Sometimes, what was considered to be the future of gaming will at times be left in the past. A lot of franchises have come and gone, and there is a variety of reasons for this, but in Contra’s case, it has a lot to do with letting the series stagnate. However, Konami is trying to bring back this staple of gaming.

Contra: The Alien Wars EX gameplay consists of shoot, and ask questions later. As one of the few soldiers left on Earth you must defeat Red Falcon, and stop the alien invasion on Earth. You run through 6 insane side scrolling levels blasting everything in sight. The weapons at your disposal include a machine gun (standard), spread gun, homing gun, laser gun, crash missiles, flame-thrower, and a temporary shield. You find these weapons in gun pods that fly above the battlefield. Best of all in games like these there is unlimited ammunition. However, the fun ends if you are hit once by an enemy attack, you lose a life, and once your lives are depleted, your game is over. There is a password feature that allows you to return to that level, and if you have an extra Game Pak, a friend, and another GBA, then you can take on the aliens together in a co-op.

This game has a lot going for it, yet still seems to suffer from its faults. Contra: The Alien Wars EX is not a complete port of the snes game, even though the name sure implies that it is, but actually is comprised of two levels from Contra: Hard Corps (genesis), and the side scrolling levels from The Alien Wars (snes), which makes this a complete side scroller.

The multi weapon element from the snes version has been eliminated, now you can only carry one gun type with you. So this really limits some of the gameplay, and makes the game more difficult. A password system lets you return to the stage you last played, but they should have included a save feature. Passwords and portable gaming don’t mix well.

The graphics are almost identical to the original games, very well drawn and beautifully animated. The game really succeeds in setting the mood, when molten lava erupts from the city streets, and a giant robot is chasing you on a runaway bullet train. Over the top action is a main stay of Contra, and all I can say is thank you, Konami.

The audio sound effects are what you would expect from Contra: explosions, gunfire, and alien cries can be heard. The music on the other hand, is very spare and not that impressive.

With all of this said, the game is very entertaining. The levels are designed in the way that once you understand the patterns, you can advance quickly. This makes the game very addictive; I frequently replay certain levels because they are so much fun to complete. So if you are willing to forgive the negatives, then this game is for you. Everyone else wait for Metal Slug