Hard Corps: Uprising is best described as 'Guilty Gear meets Contra'. The game has all the aural and aesthetic feel of the Guilty Gear series and the core ‘twitch heavy’ 2D shooting gameplay of a traditional Contra title. The mix of these two elements results in a game that although builds on a very retro gaming template, but builds and expands on it enough to create a highly polished and modern gaming experience.
Hard Corps: Uprising is a prequel to Contra: Uprising . The main plot and setting revolves around a war between a megalomaniac empire and a rebel group. One of the playable characters is Bahamut, who serves as the main protagonist of Hard Corps: Uprising and is possibly the very same Bahamut who served as the final boss of Contra: Uprising. It’s quite an interesting and intriguing connection, one that adds a cool twist to the story arc. The other main playable character available at the start is the eye-patch wearing Krystal, a victim of the war who becomes a rebel. Other playable characters include the super machismo-looking Harley, the Samurai girl Sayuri and more recently Leviathan. All three are available for purchase as DLC for 200 Microsoft Points ($AU 3) each. The story and characters are actually quite interesting and are mainly conveyed using text, but perhaps most players will simply skim over it.
Hard Corp shooting galore.
Hard Corps: Uprising plays almost exactly like a Contra title, a hardcore and run and gun shooter possessing the core and fundamental elements. The shooting mechanics and the trademark Contra ‘rolling up’ mechanic are all present. That said, the gameplay doesn’t feel very retro or restricted as you can shoot from several angles, dash mid-air, do a roadie run, hang on to pipes, scale walls, double jump and shoot from a fixed direction and angle. It’s all these little touches and features that makes Hard Corps: Uprising a very fluid and enjoyable gaming experience, one that doesn’t seem to unnecessarily handicap the player. The weapon variety in this game is good as you’ll be using weapons like flamethrowers, homing lasers and machine gun, which can also be upgraded.
Hard Corps: Uprising has five playable characters at this stage, and while they are fundamentally the same, but they still manage to offer something distinct and so require a different approach. The best example being Sayuri, because unlike the other characters she does not use a rifle gun. Instead, she uses a powerful samurai sword and requires a more ‘in your face’ strategy. The other characters differ by speed, mobility and vitality. They also differ by special abilities that need to be acquired. The character selection and variety is nice, but unfortunately only two of them are available at start and you need to fork out a total of 600 Microsoft Points ($AU 10) to get the other three characters. That said, the strong DLC support is nice and there are more characters expected to be released.
The levels are loaded with relentless and unforgiving 2D shooting action, and showcase some really precise and well thought out level design and layout. It’s not just about running and shooting everything that comes in your way; you will also be riding bikes and hoverboards at insane speeds, escorting a scientist, going on a Metal Gear Solid-style stealth mission where you hide under boxes, scaling walls, running from boulders Indiana Jones style and just face a variety of insane and challenging scenarios that require precise shooting and sweat inducing platforming. While it is a run and gun shooter, we found some stages and boss battles feel like those in a horizontal shmup game.
Levels showcase some interesting design.
The adversaries that you will face throughout the game come in all shapes and forms, but the most intense are of course the boss enemies. Hard Corps: Uprising has some truly monstrous boss battles, with the most frightening in our experience being the last boss of Stage 4 (you won’t believe the pattern of this behemoth). The bosses require a great deal of patience, precision and memorization, and are extremely rewarding to defeat.
While of all of this sounds very ‘unfriendly’, Hard Corps: Uprising actually benefits from some good design choices. For one thing, it is very much possible to beat stages without taking a single hit as it’s just designed in such a way that you can pretty much avoid any projectile and trap if you are skilled enough, and the best part is that reaching that level of skill is quite doable and so it never feels like ‘frustratingly imposed’ difficulty. Scattered throughout the levels are health items, power ups, extra lives and even well placed checkpoints, and so the game never really feels unfair.
The two main modes of play are ‘Arcade’ and ‘Rising’. Arcade mode is a more traditional and strict Contra where you basically work with default stats and settings. The Rising mode, however, is where the real value can be found. It basically allows you to collect points as you play, points which can be used to purchase upgrades for each of the playable characters. These upgrades come in the form of extra lives, increased vitality, sub weapon upgrades and new character specific abilities. What’s great about the mode is that even if you’re struggling at a particular stage, you can still rack up some points to buy upgrades to enhance your character and make things easier. It’s a great RPG-like mode that will surely win over modern gamers who aren’t used to brutal retro conventions. While the game is a blast to play alone, the two player co-op is where the real magic happens and this can be done not just offline, but even over Xbox Live which actually works really well, and not to mention makes the game a lot easier to complete.
Phenomenal boss battles featuring an epic boss theme music.
Visually and musically Hard Corps: Uprising has Guilty Gear written all over it, seeing as how Arc System Works themselves worked with Konami on this title. The art style is as awesome as BlazBlue and Guilty Gear, with some really edgy and cool character designs. Graphically, the sprites are what we’ve come to expect from Arc System Works with the animations and character models looking really nice and they mix nicely with the 3D backdrops, particle effects and the massive 3D bosses. It’s a really nice looking game that packs quite the artistic and visual splendor. Musically the game is phenomenal, with famous heavy metal rock specialist Daisuke Ishiwatari (the composer of BlazBlue and Guilty Gear soundtracks) composing an absolutely breathtaking and exhilarating score that is heavy on screaming guitars, heavy bass and aggressive drums. The tracks are so good that it becomes hard to get mad over losing over and over again in a particular stage or boss fight. The game has one of the most dramatic boss themes ever and the music of each stage is a monstrous heavy metal masterpiece with a ton of flair and aural mastery, providing the right amount of adrenaline needed for a game of this genre.
Hard Corps: Uprising really is one fantastic Xbox Live Arcade release. The game has cool visuals, an amazing soundtrack, modern game design conventions, addictive gameplay and pace, super smooth and precise mechanics, a ton of variety in its stages, several playable characters and a Rising mode that adds a ton of replay value and accessibility. It really offers a great way to enjoy one of the most celebrated retro genres in more a relevant and modern context. Hard Corps Uprising is just a freakishly awesome game, and one that is a real steal for just 1200 Microsoft Points ($AU 20).
. Wait till you hear the boss thheme and the stage 3 music during gameplay.
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