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Down down: No Contra 4 at PAX
My PAX expo hall map showed a small Konami booth toward the back of the hall. Just small enough, I thought, for a couple of DS demo stations showing off a certain side-scrolling sequel. I was sure I'd come back a hero, having gotten my hands on Contra 4 for real, and bringing back hyperbolic froth based on real playtime rather than screenshots and video. You can imagine our disappointment when we saw the actual Konami booth, then. That's it above, occupied by Derrick and Garrett from Mega64. ProTip: it's not Contra 4. Okay, I'm exaggerating. That's not the whole Konami booth. There was another DDR machine behind it.
Ping Pals as springboard to Contra 4
How do you make us suddenly love WayForward's maligned Ping Pals? By portraying it as leading directly to our probable Game of the Year 2007, Contra 4, and the surprisingly interesting Duck Amuck, that's how. MTV's Stephen Totilo interviewed Matt Bozon of WayForward about the doomed project (which turned out not to be so doomed-- it went on to sell over 90,000 copies despite being totally redundant), discovering that what seemed like an inconsequential chat client was an extremely intensive undertaking. ""We had to prototype the game in the first 24 hours, having never seen the hardware, which is a huge testament to our programmers," Bozon said about the period immediately following their discussions with THQ. Bozon had to abandon his original concept of a DS game-- two gameplay tasks in two screens-- in order to fast-track Ping Pals. "The design doc for that thing was actually a bunch of sticky notes on a dry board, and about every four hours we would redesign the entire game for that entire five-week span because the technology kept shifting. We were working 24 hours a day. There was no point locking the door because there was always somebody in there." Hearing about the hardships involved with the development of that game, we actually feel pretty bad about making fun of Ping Pals all the time. They didn't want to spend so much time making Ping Pals. Nobody wants to make Ping Pals. The good news, of course, is that WayForward got DS development tools and official DS developer status out of the deal. And, with the experience of Ping Pals and a number of no-doubt lucrative licensed games behind them, they've achieved a level of success that allowed Bozon to successfully pitch a minigame collection based on the "Duck Amuck" cartoon to Warner Bros. And their abilities got the notice of Konami, who handed over a very important franchise to the Shantae creators.
Contra 4 controls give us pause (and other buttons)
We've reached the point where every single Contra 4 news piece that comes in has us gripping the arms of our chairs, afraid that we'll fall from the dizzying heights of ecstasy that we've just been sent to. The experience is both exhilarating and terrifying. Even this image of Contra 4's control setup, taken at one of Comic-Con's demo stations last week, gave us cause to throw our office windows open, yelling out our excitement to the pedestrians below. Press B to jump! Press Y to fire! Press L to switch weapons! How great life is!
IGN goes hands-on with Contra 4, cries
Greg Miller of IGN got a little extra facetime with our beloved Contra 4 at Comic-Con ... which was probably not a good idea, because Contra is all about face-beatings. While it seems the controls are smooth and easy to pick up, all other forms of ease end the moment you step into the big blue man pants. This is hostile territory, and everyone wants a slice of your ass. Just thinking about it makes us cry with joy. We do so love a good beating! But did Miller enjoy the game? It seems so, though he spends most of his preview writhing in pain over the punishing brutality of Contra 4. If you ask us, that just means everything is as it should be, and we continue our campaign of impatience as we wait for this one to hit shelves. %Gallery-4738%
A few more seconds of Contra 4
All we need to be happy with our job right now is a short Contra 4 video every day, so that we can watch it and think "YES CONTRA 4 OH DUDE YES," and then share it with you in a similar manner. We've been happy to see more and more Contra 4 videos and impressions posts come up after E3, now that the writers have had time to wake up from their awesomeness-induced comas. GamesRadar's Charlie Barratt is the latest to give us the gift of Contra in motion, with a video that starts with the wall boss we've already seen, but then moves on to a waterfall set piece that's new to us. The animation, the graphics, the levels, and, of course, the music-- it's all perfect. It all looks like a real Contra game. Looks like Contra 4 is going to continue the series' tradition of blistering our planet with its LMDs.
Promotional Consideration: America's toughest commandos
Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out. Considering all the coverage we've given Contra 4 this past month, it was only a matter of time before the run-and-gun series somersaulted into one of our columns. This week's edition of Promotional Consideration rummages through the attic of years long past, pulling out two moth-eaten Contra ads from our faraway youth. Reminisce with us past the break.
Friday Video: 2D Friday in full effect!
We're taking that whole walking in a straight line and jumping on everything to heart, because, y'know, we're linear like that. We also like our destruction with a heavy dose of bouncing around. And also, guns. Can you guess what video we might be choosing to celebrate today? If not, we can only guess that you haven't been paying attention to our very particular tastes. That's okay -- we forgive you. Or we will if you head past the post break to check out this week's featured video.
Modojo is totally pumped for Contra 4
Contra 4 Hype Watch continues. Current Hype Level: Kool-Aid Man. Modojo's Justin Davis has joined us in freaking out over Konami and Wayforward's new shooter, saying "Konami apparently said to hell with 'market realities' and made Contra the game I would have made, if I were given the team, the money, and told not to worry about sales potential." The article is not just gushing about how freaking awesome the game is. Davis found the space for some new information about the game: specifically, that it would consist of nine levels, including three "pseudo-3D tunnel levels," presumably like the Bases found in Contra. Also, we're going to have to make some friends before the end of the year, because there's cooperative play via local wireless. Contra 4 party at our house!
Joystiq impressions: Contra 4 (DS)
Contra 4 is, for better or worse, a new Contra game. It looks and plays just like Contra games before it: it's classic 2D side-scrolling action gameplay, with a notoriously difficult 1-hit KO system. Of course, would Contra fans have it any other way? Those worried that the Nintendo DS would not provide the hardware capable of offering a decent looking Contra can rest their fears: the sprites are fairly impressive, with a good amount of detail and animation. The game's action takes place over both the top and bottom screens on the DS, but it seems like interaction with the top screen is fairly minimal at this point. That's a good thing: if too many things were firing from the top, the player would certainly be at a serious disadvantage. The game promises a lot of vertical platforming, which certainly sounds exciting to us. The new grappling hook helps players get to higher areas faster ... but didn't seem too consequential to gameplay. Maybe they can take a few pages from Bionic Commando? The legions of Contra fans have a lot to be excited about, but for everyone else, there isn't much new to appreciate about this DS-exclusive sequel. We're sure that it'll be a good game, but without any noteworthy gameplay additions, we can't say that we're too heavily excited for it. %Gallery-4766%
Another day, another rapturous Contra 4 post
Game|Life's Chris Kohler got to live our most recent lifelong dream of playing Contra 4, and he likes it! (Hey Mikey!) Upon hearing that Contra 4 is actually as good as it looks and doesn't rely on DS gimmickry, we reacted in a manner that is best illustrated by this video clip. Kohler cites the classic weapons, the cleverly dual-screen-enhanced level design (which we don't think counts as DS gimmickry) and the Contra-appropriate sound design as features that contributed to his positive impressions. Oh, and the difficulty. Apparently action games are hard when you've been at a trade show all day, doing interviews and lugging a bunch of computer equipment around. We hope Contra will be sufficiently challenging even in more comfortable conditions. We think we're going to have to find an excuse to post about Contra 4 every day until more developers get the message that there are plenty of strategy RPG's, sports games, mascot platformers, first-person shooters, puzzle games, and such out there. But there is a huge hole in the market for REAL ACTION GAMES like this one that are about jumping and shooting and synthesized guitar, and God knows there's enough of a userbase on the DS to support both awesome run & gun games and whatever else people want to put on there.
E307: Contra 4 video wins E3
var digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2007/07/12/e307-contra-4-video-wins-e3/'; If your face hasn't been sufficiently rocked by the DS showings at E3, then we suggest watching this video of the first boss battle in Contra 4. Even if you feel like you've been rocked enough, you should go ahead and watch it, and allow Virt's brilliant cover of the Stage 1 music to rock your face clean off. No brains are being trained here, people. Unless you count the brains of alien soldiers, which are being trained to blow up. We know it's early to declare a winner of E3, and we also know that E3 is not technically a competition. Even so, Contra 4 wins. %Gallery-4738%
E307: Contra 4 media so hot it burns
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/New_CONTRA_4_screens_from_E3_up_up_down_down_left_rOH_GOD_SO_AWESOME'; My friends, we are at war ... with minivans. And let us be the first to tell you -- the minivans are losing. Hoorah! Frankly, we take it back. We're not in any way upset any longer about the Nintendo keynote. In fact, we've already forgotten the keynote, because we all keep fainting at all the hotness that's been released on forthcoming DS games. These amazing new Contra 4 screens are just the beginning. Let's all celebrate these screens by taking off our shirts and flexing a few muscles! Well, all you fellas in the audience, anyway. This blogger will be skipping that part in favor of simply drooling on the gallery. %Gallery-4738%
Nintendo Power poster: Contra 4 porn
We gasped when we unfolded the poster included with this month's issue of Nintendo Power. JC, reading over my shoulder to see if there were any updates on Barnyard Blast, fainted at the sight of its retro design. Lance and Bill look just as badass as ever, but who are those other two characters firing away in the background? According to NP's preview, they've inherited Mad Dog and Scorpion's code names; we're of the opinion that they look like Bill Bellamy and that dude from Prison Break. Which dude from Prison Break, you ask? All of them. Don't let their identities or the fact that the top-left guy isn't even paying attention to whatever he's shooting at get in the way of enjoying this fantastic work of art. Tie on a headband, throw your shirt aside, and head past the post break for more shots of the Contra 4 centerfold.
Japanese hardware sales, Jun. 18 - Jun. 24: Contra-diction edition
When does mere coincidence become conspiracy? It's an appropriate question to ask given the curious state of this week's Japanese hardware sales, which seem to hint at an unseen entity unfairly adjusting parameters and altering the accepted balance of things. Indeed, the original Nintendo DS seems to have been given life again -- 30 lives compared to last week's zero. Could Konami's recent announcement of side-scrolling shooter sequel, Contra 4, have played a part in all this? We'd share the answers with you... but that would be cheating. - DS Lite: 163,888 45,204 (38.09%) - Wii: 65,582 61 (0.09%) - PSP: 32,984 375 (1.12%) - PS2: 11,962 12 (0.10%) - PS3: 9,581 100 (1.05%) - Xbox 360: 3,369 4,214 (55.57%) - Game Boy Micro: 284 87 (23.45%) - GBA SP: 130 342 (72.46%) - Gamecube: 82 B 141 (63.23%) - DS Phat: 30 A 30 (N/A%) [Source: Media Create] Cheat-free chart after the break. See also: Previous Japanese hardware sales charts
Contra 4 video even awesomer than our article image
Don't just walk -- run, flip, and shoot your way past the post break for the first Contra 4 video footage to hit the interbutts. The 1UP Show interspersed clips of the WayForward-developed title in this week's episode, supplementing the 1UP staff's hands-on impressions with scenes from Contra 4's various levels, throwing a boss fight in there for good measure. Our thoughts on the game so far, especially considering Virt's involvement with its music and sound design, echo Jeremy Parish's: "It's like they said, "Let's make the best fan game ever,' and Konami said, 'That's so good, we want to make it a real game.'"
1up jumps over exploding bridge, picks up Contra 4 content
We're going to cut out the introductions and get straight to it: oh man, Contra 4 looks awesome. It's fully 2D, just like we hoped. It's designed as a direct sequel gameplay-wise to the excellent Contra III: producer Tomm Hulett said "Anyone who's played Contra III on Virtual Console recently should be able to jump right into Contra 4 and feel right at home." New features include the ability to hold two weapons and toggle between them, weapon upgrading (two of the same weapon result in a powered-up version), wireless two-player, and a grappling hook. WayForward is taking inspiration from New Super Mario Bros. for Contra 4, in the best way. They're returning to what was great about the series, and designing a new game based on that. Can you believe that two guys who are supposed to be great commandos keep forgetting their shirts when they go on these missions? Check the screens and see how many enemy soldiers forgot their shirts. Preview: none.
Freelance musician Virt to compose Contra 4 soundtrack
Jake "Virt" Kaufman, founder of the videogame remix site VGMix, gets to add another shining star to his resume: composer for Contra 4. The freelance musician has worked on game soundtracks before, including Scurge: Hive and WayForward's own gem of a platformer Shantae. He also happens to have crafted our favorite Metroid metal megamix, Crystal Flash. Matt Bozon of WayForward says Jake's take on Contra's tunes is "fantastic", and judging by his repertoire we can see why. To grab a few sample tunes, check out Virt's page on VGMix as well as his personal website. [Via DS Fanboy]
Virt supplying remixed tunes for Contra 4
We've been in love with Jake "Virt" Kaufman's video game soundtracks (e.g. Shantae, Godzilla: Domination, Scurge: Hive) and micromusic remixes for years now, so it pleased us to no end to hear that he would be working with WayForward on Contra 4's themes. Not familiar with his discography? Here are three of our favorite Virt arrangements and chiptune covers that we grabbed from his site: Contra - "Contravirt" (6.0 MB MP3) Castlevania II - "What a Horrible Night" (2.0 MB MP3) Michael Jackson - "Thriller (VRC6 Cover)" (4.1 MB MP3) How did the Konami fanboy react when he was initially approached with handling Contra 4's music and sound design? "After I got off the phone with the dude I couldn't stop pacing back and forth for like 10 hours. I was afraid I would suddenly grow tentacles and then question reality and then wake up in my bed and it was all a dream ... Alas, my tentacles are REAL."
Konami announces Contra 4
Konami made an announcement today that had better excite you: Contra 4 coming to the DS! The sidescrolling action game will be a direct sequel to Contra III: The Alien Wars and will pit Bill Rizer and Lance Bean (and, confusingly, new characters named Mad Dog and Scorpion, which were the names used for Bill and Lance in the American release of Contra) against the alien Black Viper across two screens of action. And to traverse those new heights, they'll have a grappling hook item. The press release refers to the game as a 2D sidescroller, but we don't know if they're referring only to perspective or to graphics as well. We're hoping for a fully 2D game. There's actually a good chance of it, too. Developer WayForward Technologies is known for sidescrollers like Shantae and Sigma Star Saga, both of which use hand-drawn sprites. Also we must mention Ping Pals, but we hope that has no bearing on Contra. [Via press release]
Contra 4 announced for Nintendo DS, available 2007
Konami just announced that Contra 4, a direct sequel to 1992's SNES classic Contra III: The Alien Wars, is coming to the popular as ever Nintendo DS platform this year. What can Nintendo's handheld offer the tried and true 2D Contra formula besides dual screens and the chance to forget all about Neo Contra? First, those dual screens will allow "massive boss battles" that span both screens. Second, the game will have a multiplayer function that we can only imagine will be enabled by the system's built-in WiFi (but what's Contra without multiplayer?). Third, the opportunity to catch up with Bill Rizer and Lance Bean, who "are confronted with a new extraterrestrial menace: the terrifying Black Viper." And you can do it all on your Noble Pink DS Lite. Contra 4 (just a working title, folks) is being developed by California's WayForward Technologies (they brought you classics such as Ping Pals and SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab) and will be available in 2007.
