Video games - Contra: Shattered Soldier

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	Video games - Contra: Shattered Soldier

is a video game that is part of the Contra series by Konami. It was released for the Sony PlayStation 2 in 2002. The game is the sixth title in the main storyline and marks a return to the hallmark two-dimensional gameplay style of Contra III: The Alien Wars
and Contra: Hard Corps
.

Development

After working with Appaloosa Interactive for the ill-received C: The Contra Adventure
and Contra: Legacy of War
, Konami recruited Nobuya Nakazato (the director of Contra III and Hard Corps) to develop the next installment in the franchise. Shattered Soldier was originally meant to debut on the Nintendo 64, but Konami decided instead to create for the next generation hardware (of the time), the PlayStation 2.

Storyline

In A.D. 2642, Earth remained scarred from previous alien conflicts as environmental problems grew beyond humanity's control. 80% of the planet's population was completely decimated by a malfunctioning hyper-magnetic weapons grid during development. Bill Rizer, the hero of the Alien Wars was held responsible for this terrible incident as well as murdering his partner Lance Bean, who reportedly tried to prevent him. He was given a sentence of 10,000 years in cryogenic prison.

However, five years later, in 2647, Earth faced another threat as the terrorist organisation "Blood Falcon", led by a mysterious and superhuman commander, spread panic over the world. The government decided to release Bill Rizer, in guise of his previous successes in defending Earth, in hope of neutralizing Blood Falcon. Lucia, an advanced cyborg soldier created by Dr. Geo Mandrake before his death, and later completed by the government, was sent to accompany and assist Bill's endeavours.

Gameplay

The game achieves its goal in mimicking the gameplay that made the previous 8-bit and 16-bit titles so popular by essentially duplicating the same style boss-fights and stages. The game is known as being very difficult, more so in fact than Contra: Hard Corps
. Like the Sega Genesis game, Shattered Soldier has multiple endings. However, the ending received now depends on player performance, rather than the path taken. The game also introduces the concept of a "hit ratio", which gauges the amount of enemies hit as a form of performance metric. Most, but not all enemies increase this ratio. A high hit-ratio, along with the minimization of lives lost and continues used, is essential to receive the better endings, and consequently unlock the hidden extra features. Time, however, is not a factor in score.

Weapons

The major departure in Shattered Soldier is the new weapon system, which consists of three weapons and three special attacks. No weapons are acquired through the powerup 'blimps' from previous games. Unfortunately, to the plight of many Contra fans, the spread gun was not included (the outcry of this caused it to be re-included in Neo Contra
).

Normal weapons

Machinegun: The basic weapon. It has an extremely rapid rate of fire and can reach any target on the screen.
Fire Whip: A short ranged flamethrower. It has the ability to destroy the red bluish shots fired by standard enemies.
Diver Mine: A miniature high-explosive that that is released in a slight arc and then rolls along the ground.

Special weapons

Round Sweep: A gun pod is fired and shoots out machinegun bullets in all directions.
Energy Shot: A very powerful blast that can shoot through objects, also nicknamed by some as the "fire bazooka".
Homing Missiles: A series of missiles that seek enemies.

Levels

There are seven levels in the game: Fortress, Train, City, Seabed, Islands, and Relic, which is devided in two sections.

Trivia

There is a secret ending hidden in the game where Bill encounters Sparkster from the Rocket Knight Adventures
games for the Super NES and Sega Genesis. The director of those games is the same person responsible for Shattered Soldier, Nobuya Nakazato.

Screenshot gallery

Image:Contra_ss01.jpg Image:Contra_ss02.jpg Image:Contra_ss03.jpg Image:Contra_ss04.jpg

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