""CONTRA" is a master of the fighting spirit and guerrilla tactics.
A.D. 2631, The story begins when New Zealand reports that a meteor crashed into the nearby ocean.
2 years later, The red falcon begins the destruction of humanity.
2 of earth's marines, Bill and Lance become the "CONTRA." Their mission: Stop the world's destruction…"
This is the opening page for the online video game Contra: World Challenge. This game is a remake of the original "Contra" that is known as a classic video game to many gamers. As the description says, the game consists of one main character, Contra, and his fight against the enemy. The game is set in A.D. 2633, just two years after an alleged meteor crashed into an ocean near New Zealand. Contra is a character that represents the combination of two earth marines, Bill and Lance, and his mission is to stop the world's destruction by the Red Falcon.
The visuals and audio of the game create a mystical and voyage-like tone for the gamer. The graphics include three different scenes; a jungle, a snowfield, and an alien lair. Each of the settings require the same kind of movement for the player, in that the Contra moves from the left side of the screen to the right side in order to seek out and kill his enemy. The arrow keys are used for basic movement, while the shift key causes fire to shoot out of his gun and the spacebar allows him to jump. As the Contra moves along the path, he can move vertically by jumping on and off different levels. He can also go in water without being killed. Graphically the game is appealing because the colors are bright and the shapes are easily recognizable. According to today's standards of graphics, Contra: World Challenge is not advanced, however the creators of the game kept the appearance of the original game which may help users recognize it, and therefore the credibility rises. The audio of the game is repetitive and has a mystical tone. While playing the game, the music helps create the feeling that the gamer is on an important quest, and the repetition of the rhythm inspires the player to not stop until the mission is completed.
The difficulty of the game enters when the Contra is faced with obstacles. There are three main obstacles he encounters. The first is type is a result of the layout of the scene. As the Contra moves forward, there are gaps in the ground that he must jump over. If the gamer does not use the spacebar at the right time for the Contra to jump over the gap, the Contra will fall into a pit of nothingness and lose a life. The next obstacle comes with cannons along the path that are in the shape of square boxes. These shoot out bullets that can kill the Contra. To avoid these, the gamer must use the spacebar to jump over the boxes. The last obstacle, and likely the most challenging one, includes the enemy soldiers coming at the Contra from the opposite direction. While the gamer moves the Contra to the right, the enemy is coming at him with guns that shoot bullets. If the Contra is hit by one of these, he loses a life. There are many enemy soldiers, however they can be surpassed by killing them first with fire or jumping over them. Thankfully for gamers who like to feel accomplished, the game only has three levels. With each level, the game gets more difficult, but the player becomes accustomed to the keys and movement of the game making success more accessible.
The relation between Contra: World Challenge and my life lies in the idea of a quest. The player is only allowed to move from left to right, just as humans can only move forward and not go back in time. The Contra has to overcome obstacles that both his environment and the people around him present. In my life, I have to handle the conflicts that arise because of where I am and who I am with. Just as in the game, as I get older my obstacles become harder and more abundant. Also similarly, success in the higher levels is more satisfying just as accomplishing harder tasks in life is more gratifying.
Contra: World Challenge relates to our culture in several ways. The actual game itself is a remake of the first Contra video game, showing that video game creators saw the popularity of the first one and wanted to further its success with a remake. The graphics of both editions are similar in order to keep the sentimental quality of the original; people who are familiar with both appreciate the consistency and the advancements of the new version. The enhanced version shows how games are evolving (Berger). The game also relates to culture through its controls. The Contra is maneuvered through the course with basic arrow keys that many people are familiar with. This design makes it easily playable for the common gamer, which is important for the culture of video games. The actual setting of the game does not directly relate to our culture, but fighting enemies is prevalent in everyone's daily life. Humans are often faced with obstacles that must be faced by avoiding or destroying the enemy.
The archetype involved with this video game is centered around the setting of Contra: World Challenge. As the introduction to the game describes, the story is set in A.D. New Zealand. The country during that time and now consisted of mountainous, forest, and cold regions as well as regions with volcanoes (Thomson). The island itself is surrounded by water just as the jungle level of the game is. Each of the three backgrounds for the game allude to different regions of New Zealand. The people of New Zealand throughout history have had to fight off "invaders" much like the aliens in the video game. The story of Contra: World Challenge is a reflection of reality of A.D. New Zealand.
This video game can be seen as a narrative of someone's journey to accomplish an overall goal. Along the way, one must overcome obstacles and fight off protagonists, but perseverance and determination will lead to success. Although the game is set in A.D. New Zealand, players can relate because the overall goal is to complete a mission, something people do daily. The setting simply provides a mythical and exciting tone to keep gamers intrigued, but the use of commonly used keys and a basic structure for the game makes Contra: World Challenge easy and entertaining. This idea of completing a mission is not uncommon, which shows that our society is always striving to get better and finish tasks. I personally liked that the game was a remake of the older version. This new edition is exciting and challenging while still keeping the theme and appearance of the original. Just as dreams can include images or actions from our childhood, this game brings the return of a classic video game (Freud). In conclusion, this game is quality entertainment for any gamer, as one protagonist tries to fight for the common good.
http://onemorelevel.com/game/contra_world_challenge
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