the list of goodies is exciting, we can't help but wonder: Exactly how much room is there on a DS cartridge? Have we been getting ripped off all this time? Well, we think the bar has been raised. From now on, we won't even think of buying a DS game unless it includes at least two games. ... Probotector is optional.
Contra 4 packed with extras, shirtless robots
Ever the fan pleasers, Konami has loaded Contra 4 carts with enough bonus features to make you completely forget about that fiasco with the cancelled preorder set. Bask in the invigorating glow of unlockable content done right: Original NES versions of Contra and Super C A 20th Anniversary Virtual Museum (box art, screenshots, and info on every Contra title from all territories) Two digital comics from Contra artist Atsushi Tsijumoto An interview with Contra Producer Nobuya Nakazato Five hidden characters, including a Probotector model We have a long-documented distrust of robots, especially humanoid ones armed to their android teeth, but we're sure that European gamers are rejoicing over the return of their reskinned heroes. Just don't be surprised when they burn down your homes and subjugate the entire human race the first chance they get.[Via NeoGAF]
Contra 4 preorder gift cancelled, life loses meaning
Outside of appearing in GameCrazy's "system," Contra 4's rumored 20th Anniversary reservation bonus never officially existed, but that didn't make it hurt any less when we heard today that publisher Konami nixed that listing from the retailer's catalog, shooting it out of the sky like one of the game's power-up blimps.Considering Contra 4's rapidly approaching November 13th release date and the ballyhoo Konami raised to promote Castlevania's 20th Anniversary pack, it's likely that we'll never see the alleged preorder gift. If you need us, we'll be sobbing in our room for the next five or so hours, staring at the ceiling fan above our bed while we lie there in the dark, an MP3 of Linkin Park's "My December (remix)" playing on repeat.[Via CAG]
Contra 4 boxed, dated, and ready to own your face
Every single step Konami and WayForward take in their march towards Contra 4's November 13 release seems in service to the series' fans, the faithful run-and-gun followers. From its recent Nintendo Power poster to rumors about preorder gifts and bonus retro titles, our excitement, long-thought dead after the Bioware/Sonic debacle, grows stronger with each news item that comes in. NeoGAF forumite The Main Event posted a press sheet revealing Contra 4's packaging artwork yesterday, and we couldn't be more pleased. It has everything we could ever ask for -- extravagant explosions, guns firing at unseen enemies, and a menacing alien watching over the entire scene. All Konami needs to do now is bundle a bottle of baby oil with every purchase so that our shirtless muscles can glisten while we play the game. Flex and shine past the post break for a look at the scanned pages.
Rumor: Contra 4 releasing Nov. 13
A NeoGAF poster has put up the alleged sell sheet for Konami's Contra 4 showing a Nov. 13 release date. From what we've seen, Contra 4 plays like a classic Contra experience, which for fans of the franchise would be a good thing. We've contacted Konami to find out if they can verify the date. Of course, it wouldn't be Contra without two player co-op which the sell sheet says is a feature. Now we just have to wait until Nov. 13 to see if the "Konami code" is in there as well. %Gallery-4766%
Poll results: New games in old franchises
Last week, we asked you which of the many upcoming DS sequels to NES-era classics turned your heart to a heart-shaped powerup. No surprises here: the overwhelming majority of you picked Konami and WayForward's Contra 4, which we've been hyping into the stratosphere ourselves. If you voted for Contra 4, CONSIDER YOURSELF A HERO.Of course, all of these games look unfathomably awesome, and are all winners. But in the other regard of receiving votes from DS Fanboy readers, Super Dodge Ball DS is more of a winner than Arkanoid DS, International Track & Field, and The Legend of Kage 2, in that order. The important thing is that you guys cared enough about these games to click on a button within a blog post.
