Contra Force (USA) ROM

Contra Force is a spinoff of the Contra series, trying its hand at a more 'strategic' gameplay style...and it does not manage it well.

The game suffers from serious issues that affect all gameplay, all the time, like constant stuttering, slowdowns, poor controls, and poor scrolling. It creates a false sense of difficulty as you're just fighting against the poorly designed game mechanics/software.

Controls were stiff and didn't do what you wanted them to do which, coupled with the constant slow-motion, made the game an absolute headache.

Music was repetitive in a very obvious way. SFX were typical, nothing too obnoxious.

Graphics are average with very low quality characters/NPCs on very shiny, blocky, repetitive foreground objects and typical usually-blurry backgrounds.

Gameplay attempted to be something more strategic or require more thought than a run n gun game. You can choose between 4 characters, each with their own strengths/weaknesses and sets of weapons. Not only is there 2P, but there are also CPU set-ups where you can choose how the CPU will cover or assist. The idea seems really cool but in reality the CPU just jumps and spams their weapon until they kill themselves. Not very smart at all and they just add to the slowdowns and make it worse. Instead of running and gunning, I found myself slowly inching forward and trying to make the screen scroll where there would inevitably always be an enemy, hole, or landmine I was right on top of and had a millisecond to react to.

I was unable to finish this game, it just wasn't fun with all the issues. I'd suggest this go in the skip pile, honestly.

Contra Force is a contra game, but a depature from the series. You can choose to play from four characters. Each that have their own attributes and set of weapons. This game is very tough, the controls are stiff and the screen does not scroll smoothley. The graphics and sound are ok. Skip this one and play one of the better Contra games.