Vs.
5. Metal Gear Solid
Games of epic proportions face off against one another. Contra is the best run and gun game I can think of. The entire game is run and gun. And jump. Metal Gear Solid is an astounding story presented in the shape of a game, with one of the greatest stories ever told in a game.
Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start. I dare anybody to beat this game without inputting the Konami Code at the beginning of the game. I doubt that I could beat the first level without it. Contra is notorious for being a ridiculously difficult game. One of the hardest without the Konami Code. The enemies punish you by firing ceaseless amounts of bullets or lasers at you.
The premise of the game is simple: run from left to right, jump around, shoot anything that moves, and just try to avoid being hit. The execution, on the other hand, is far less forgiving. One hit and you are dead. That Spreader that you had is gone forever now. The Automatic Rifle is no more; back to having to press the button to fire instead of holding it down. Yeah, the weapons were pretty sick. The laser was awful, though. And that fire gun. I am all about the spreader.
Contra is one of my favorite 8-bit games (duh, it made the list) and I would not be a gamer if I had never played it. Hell, I would not be a gamer if I did not know what the Konami Code was. There should be a test administered to gamers and the first question is "What is the Konami Code?" If that is answered incorrectly, then an automatic fail. Contra's simple premise and hardcore difficult makes this game a classic.
I must admit to have played Twin Snakes, the remake, before I ever played the original Metal Gear Solid. I must also admit to playing MGS 1, 2 and 3 for the first time this summer. I just knew that after Twin Snakes and knowing that MGS4 was coming out (best reason for buying a PS3) I needed to go to the original. Was it better? Well, look what copy made it to the list. Controls were a step down, as well as graphics. But the original had way better sound and feel to it overall. The voice actors were the same, but I never knew that Naomi and Mei Ling had accents to begin with. They should have kept them.
The story is what is mind blowing about this game. It is so intense that on subsequent playthoughs (not speedruns) I end up watching them all over again and gain a little bit more out of the plot each time. There are so many cheeky elements involved too, those just make me giggle everytime. For instance, Ocelot stares you (the player) in the eyes and tells you not to cheat with a turbo controller; and Mantis reads your memory card to see how often you have been saving and what other games you like to play.
I keep coming back to this game every once in a while for maybe a weekend of gaming because of how epic the story is. It is not as ambitious as the sequels (I still cannot wrap my head completely around 2 or 4; 3 is a bit easier to comprehend, it is the characters in 3 that are the most confusing, not the story) but the story in MGS is simple (eek) in the fact that the bad guys stole REX and you need to stop them. Tons of character development takes place as awesome filler.
Konami is well represented in this match up. Both games offer something different. Contra delivers quick action-packed playing without having to understand what in the world is going on with the final boss. Metal Gear Solid can be played quickly (I have done it in under four hours) but it should not be; the story is not one to miss. This is one of the hardest match ups to come up with a clear winner on. My head says one, my heart says the other. I'll go with my head on this one.
Winner: Contra
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Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start. I dare anybody to beat this game without inputting the Konami Code at the beginning of the game. I doubt that I could beat the first level without it. Contra is notorious for being a ridiculously difficult game. One of the hardest without the Konami Code. The enemies punish you by firing ceaseless amounts of bullets or lasers at you.
The premise of the game is simple: run from left to right, jump around, shoot anything that moves, and just try to avoid being hit. The execution, on the other hand, is far less forgiving. One hit and you are dead. That Spreader that you had is gone forever now. The Automatic Rifle is no more; back to having to press the button to fire instead of holding it down. Yeah, the weapons were pretty sick. The laser was awful, though. And that fire gun. I am all about the spreader.
Contra is one of my favorite 8-bit games (duh, it made the list) and I would not be a gamer if I had never played it. Hell, I would not be a gamer if I did not know what the Konami Code was. There should be a test administered to gamers and the first question is "What is the Konami Code?" If that is answered incorrectly, then an automatic fail. Contra's simple premise and hardcore difficult makes this game a classic.
-----
I must admit to have played Twin Snakes, the remake, before I ever played the original Metal Gear Solid. I must also admit to playing MGS 1, 2 and 3 for the first time this summer. I just knew that after Twin Snakes and knowing that MGS4 was coming out (best reason for buying a PS3) I needed to go to the original. Was it better? Well, look what copy made it to the list. Controls were a step down, as well as graphics. But the original had way better sound and feel to it overall. The voice actors were the same, but I never knew that Naomi and Mei Ling had accents to begin with. They should have kept them.
The story is what is mind blowing about this game. It is so intense that on subsequent playthoughs (not speedruns) I end up watching them all over again and gain a little bit more out of the plot each time. There are so many cheeky elements involved too, those just make me giggle everytime. For instance, Ocelot stares you (the player) in the eyes and tells you not to cheat with a turbo controller; and Mantis reads your memory card to see how often you have been saving and what other games you like to play.
I keep coming back to this game every once in a while for maybe a weekend of gaming because of how epic the story is. It is not as ambitious as the sequels (I still cannot wrap my head completely around 2 or 4; 3 is a bit easier to comprehend, it is the characters in 3 that are the most confusing, not the story) but the story in MGS is simple (eek) in the fact that the bad guys stole REX and you need to stop them. Tons of character development takes place as awesome filler.
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Konami is well represented in this match up. Both games offer something different. Contra delivers quick action-packed playing without having to understand what in the world is going on with the final boss. Metal Gear Solid can be played quickly (I have done it in under four hours) but it should not be; the story is not one to miss. This is one of the hardest match ups to come up with a clear winner on. My head says one, my heart says the other. I'll go with my head on this one.
Winner: Contra
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