is a 2D run and gun

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

developed by M2 and published by

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...

for

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

. It is the twelfth original installment in the '' Contra'' series. It was released in Japan on May 12, 2009,

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

regions on September 4, 2009, and North America on September 7, 2009.

Gameplay

''Contra ReBirth'' retains the same sprite-based side-scrolling gameplay as the series' earlier installments. The game can be played with the standard

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact ...

, as well as with the

Classic Controller The is a game controller produced by Nintendo for the Wii home video game console. While it later featured some compatibility with the Wii U console, the controller was ultimately succeeded by the Wii U Pro Controller. In April 2014, Ninten ...

or a

Nintendo GameCube controller The GameCube controller is the standard game controller for the GameCube home video game console, manufactured by Nintendo and launched in 2001. As the successor to the Nintendo 64 controller, it is the progression of Nintendo's controller desi ...

. As with most ''Contra'' games, up to two players can play simultaneously. The player initially has a choice between two different player characters: Bill Rizer, the traditional ''Contra'' hero, or Genbei Yagyu from '' Neo Contra''. Two additional characters: Brownie (Tsugumin in the Japanese version), an android shaped like a small girl; and Plissken, a tall reptilian humanoid alien (whose name is a tribute to the

Snake Plissken S.D. "Snake" Plissken (given as S.D. "Bob" Plissken, in the opening of '' Escape from L.A.'') is the protagonist of the films '' Escape from New York'' and '' Escape from L.A.'' He is portrayed by Kurt Russell, and created by director John Carp ...

movie character), can also be selected once the player has completed the game on Easy (Brownie) and Normal (Plissken). The dual weapon system from '' Contra III: The Alien Wars'' returns and the player's normal gun can now shoot in autofire once again. The power-ups in this installment consists of a Spread Shot, a Laser Gun and a Homing Gun. The traditional flamethrower, however, is missing. Playing on the Easy setting allows the player to always keep their current weapon after losing a life, a feature not available in any of the other settings, but locks the player out of the final boss stage and true ending, which usually occurs after all five main stages are completed.

Plot

In 2633, the Neo-Salamander Force, led by their mysterious leader Chief Salamander, travel back to 1973 to take out the Contra force, when the Earth's defenses are considered by them as "primitive". They end up establishing a base on the ruins of the Shizuoka temple at the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. Bill Rizer and Genbei Yagyu, two members of the present-day Contra team, are deployed by the Galactic President to travel back in time to stop them. With the help of Brownie or Tsugumin (a miniature gynoid similar to Browny from '' Contra: Hard Corps'') and Plissken (a reptilian alien) the Contra warriors manage to take down the Neo Salamander Force. However, Chief Salamander is nowhere to be seen. In the true ending of the game, it is revealed Chief Salamander is actually "Plissken", who has infiltrated the Contra unit under an assumed name.

Audio

The game's soundtrack was composed by Manabu Namiki, who worked on the other titles in the ''ReBirth'' series. The music consists of remixes of previous ''Contra'' songs. The official album was released on March 24, 2010 in a compilation with '' Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirths music.

Reception

''Contra ReBirth'' was received "favorable" reviews from

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. ''IGN'' given the score with 8.2/10. The game was nominated for Game of the Year by ''

Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Nint ...

'', as well as WiiWare Game of the Year and Best Action Game, but lost to ''

Epic Mickey ''Epic Mickey'' is a 2010 platform game for the Wii developed by Junction Point Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios, except in Japan, where it was published by Nintendo. The game focuses on Mickey Mouse, who accidentally dama ...

Notes

References

External links

Konami's official page for ''Contra ReBirth''
{{Contra series 2009 video games Wii games WiiWare games Wii-only games Contra (series) Retro-style video games Run and gun games Video games about time travel Video game reboots Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Mexico Video games scored by Manabu Namiki Cooperative video games Multiplayer and single-player video games