Contra: Shattered Soldier

by Playstation

Product Features

• ps2

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006LEM2
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 22, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,493 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

All of the action and adrenaline of the Contra series comes to the PlayStation 2 with Contra: Shattered Soldier. This time, you can carry three weapons--machine gun, flamethrower, and grenade launcher--as you battle enemies either solo or cooperatively with a friend. Massive, screen-filling boss characters do everything they can to keep you from proceeding through the multiple action-packed missions, while environmental threats such as swarms of bugs, aggressive enemies, and alien encounters keep you on your toes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I played this game till my eyes bled!, October 27, 2002

By 

Yvonne Edwards (Mason, wv United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contra: Shattered Soldier (Video Game)

This game rocks. Plain and simple. Who cares if it is ridiculously hard? I'm sick of simple games. Trust me, after a couple of hours, you will roll through the first couple of levels. After that? Who knows?

Great graphics, no overhead viewpoint, awesome sound effects that get your adrenaline pumping, and the best game soundtrack ever. Buy it. It's worth it.

I got lucky to play it before the release date, because the video store has them ready to go out on the street date, but when you know who works there you get to take the games on a test run. Way better than Hitman 2 or Headhunter.

Konami took a gamble by going back to the 2D side-scrolling roots of Contra, but it turned out to be one of the top 2 or 3 games I have ever played.

Now, only if they follow up with a great Castlevania.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ah, My Bleeding Thumbs!, October 29, 2002

By 

flaviolius (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contra: Shattered Soldier (Video Game)

Finally, someone listened. What with all the 3D hoopla and the console wars, someone out there hasn't forgotten the pleasures of 2D gaming. Thank you, Konami, for Contra: Shattered Soldier.

After two horrendous outings on the original PlayStation, one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history has returned with a vengeance...and yes, it's in 2D! Old-schoolers rejoice - you've now got a reason to bring those long-forgotten razor-sharp reflexes out of the closet. Contra: SS takes a few liberties with the old formula, but the result is a gorgeous, difficult throwback that will bring back all those memories. Contra is back in a big way. If you played, and enjoyed, any of the previous Contra games, you'll fall for Shattered Soldier big time. Everything's here, and then some.

For those too young to remember: prepare yourself for a gaming experience unlike any other. Contra: Shattered Soldier is a side-scrolling action shooter in which you must survive by destroying everything in sight - in fact, you're actually GRADED by how much you destroy via a readout called Hit Rate %. You control master criminal Bill Rizer (released from a cryosleep prison sentence for killing 80% of the world's population - how's that for over-the-top, eh?) or his female android companion Lucia, sent to save post-apocalyptic Earth from swarms of some of the most disgusting yet glorious aliens to ever grace a console. The set-up is simple: move left to right and fire away at approaching enemies. You can fire your three weapons in any of eight directions, ducking or jumping as the situation demands. You'll hang from ledges, crawl up walls, and be slung airborne underneath a guided missile. You'll ride a hoverbike and ski down a snowy mountain. You'll be attacked by everything from gigantic water-skiing mechs to mechanized turrets to hideous mutant fish to screen-filling monstrosities that almost defy description. The game fits its Shattered Soldier name all too well: touch an enemy - you're dead. Get hit by explosive vomit - you're dead. Get nailed by a bullet, rocket, laser, or explosion - you're dead. Get carried away by giant insects - you're dead. There are lots of ways to die in Contra: SS, and by the time you're done, you'll lose count, it'll happen so often. Play alone or with a friend for some co-op action - you'll need the help. Choose at any time from a machine gun, flame thrower, or grenade launcher (each equipped with a chargeable special attack), and don't worry about running out of ammo - you won't. The name of the game is run n gun. If you're lucky and good enough to make it through all the levels alive, unlockables await. You see, this is how gaming used to be - trial and error, rock-hard challenge, pattern memorization. You'll progress slowly, but each time you'll make it a little farther and be presented with another disgusting alien just begging to be blown to slimy bits. Eventually, with practice, you'll emerge victorious, and wonder why more games these days don't feel like Contra: Shattered Soldier. It's one of the most intense rides you can take on the PS2 - enjoy it, for it may be one of the last.

Enthusiastically recommended - Konami has created one of the best games of the year, and one not to be missed by anyone who craves a masterfully executed, adrenaline-pumping thrill ride. Here's hoping more developers follow their lead!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Contra we all remember, February 1, 2003

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Contra: Shattered Soldier (Video Game)

After two failed attempts to bring Contra to the 3-D world (see Contra: Legacy of War and C: The Contra Adventure), Konami finally decided to take the classic series back to its' side scrolling roots with Contra: Shattered Soldier. Even though the game is a side scroller, the backgrounds, characters, and action is all composed with nicely detailed polygons and some great lighting effects. You go through seven insanely tough levels (all of which will bring back fond memories of Contra 3 and Contra: Hard Corps) and you have three different weapons at your disposal. The controls are pretty responsive (thankfully) and you will need precision movement to survive the never ending onslaught of enemies. The hard rocking soundtrack is also worth noting as well, the headbanging music really suits the game well and fits the tone of the game like a glove. The only complaint, and this will be from younger gamers who were deprived from a Contra experience, is that sometimes the game is way too hard and can get very, very frustrating, but for Contra vets this isn't a problem. All in all, fans of the Contra games of old should definitely pick this up.