Contra co-op is totally out of sync

Posted Nov 9th 2006 12:30PM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

The image above contains two screenshots from an online co-op game of Contra. The picture on the left was taken by one player, and the picture on the right was taken by the other ... at the same time. In the words of Wired Game|Life, "XBLA Contra Co-Op Play Is F**ked Up" They're not the only ones who noticed either: IGN seems to be having the same problem. We haven't replicated the problem here at Fanboy Towers, simply because we've been too busy playing Gears to pay for Contra. Has anyone else out there experienced this problem? If you wanted Contra for the online co-op, you may want to wait for Konami to fix this problem before you pay for the full version.

Contra shoots XBLA with spread gun

Posted Nov 8th 2006 10:30AM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

What did we ever do to deserve this? Halo 3 info is everywhere, Call of Duty 3 on the cheap, movies and TV on Marketplace, Gears of War, and now Contra all in the same week. There's so much stuff that it's actually hard to take it all in. Like staring into the sun, its radiant beauty is simply overwhelming.

Anyway, the point is that Contra is now available. I powered up my 360 this morning just to grab it from XBLA. Lo and behold, it said I'd already downloaded it. It was then that I realized the new Arcade auto-download feature was doing its job. Huzzah! If you thought you died a lot in Gears of War, just see how long you last in Contra. Home to one of the greatest game weapons of all time, the spread gun, Contra is a shooter for the ages. It also helped make co-op gaming one of the greatest experiences in life. If you're old enough to remember the good old days, download this puppy and blast through it with a buddy. It won't take very long, but it's not like you ever would have gotten through the original for under five bucks, so 400 points is a pretty good deal. And even if you don't remember the good old days, you might as well give it a try, right?

Contra -- like other retro titles -- has some control issues. It doesn't seem nearly as responsive as it should. The core gameplay is still there though, and that's what counts. The remixed graphics and music aren't that much of an improvement, but welcome nonetheless. Still, as we said above, the amount of gaming you get for five dollars seems adequate. Has anyone stopped playing Gears (or COD3 or Project 8 or Viva Piñata or ....) long enough to try Contra?

Contra codified for XBLA this Wednesday

Posted Nov 6th 2006 9:30AM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

It looks like someone over at Microsoft realized that a new UNO deck doesn't exactly inspire excitement on Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays, because this week they're getting the word out bright and early. Releasing this Wednesday for 400 points is everyone's favorite old school, alien-blasting shooter, Contra. A side scrolling shooter of the highest order, Contra is one of those games that people have been pining for ever since the Xbox Live Arcade service was announced. Like Frogger, another Konami XBLA release, Contra will feature both original and enhanced graphics and sound. We have to wonder if the enhancements will be an actual improvement or if they will feel as strange as they did in Frogger. The game will also feature Xbox Live and local co-op play, leaderboards, and 12 achievements. What we don't know is whether or not the game will incorporate the Konami code. We realize that the code wasn't actually in the arcade version of Contra but it's the principle of the thing.

So, what do you think fanboys? Is Contra so magnificent that it even overshadows that other game that comes out tomorrow, or is it just another retro title clogging the Arcade?

XBLA, Contra and Gyruss coming "soon"

Posted Oct 24th 2006 4:30PM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

There's a small section devoted to Xbox Live Arcade in the latest issue of Konami's newsletter -- creatively titled, "Konami News". In the newsletter, Konami announces that both Contra and Gyruss are coming "soon." How soon is soon? We don't know, but there are ten more Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays this year, and we can only hope that these games are destined for two of them. (Small Arms first, please.)

The article contains some previously unreleased info on both games. Contra will feature updated graphics and sounds, online multiplayer (!), and leaderboards. But does it have "the code?!" That's all we want to know. Gyruss will feature updated graphics, new versus and co-op modes, and leaderboards. We have to hand it to Konami for actually upgrading its old arcade games for XBLA. That's the kind of thing more developers should do -- unlike Namco, who actually removed multiplayer from games like Pac-Man and Galaga. So, are you excited for Contra? Any other Konami games you'd like to see resurrected?

[Thanks, J.Goodwin]

Tiger Woods content is cheating

Posted Oct 16th 2006 11:30AM by Richard Mitchell
Filed under: News, Xbox Live, Hacks / mods, Xbox Live Marketplace

We swear, we don't just come to work wondering how we can hate on EA. Honestly, we don't, but we couldn't help pointing something out. There's a new batch of downloadable content for Tiger Woods 07. Sure, everyone loves downloadable content, but this new "content" stinks.

Unlock Golfer:-200 points
Pro Shop – 300 points
Maxed out Player – 200 points
Unlock Courses – 200 points

As a quick explanation, all of these downloads unlock content in the game. The thing is, it unlocks content in the game that you can unlock just by playing it. What it comes down to is that EA is basically charging us for cheat codes. You want every single golfer in the game, but you don't want to unlock them yourself? That'll be $2.50. Maybe you'd like to have every item in the Pro Shop. No problem: $3.75. Can't be bothered to raise your golfer's stats? Easy, we'll max him out for $2.50. And of course, what good is a maxed out golfer if he can't play on those pesky locked courses. We'll just unlock those for another $2.50.

Now, we're not going to completely condemn this. Many people have complained that they don't have time to unlock things in their games. All they want is to be able to play with their friends, using all the same content. That's all well and good, but we can't help feeling that things like this are chipping away at the soul of gaming. Seriously, why play the game at all if you're just going to strip it of all accomplishment? Put simply, it's bullsh*t. And probably a goldmine for EA. God help us all if Konami charges us for "the code" when Contra hits XBLA.

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