Developed by Arc System Works, Hard Corps: Uprising is the spiritual sequel to Contra: Hard Corps available as a downloadable game on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.
@Helushune: Only the initial load is bad (the other levels load fine), the checkpoints are fine, the only poorly designed things are the quick-time events (which are few, and once you've failed one of them, you'll never fail one again), and the game is way faster than Shattered Soldier. Like, way, way faster.
" I think the QL was a disgrace lack of professionalism from the Bomb crew , the game plays awesome like the Contra of yore. I noticed that the whiskey folks dont really inform themselves when playing games ( never read tutorials and the like ) so they make lousy QL , perhaps is it a very meager attempt to make comedy like teenagers. I expect that on the happy hour but not on the QL , as they are to inform the people. Also their anime hate gets too much in the way. Also the load time in single player is only 25 seconds , is not bad at all , also subsequent continues require no loads. So they were only being hostile to it just for the sake of it. "
Yeah yeah fuck those guys for never being prepared blah blah blah. I'm really getting sick of people talking about how unprepared they are during quick looks. If you don't like the way they do it, make your own fucking website and do it differently. The only people who do this kind of shit are fans of Japanese games who lose their shit when the staff doesn't declare their game the greatest thing ever They don't hate this game because of the anime style, they hate it because of the way its designed. If you want to go on and on about how noone understands how good your stupid anime game is, go over to Anime Vice and NEVER come back. We won't miss your kind.
" I thought their attitudes were right on the money. Especially when it came to fighting that one boss multiple times. Lame. "
That's the only instance in the game something like this is happening. The other bosses are pretty great and very varied in design.
@all
Chill out, guys. No reason to become all aggressive about a game. Some people like it the way it is designed, some don't. I happen to like it a lot but I understand how people are put off by this type of game.
" Why would I bother with this game that looks slow, poorly designed, has awful load times, bad check pointing, etc when I can just put in Shattered Soldier and have a much better experience? Not to mention, I'm sure you can find Shattered Soldier in the bargain bin instead of wasting $10 on this. "
I really liked Shattered Soldier and trust me: this game is every bit as good even though it doesn't seem so in the QL.
Not reading any of this thread but I'm willing to bet Icemael and/or Hallinel are staunchly pro-Hard Corps Uprising while everyone else is either nonplussed or support the Quick Look footage. Tell me I'm wrong.
" Not reading any of this thread but I'm willing to bet Icemael and/or Hallinel are staunchly pro-Hard Corps Uprising while everyone else is either nonplussed or support the Quick Look footage. Tell me I'm wrong. "
" I think the QL was a disgrace lack of professionalism from the Bomb crew , the game plays awesome like the Contra of yore. I noticed that the whiskey folks dont really inform themselves when playing games ( never read tutorials and the like ) so they make lousy QL , perhaps is it a very meager attempt to make comedy like teenagers. I expect that on the happy hour but not on the QL , as they are to inform the people. Also their anime hate gets too much in the way. Also the load time in single player is only 25 seconds , is not bad at all , also subsequent continues require no loads. So they were only being hostile to it just for the sake of it. "
Yeah yeah fuck those guys for never being prepared blah blah blah. I'm really getting sick of people talking about how unprepared they are during quick looks. If you don't like the way they do it, make your own fucking website and do it differently. The only people who do this kind of shit are fans of Japanese games who lose their shit when the staff doesn't declare their game the greatest thing ever They don't hate this game because of the anime style, they hate it because of the way its designed. If you want to go on and on about how noone understands how good your stupid anime game is, go over to Anime Vice and NEVER come back. We won't miss your kind. "
Dude, I think you're missing the point. By not playing the game knowing the controls, you're basically piloting a plane without ever being taught how. I get that they're just quick glimpses into what the game is about; and I love that the GB team are the only guys online who have the balls to go into a game blind and just talk about what's going on - but they could at least click on "options" first. That's kind of the most important part in any game - without controls, you can't play anything properly.
@Tricks73r: They didn't need to see the controls, they seemed just fine in the game. Even if this game is "all about the dodging" as people have said, I don't think they would've figured that out over the course of the QL. You just want to complain because they don't like your game. GET OVER IT!
The graphics looked decent, but those fucking checkpoints made me really dislike the game, without even having played it. And the fact that they tossed 3 "boss battles" on you in a row was complete bullshit.
@Tricks73r: I wonder what the hell gave me that idea, maybe the part where you made a thread complaining that they didn't play the game right and that's why they suck and don't get your awesome rad game.
Well, yeah; the game deserves a fair chance because the later levels are fantastic, and they weren't playing it properly. That's not complaining because I like the game and others don't, I'd' just rather people not look at two guys who don't like the game and think "This is terrible!" when in fact, it gets really good. If you're not into this kind of game, it's not going to change your mind at all, but if you're aprehensive and an avid Contra fan, the QL would push you far from this game. That's not quite fair considering the hardcore fan base of games like this, and that it was reviewed by people who aren't really into this level of difficulty - even with the admittedly shoddy checkpoint system.
The game has shit checkpointing which everyone knows, and stupid mixing of voicework and poor sound design overall. The guns sound rather weak and overly digital, and for some terrible reason enemy death screams are mixed louder than anything else in the game. So yes, I completely agree with the quick look's opinions.
However, the action is not terrible by any means, but all the awful other factors that cause the general gameplay experience to be fucking terrible. Frankly put, it's Contra, you should be able to pick it up and play and have fun just by knowing there is a shoot button and a jump button. If a game isn't going to properly give you a tutorial on extra things outside of that in this day and age, that's just poor game design.
At best, all this game deserves is 2 out of 5 stars. Yes, I bought it, and yes, I'm still playing it to some sort of degree because I just like Contra games that much. Anyone who glosses these facts however, is just being purely ignorant and a complete fanboy.
" @Icemael: I'd still rather play Metal Slug or if you're itching for a bullet hell game, give Ikaruga a shot. "
Ikaruga is a vertical bullet hell shoot 'em up. Hard Corps: Uprising is a side-scrolling action shooter. Completely different games, completely different genres.
" The game has shit checkpointing which everyone knows, and stupid mixing of voicework and poor sound design overall. The guns sound rather weak and overly digital, and for some terrible reason enemy death screams are mixed louder than anything else in the game. So yes, I completely agree with the quick look's opinions. However, the action is not terrible by any means, but all the awful other factors that cause the general gameplay experience to be fucking terrible. Frankly put, it's Contra, you should be able to pick it up and play and have fun just by knowing there is a shoot button and a jump button. If a game isn't going to properly give you a tutorial on extra things outside of that in this day and age, that's just poor game design. At best, all this game deserves is 2 out of 5 stars. Yes, I bought it, and yes, I'm still playing it to some sort of degree because I just like Contra games that much. Anyone who glosses these facts however, is just being purely ignorant and a complete fanboy. "
I'll be honest, I played a ton of Contra when I was a kid and for the first hour or so that I played this game I did nothing but jump and shoot. It didn't even occur to me to push another button. Eventually I realized that some of the unlock options probably had buttons associated with them, so I looked at the controls and found out that I could strafe, stand and aim, dash, etc. I continued playing for awhile longer, but the additional moves didn't make the game more fun, they just made it easier.
I think the game looks great. It maintains the challenge of a classic Contra or Metal Slug while adding more movement options which make the game more mechanically complex and interesting. It is not a "run forward and hold down the fire button" game of 15 years ago. And yes, watching people fail and retry things is frustrating, it's not the game's fault. Don't really care about "preparation" or "professionalism" but seeing this game played well would reflect it in a much better light than the opposite, obviously.
"I'll be honest, I played a ton of Contra when I was a kid and for the first hour or so that I played this game I did nothing but jump and shoot. It didn't even occur to me to push another button. Eventually I realized that some of the unlock options probably had buttons associated with them, so I looked at the controls and found out that I could strafe, stand and aim, dash, etc. I continued playing for awhile longer, but the additional moves didn't make the game more fun, they just made it easier. "
Yeah, exactly. I did the same as you when I first picked up this game as well. Simply poor gameplay design that didn't implement a tutorial to show you how to do anything.
I mean fuck, they don't even show you a tool-tip or anything on how to do a simple dash, dodge, or bullet reflect. But for some sodding reason they give you an INSANELY LARGE tooltip window with confirmation to continue when you're at the part where you save that scientist guy, which says "hey if you duck, he will duck too". What a useless sack of shit design that is. Whoever made any of the specifications for this game simply doesn't know how to make video games or something. It's simply baffling.
How anyone thinks that the Giant Bomb Staff "didn't do the Quick Look right" simply doesn't understand the point of what a Quick Look is meant for. Just like the title states, it's meant to be literally, a quick look at the game. Even more accurately, it's should be titled a "The Blind Video Game Test" because you literally go into the test blind. You don't read a manual, you don't research every bit and detail beforehand. You simply load it up and play. If they played a bit of it beforehand, then sure whatever. But part of the Quick Look is to simply dive in, headfirst for exploration and experimentation. I think a lot of people are incredibly confused about the differences between this and what the actual review is for (if they decide to write one for whichever game they play). Hard Corps obviously fails on that front as a first-hand experience.
Yes, Hard Corps gets better the more you play and you become way more accustomed to the controls and all the intricacies within, but that doesn't really happen until maybe 6-8 hours into the game after you've beaten Rising Mode maybe 10 times through. Because of this, the game simply put, is a functional failure where you literally only keep playing on trying to master it and play it effectively because you're absolutely retarded - just like me.
" It's just their opinion, it's not like a mandate, I mean look at Demon's Souls, it's both critically and user acclaimed but the GB guys just effin hate it, same thing for Flower. "
Sorry, what? "
I think he's referring to the fact that Vinny didn't like Flower and Jeff and Ryan hate Demons' Souls.
I know I'm late to this party, but having just bought and played this - I'd totally agree that much like Arc's other recent games that come to mind, namely Blazblue - Jeff gave this game a pretty lousy, and dare I say 'unprofessionally biased' look because it's actually pretty awesome and I'm glad I ignored what they had said in that quick look and picked it up. Also, they must have been playing an earlier build because the loading times are nowhere near as bad as they were on that quick look.
I hope Jeff learns to get over his anime hate soon, otherwise it's kind of a waste of time them looking at games like this if it's just hate from the start.
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