Contra review - Nintendo Gameboy

In this Gameboy adaptation of the classic Gryzor coin-op, the player becomes the Contra - the ultimate combat soldier! His job is simple. Five areas have been infested by evil and twisted enemy soldier and their associated machines, and it's your express intention to enter each of the territories and singlehandedly blast away all the enemy soldiers you can find.

But beware! At the end of each multi-directionally scrolling level is a terrifying bastion of end-of-level terror, and it's your job to shoot them into oblivion and beyond. After that, the world is safe! Hurrah!

Contra is different from its coin-op parent in a number of ways. For a start the levels have been completely redesigned! Levels one, three and five are side-on shoot 'em ups whilst a top-down pseudo 3D look makes up levels two and four, making them look like a pretty decent Ikari Warriors clone!

What the Mean Machines staff thought

Brill! There aren't that many decent shoot 'em ups available on the Gameboy, but Contra more than redresses the balance. The blasting action is brilliant and really addictive - more than enough to keep any shoot 'em up veteran happy. With great graphics and thumping soundtracks, Contra is an essential buy. Go forth and purchase this now!

A beezer blast and no mistake! This is great fun, and packs plenty of action as you battle your way through heavy defences. Occasionally it's difficult to see what's going on, but other than that, this will keep arcade game fans happy for weeks.