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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Contra
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Digital Eclipse
Genre(s): Action, Shoot-'em-up
Players: 2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Release Date: November 8, 2006
Summary
[Xbox Live Arcade] The Red Falcon organization is plotting to conquer the Earth and two commandos, Lance and Bill, must infiltrate their base. Travel through eight stages in the jungle armed with a machine gun and the ability to capture upgraded weapons including a Fireball, Laser, Rapid Fire gun and a Spread Gun. Lance and Bill are all that stand in the way of Red Falcon and their plans for global domination. [Konami]
Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
X360 Magazine UK
It's gone slightly crusty and yellowed with age but the sheer difficulty ensures this remains as addictive a challenge as ever before. [Issue 14, p.116]
Gamer 2.0
It's a solid arcade title, but those people that were expecting to find the NES version will be disappointed.
Read Full Review >GamePro
Despite all the caveats, fans of the better-known Contras should find the original arcade game an enjoyable curiosity, and it's also pretty cheap at only 400 Microsoft points.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine UK
Of all of Konami's retro games, this is the best. Contra is manically tough, and even Live co-op play doesn't make it that much easier. If you can get to the end without continuing then we'll salute you as a hero.
Read Full Review >Gaming Target
Contra on the XBLA is well worth a look for Contra completists and other fans of side scrolling shooters, but most people will get their fill with the demo download.
Read Full Review >Game Over Online
The graphic design seems a bit smoother than you might remember it from back in the day, no doubt due to whatever tweaks Konami has done to it for the Xbox 360.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
This is an accurate emulation of the arcade version of Contra. Unfortunately, you're probably not looking for the arcade version of Contra.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine
It's nerve-jangling fun while it lasts, but unless you're a score whore, Contra loses its appeal once you beat its five missions. [Jan. 2007, p.77]
Team Xbox
A solid addition to Xbox Live Arcade, but it is simply just not the version of the game most of us will expect and prefer. Instead of delivering the NES build of the game, we are given the coin-op version that is designed to take quarters from your pocket, meaning it’s quite difficult, and without the thirty-lives code it gets frustrating very quickly.
Read Full Review >GameDaily
Contra deserves more than one play-through, but the bugs make it one of Xbox Live Arcade's black sheep. Hopefully, Konami will pull out all the stops for a version of "Super Contra."
Read Full Review >Xboxic
As far as achievements go, the list is fairly well balanced and is everything from beating Level 1 with no extra weapons to beating the whole game (which is where that code comes in).
Read Full Review >Xbox World Australia
The arcade version of Contra was never as well-loved as its NES counterpart, so the choice to port it to the Xbox Live Arcade seems questionable...but not nearly as much as the dodgy online co-op implementation.
Read Full Review >360 Gamer Magazine UK
Hard and furious paced play from this eighties arcade classic. We would have preferred to have seen a port of the superior NES version though.
Read Full Review >Game Chronicles
The co-op mode has the potential to give the game a decent replay value if they ever get around to patching it, but for now you'll have to stick with the challenging eight levels that will make for a decent arcade gaming experience.
Read Full Review >Talk Xbox
After playing coop with a few of my friends, we all were left disappointed expecting the same excitement we had on the NES. I guess nostalgia does wear off over time. It’s a shame that Contra didn’t grab a hold of my attention like I thought it would.
Read Full Review >Eurogamer
Contra is a fairly typical example of one of those games from the period that's too unforgiving to be truly enjoyable, and suffers from too many annoying design conventions that were taken for granted back then.
Read Full Review >IGN
Single-player gameplay is great, but with online bugs and multiplayer bugs, you may want to buy a 12 pack of Keystone light or five frosties from Wendy's instead of throwing down on this unfinished game.
Read Full Review >Gaming Nexus
This Xbox Live Arcade port of Contra is the perfect example of how you can screw up a classic arcade game. You may still have a good time going through this action game, but if you're the type of person that fell in love with the NES version you will be sorely disappointed.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 4.1 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Darren D. gave it an8:
Definatley not the NES version but a great arcade title none the less. This is what old school shooters were like.....Hard.
Imtiaz B. gave it a0:
I hated contra (Arcade version), if it was NES version, I would have rated a 10.
