Today I got a chance to see some new gameplay footage from Arc System Works’ new Hard Corps: Uprising on the PS3 and Xbox 360 - let me tell you, my excitement is back!
Check out the new single player video courtesy of 1up:
According to Kenji Yamamoto, Associate Producer of Hard Corps: Uprising draws its inspiration from the original title:
As you can see, they’ve done away with the stranger characters like the wolfman Fang and the robot Browny, opting for a more classic Contra feel. That’s not to say we can’t hope for unlockable characters (listening Konami?). The protagonist in this next entry to the franchise is none other than Colonel Bahamut, the villain from the first Hard Corps game:
You can really see from the video how much they’ve injected their own style and balance into the game. For example the shields and life bars are a noticeable addition as we American gamers didn’t get that in the original (quite possibly the one time a Japanese company didn’t nerf the U.S. release instead) and it is a lot faster.
A more obvious difference is in the different gameplay modes available, Arcade mode and Rising mode. Arcade mode is your standard Contra run and gun experience, with one hit kills slapped right back in the mix for all you die-hards out there. According to Yamamoto, “Rising” mode on the other hand has a few RPG elements introduced into it, creating a character building dynamic not present in previous Contra games:
This makes sense, as the Contra series has been known for, if anything, being notoriously difficult. Scratch that - Hard Corps was extremely tough and Yamamoto seems to recognize this when bringing in new players to the franchise:
In the co-op mode you play as some blonde female soldier along for the ride. We don’t really have any details on her character but we do have some footage of some sweet, sweet co-op action:
I can’t wait! And neither can Yamamoto, who is itching to show off the main stars of any Contra game - the bosses.
When I was growing up there was another kid on my block who was just as much into gaming as I was. Thing is, he had a Super Nintendo and I had a Genesis, so there were quite a few times that I would head over to his house to play a game that wasn’t available on the Sega console. I would always hear him blabber on like a fanboy about how much better his SNES was. Contra: Hard Corps was one of the games that got him wanting to play Genesis.
With E3 rockin’ and rolling lets hope Hard Corps: Uprising can get something more solid than a tentative 2010 release date.
Think you’ll revisit the side-scrolling 2D world of Hard Corps: Uprising?
Source: 1up
