by Joel Meeks

Created on: August 10, 2009

Contra III: The Alien Wars is a challenging but very entertaining side-scrolling shooter that not only lives up to the Contra series expectations, but outdoes the games that came before it.

Contra III has obvious advantages over its predecessors, in that its console, the SNES, is a bit more advanced than the NES. With better graphics, the ability to hold two guns, terrain interaction, and plenty of action, it's a game that can definitely be considered a classic.

This game implements the concept of rewarding your efforts. If you play through on easy or normal, you don't get to see the full ending, and the game challenges you to play through on Hard, which is an extremely difficult task. Playing the game on normal is a challenge, with a steady flow of enemies and bullets, but it's certainly doable, and completing the game on this level of difficulty is satisfying, even if you don't get to see the entire ending.

The game opens in 2636, with the scene of a city that looks a bit like present-day. A mysterious cloud formation lowers from the sky, and a bright light flashes from the clouds, before the city is destroyed, turned to burnt ruins. A creepy alien face that reminds you of a mix between a Scottish Terrier and a sewer rat makes an appearance, the apparent perpetrator of this attack. Your characters are out to take their vengeance against the aliens.

The first level is a good introduction, with an even flow of enemies coming from all sides, bullets flying from the pink enemies, as well as from strange-looking alien turrets that come from the ground. A different slew of weapons drop from the carriers in the sky, giving a good feel for the arsenal at your command throughout the game. The level ends with a large, skeletal turtle boss with a small army that spews from its various crevices.

After that comes the top-down view level, which is an acceptable change of pace, keeping the side-scrolling aspect of the game from getting boring. Reminiscent of previous Contra games, the level seems a little less fun than the rest, but the difference is refreshing, at least.

After completing that, you return to the side-scrolling mayhem once again, annihilating a different cast of alien enemies, from flying bugs to crawling spiders, jumping monkey-like soldiers, demonic little monsters, scorpions leaping from a huge heart, a teleporting gargoyle, and finally the head from the opening movie, who is less than keen on letting you escape, even after you've defeated it.

Contra's soundtrack is a little lacking, in the sense that it doesn't get you pumped for blowing things up and tearing apart an entire army of alien invaders, but it does set a marathon-like mood, which is good for a game like Contra where you'll be retrying levels several times, and you don't notice the music enough to get tired of it while playing. The plot is similarly lacking, but to be fair, it was the time of the Super Nintendo, when plot took a backseat to action. And in Contra's defense, the action in this game more than makes up for the lackluster plot, with plenty of explosions, huge bosses, and copious amounts of fun.

Definitely a game worth playing if you haven't, even with today's modern consoles, Contra III is an unforgettable title that will keep you playing, just for the epic final boss battle if nothing else.

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