Contra: Rogue Corps
{{Short description|2019 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Contra: Rogue Corps
| image = Contra_Rogue_Corps_logo.png
| developer = Toylogic
| publisher = Konami
| series = Contra
| engine =
| platforms = {{ubl|Nintendo Switch|PlayStation 4|Windows|Xbox One}}
| released = September 24, 2019
| genre = Run and gun, twin-stick shooter
| modes = Single-player, Multiplayer
| director = {{ubl|Daichi Kurumiya|Nobuya Nakazato}}
| producer = Nobuya Nakazato
| designer = Katsuro Ouchi
| programmer = Katsufumi Fujimoto
| artist = Atsushi Yamaguchi
| writer = {{ubl|Evan Dorkin|Sarah Dyer}}
| composer = {{ubl|Takahiro Nishi|Takashi Okamoto}}
}}
Contra: Rogue Corps is a run and gun twin-stick shooter in the Contra series developed by Toylogic and published by Konami. It was released on September 24, 2019 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One.
Rogue Corps is set in the fictional Damned City two years after Contra III: The Alien Wars and Contra 4, featuring four playable characters and a wide degree of weapon customization. The game received generally mixed reviews upon release. It was criticized for its gameplay, graphics, and story, although praise fell toward its upgrade and customization system.
Gameplay
The gameplay utilizes a mixture of side-scrolling, third-person, isometric, and top-down perspective shooters, similar to Neo Contra.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/13/contra-rogue-corps-plays-nothing-like-the-original | title=Contra Rogue Corps Plays Nothing Like the Original – E3 2019 |first=Mitchell |last=Saltzman |date=June 12, 2019 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=June 14, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017213847/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/13/contra-rogue-corps-plays-nothing-like-the-original |archive-date=October 17, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/09/23/contra-rogue-corps-review/ |title=Contra: Rogue Corps Review |last=Jagneaux |first=David |date=September 24, 2019 |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=October 10, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022112921/https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/09/23/contra-rogue-corps-review |archive-date=October 22, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/contra_rogue_corps |title=Review: Contra: Rogue Corps - Bargain Bin Isometric Shooter That's Easy to Forget |last=Barker |first=Sammy |date=September 24, 2019 |website=Push Square |publisher=Hookshot Media |access-date=November 4, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227202841/https://www.pushsquare.com/reviews/ps4/contra_rogue_corps |archive-date=February 27, 2020}} The gameplay modes are single-player story campaign, multiplayer online cooperative, and four-player local cooperative (with separate Switch consoles). It is based on player versus environment (PVE) gameplay, with dual analog controller sticks.
Players configure a main weapon and sub-weapon in real time. These have unlimited ammunition, but also a heat meter to be managed. Between stages, weapons are upgraded and uniquely customized. As a last resort, the player can clear the area with a huge bomb or use the character's special ability.
Plot
The story is set several years after that of Contra III: The Alien Wars, taking place in Damned City. Due to the catastrophic events of the Alien Wars, Damned City has now become a post-apocalyptic environment that is home to "all sorts of strange artifacts and tech". The harsh environment causes incurable psychic damage to the minds of human beings, driving them insane. The city has a mysterious gate that unleashes hideous Fiends, attacking anything that is alive.
Players assume the roles of four former military mercs, scrappers, and bounty hunters who are known as the Jaegers: Kaiser, a rebuilt cyborg from The Alien Wars; Ms. Harakiri, an assassin with a parasitic alien attached; The Gentleman, a well-cultured, highly intelligent alien bug; and Hungry Beast, a brilliantly scientific cyborg giant panda. Naturally immune to the mind-destroying effects of the city, the Jaegers are humanity's hope against the threat of the Fiends.
Development
Contra: Rogue Corps was announced at E3 2019. The development of the game was overseen by veteran Contra series director and senior producer, Nobuya Nakazato, who also had been director, game designer, and artist of Contra III: The Alien Wars (1992) and Contra: Hard Corps (1994); and was producer and director of Contra: Shattered Soldier (2002) and more. Nakazato wanted to capture the traditional spirit of the Contra series, while modernizing it for a new audience.
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| MC = NS: 40/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/contra-rogue-corps/critic-reviews/?platform=nintendo-switch |title=Contra: Rogue Corps for Switch Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=10 October 2019 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029224013/https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/contra-rogue-corps |url-status=live }}
PS4: 52/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/contra-rogue-corps/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation-4 |title=Contra: Rogue Corps for PlayStation 4 Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=14 December 2019 |archive-date=23 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023132325/https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/contra-rogue-corps |url-status=live }}
XONE: 56/100{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/contra-rogue-corps/critic-reviews/?platform=xbox-one |title=Contra: Rogue Corps for Xbox One Reviews |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=10 October 2019 |archive-date=5 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905041730/https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/contra-rogue-corps |url-status=live }}
| NLife = NS: 4/10{{cite web |last=O'Reilly |first=PJ |date=25 September 2019 |url=https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/contra_rogue_corps |title=Contra: Rogue Corps Review (Switch) |website=Nintendo Life |publisher=Gamer Network |access-date=30 October 2019 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020040053/https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/contra_rogue_corps |url-status=live }}
|rev1 = PlayStation LifeStyle | rev1Score=PS4: 7.5/10
}}
Contra: Rogue Corps received "mixed or average" reviews on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and received "generally unfavorable" reviews on the Nintendo Switch, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Mitchell Saltzman of IGN attended the E3 2019 preview, initially feeling "some strong initial whiplash" from the dramatic departure from the series' history and the lack of nostalgia. With its "solid foundation" of gameplay, he found "a respectable twin-stick shooter with good gunplay and the potential for a great time with four-player couch co-op". He praised the way the game rewards a player's thoughtful strategies with a "smart and fun dynamic where you'll need to juggle your main and sub-weapon regularly".
Destructoid criticized the use of season pass downloadable content though "nothing of substance is being gated off", and noted that the overall reception by E3 attendees was "incredibly mixed".{{cite web |last=Glagowski |first=Peter |date=19 August 2019 |url=https://www.destructoid.com/-update-contra-rogue-corps-is-getting-a-season-pass-because-of-course-it-is-564227.phtml |title=(Update) Contra Rogue Corps is getting a season pass because of course it is |website=Destructoid |publisher=Enthusiast Gaming |access-date=1 October 2019 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728043356/https://www.destructoid.com/-update-contra-rogue-corps-is-getting-a-season-pass-because-of-course-it-is-564227.phtml |url-status=live }} Nintendo Life criticized its controls, graphics, and "bland" mission structure{{mdash}}while praising its complex upgrade and customization system.
PlayStation LifeStyle{{'}}s review of the game was more positive, stating that it "understands the appeal of revisiting gratuitous 90s cheese, but filters out all the tropes we’ve grown out of since. By injecting actual, creative humor instead of edgy cynicism or boring references, Contra: Rogue Corps really has a personality of its own despite most of the storytelling living in the background."{{Cite web|url=https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/09/25/contra-rogue-corps-review-ps4/|title=Contra Rogue Corps Review - Cybernetic Pandamonium (PS4)|date=2019-09-25|website=PlayStation LifeStyle|access-date=2020-03-19|archive-date=2020-03-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319020127/https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/09/25/contra-rogue-corps-review-ps4/|url-status=live}}{{clear}}
References
External links
- {{official website|https://www.konami.com/games/contra/rc/gate}}
{{Contra series}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contra: Rogue Corps}}
Category:Biorobotics in fiction
Category:Cyberpunk video games
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games
Category:Multiplayer online games
Category:Nintendo Switch games
Category:PlayStation 4 Pro enhanced games
Category:Post-apocalyptic video games
Category:Video games about alien invasions
Category:Video games about cyborgs
Category:Video games about genetic engineering
Category:Video games about mental health
Category:Video games developed in Japan
Category:Video games scored by Takahiro Nishi
Category:Video games set in the 27th century
Category:Video games with 2.5D graphics