- The correct title of this article is "C: The Contra Adventure". The substitution of the colon is due to technical restrictions.
- Not to be confused with C.
C: The Contra Adventure is a 3D action game produced by Konami and developed Appaloosa Interactive, released for the PlayStation in 1998. It was the second of two Contra games Konami of America co-produced with Appaloosa, following Contra: Legacy of War in 1996. The game was never released in Japan, Europe or Australia.
It is the third and last Contra game to star Ray.
Plot[]
A meteorite with an alien infestation heads toward Earth following the events in Contra: Legacy of War. The meteorite falls near a Mayan temple somewhere in South America, and shortly afterward, the temple is occupied by an alien life form staging an invasion, as the natives begin to disappear and the local wildlife is devastated. Tasha, a member of the elite Hard Corps, is sent to infiltrate the occupied temple but goes missing during the operation. Ray (having previously retired after the events of Legacy of War) is brought back into action to re-establish contact with Tasha and neutralize the alien invaders.
Gameplay[]
There are a total of ten levels in the game, which are shown through multiple perspectives, depending on the level: 2-D side-scrolling (referred to as "Classic Contra" in the game's instruction booklet), third person (free-roaming and linear), overhead (360° movement), and a special "Weightless Elevator" view, which alternates between multi-directional and 3D shooting on a single screen. One of the third person sequences, the "Hunting" level, plays almost exactly the same as the "Base" missions in the original Contra.
All the innovations that were introduced in Contra: Legacy of War are maintained in this game: memory card saving, hit points, three-dimensional fire fights. However, the gameplay varies depending on the level and perspective used. The player can carry up to four different weapons and switch between them on the fly.
Three difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Hard) are available at the outset of the game, though the game ends after the Pyramid 1 stage if playing on Easy.
Stages[]
Reception[]
C: The Contra Adventure received several negative reviews during its release. Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot gave the game an overall score of 3.6/10.0, stating that "It's hard to believe that Konami would release yet another sorry game with the Contra name on it". Randy Nelson of IGN gave it a 1.0, saying "Definitely not the game Contra fans have been clamoring for". Jeremy Parish and Sam Kennedy, in their Contra retrospective for 1up.com, wrote "[C: The Contra Adventure] managed to be even worse than Legacy of War, giving it the distinction of being the worst game in the series".
GamePro's review of the game was more positive, stating: "although flawed, C: The Contra Adventure carries on the franchise with style, picking up bonus points for the variety of its gameplay modes".
