I may not be the right audience for Hard Corps: Uprising, recently released XBLA title and part of the Xbox House Party season. But then, chances are, neither are you. Fitting squarely in the run-and-gun genre of shooters, this is a nail-bitingly tough game that will stretch your skills as a gamer to the limits- par for the course for many fans of the genre. It’s certainly a tricky one, but does it manage to remain fun throughout the frustration?
After an utterly badass anime introduction, the player is presented with a title screen, a robotic female voice reminding them of the game’s title, and then the main menu. From here in all logic players would select the first option on the menu: arcade mode. Fine for hardcore fans sure, this however may not be the correct choice for someone who played a bit of Contra once. Rising Mode is a far more friendly choice, but don’t think it a cakewalk by any means.
Making assumptions purely based on the visual styling, no matter what background knowledge of the series you might have, you wouldn’t really associate Hard Corps: Uprising and the Contra series. The swift, cool anime-style character animations and a plot that centres on government oppression don’t immediately fit in with what players might expect from the franchise, but that’s all forgotten once the game actually begins. Tight controls and fast paced, frantic gameplay remind you that this is definitely a Contra game; albeit one that has undergone some big changes.
There is no real tutorial, leaving the player to more or less work things out as they go along. Aside from a basic ‘how to play’ menu, the game piles on the pressure from the starting whistle, and it can become overwhelming at times. One of the big changes is the ability to double-jump and change direction in mid-air, making your character more agile and moveable. This is something that you might want to get the hang of, as the game enjoys testing the player’s ability to move quickly to avoid enemy attacks. Similarly taken advantage of by the game’s difficulty is the dash ability, which on straight surfaces allows the player to run until something blocks their path, and in the air give a little dash of movement. All of the abilities become useful throughout the game, which will certainly be off-putting for some players not willing to master the controls just to make it through in one piece. Paired with unforgiving, arguably cheap enemies and often frustratingly placed checkpoints (I don’t know, but I usually think of defeating a giant robotic Snake with turrets attached as worth a checkpoint before the motorcycle getaway) the game can quickly feel unfair on the player.
The difference between the two modes is pretty simple. Arcade mode presents exactly what you would expect from the name- an arcade experience. You have the default number of continues and lives with which to complete the entire game. This may be fairly standard, but if you weren’t fully understanding by this point then allow me to reiterate: this game is tough. Arcade mode is a no-save, do-it-in-one frustration fest, and though many will thrive under the pressure and genuinely enjoy this experience, I found it to be far too irritating to bother with. In order to survive you’ll need patience and a very good memory for attack patterns, the game often asking a little too much of the player.
The inclusion of “Rising” mode is a fortunate one, then, which makes the game both accessible to more casual players and structured, with the ability to continue from previous levels a real frustration relief. This still isn’t a game your Peggle-loving grandmother could play, but it is a less anger-inducing experience overall. The reason it is a less difficult mode isn’t solely down to the level-loading functionality, however. After all, a tough game is still a tough game even if you can switch from completed level to completed level. No, what makes rising mode easier going and more of a satisfying ride is that the player can earn points with which to upgrade their character to improve various aspects of their abilities. An example of this is in the weapon pick-ups. Throughout the game, various different weapons will fall from the sky for use by the player, each with different abilities. If the player has spent points on an auto-upgrade, however, that weapon pick-up can go from being a gun with a new ability to a super-powered gun with a far superior new ability. It’s a satisfying way for the game to create a feeling of progress, even if none is really being made with regards to level progression.
Developer Arc System Works have a track record for anime visuals, their BlazBlue and Guilty Gear games being good examples of this. The visual overhaul from previous Contra games is obvious, and the somewhat drab backgrounds are the only downside to an otherwise visually wonderful game. It hasn’t quite got the flair or originality of something like BlazBlue, but for an XBLA title it’s certainly impressive. The graphics also make it easy to see what is going on, useful when one bullet can ruin an entire session.
Your overall enjoyment of Hard Corps will be directly influenced by your capacity to suffer through difficulty for later satisfaction. Those who are willing will find much to enjoy, the levels requiring real skill to complete. Hardcore fans will enjoy the arcade mode, and others with the capacity to point-grind may enjoy rising mode once they have a few upgrades under their belt. It’s undeniably a matter of taste, but I personally- despite being pretty awful at it- have found room to enjoy this game for all its difficulty. But only in rising mode.
NXT Score: 7/10
Pros
- Satisfying overall
- Rising mode is more accessible and fun
- Great anime visuals
Cons
- Arcade mode is particularly unforgiving, frustrating
- Requires a lot of the player and can often feel cheap
Developer: 
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