Review of Hard Corps: Uprising for Xbox LIVE Arcade

Hard Corps: Uprising for Xbox LIVE Arcade is the first game in this year's Xbox LIVE Arcade House Party, and it is an intensely challenging yet rewarding title to play. When reviewing Hard Corps: Uprising I was stunned by the features that this title has to offer to its genre. Arc System Works' nod to the Konami classic Contra adds a surprising amount of depth and strategy to a traditionally mindless "run and gun" type of game.

In Hard Corps: Uprising players utilize one of two distinct characters to play with, Bahamut or Krystal. Each has their own different story line and starting abilities. It is important to note that additional characters to play with are available as extra DLC at 200 Microsoft Points each, however this review is based off of a play through with the default character Bahamut.

Players choose between playing either Arcade or "Uprising" modes, and can be joined by a second local player. Don't have any friends? That ok. Hard Corps Uprising takes full advantage of Xbox LIVE so that you can jump online with a friend or random person in quick match to take on the endless hordes of soldiers in this fast paced side scrolling shooter.

Hard Corps: Uprising features beautifully rich graphics, the likes of which are matched by few other games currently available on Xbox LIVE Arcade. Every background is intricately detailed, and enemies in this clearly anime influenced title can come from both the foreground and background.

An interesting thing to note is that the environment affects the enemies in Hard Corps: Uprising as well. For example, in one part of the first level you must continuously jump in order to avoid sinking in quicksand. Enemy soldiers who aren't as smart will flay their arms in a comical manner as they are suffocated by the hazard.

To say that each level of Hard Corps: Uprising is a long and challenging game would be an understatement. Unless you're an extremely skilled platformer then you should expect to replay each level several times in order to purchase the required upgrades to move on.

The controls in Hard Corps: Uprising are simplistic, yet at the same time take incredible skills in order to master. For instance you can aim your gun and then lock in your aim so that you can strafe on your target while running. While you're busy strafing, you'll also find yourself jumping, dashing, and reflecting bullets. Although that may sound similar to most first person shooters, evading enemy fire is a lot harder in a 2D side scrolling environment. Each level's boss will take a combination of critical timing and identifying the increasingly complex patterns of movements to exploit their weaknesses.

One new addition that I loved in Hard Corps: Uprising is the ability to keep and switch between two special weapons. Because you only lose your active special weapon when your character is hit or dies, it is possible to "save" it by switching weapons quickly before you're hit. This proves particularly useful during boss battles.

In Arcade mode of Hard Corps: Uprising, players only have three bars of health. Arcade mode presents an ultimate challenge for a single player. It is only in "Uprising" mode that even the most talented gamers stand a chance of beating this unbelievably hard game.

In the "Rising" mode of Hard Corps: Uprising, players score points for each kill. Killing multiple enemies without being hit builds your score multiplier, which helps to quickly amass an impressive score. Your score is essential to upgrading your character. Upgrades can range from additional health (up to six slots), to extra lives and continues (up to nine), an increase in your weapon's powers, and special moves which are essential to beating many of Hard Corps: Uprising's levels.

One of the most awesome and rewarding experiences in the "Rising" mode of Hard Corps: Uprising is going back to a previous level and exploding through it thanks to all of your upgrades. Levels that took an intense hour of carefully coordinated play to beat the first time around can be rushed through in as little as five minutes with enough experience.

The difficulty of Hard Corps: Uprising might work against it from a single player's perspective - making it a "love it or hate it" type of game. If you aren't a particularly patient person and decide to play Hard Corps: Uprising by yourself, then you may be in for a painfully arduous experience due to the number of times you'll find yourself dying and replaying each level. However for those who enjoy a challenge, beating Hard Corps: Uprising's single player campaign is a reward in and of itself.

During my analysis of Hard Corps: Uprising, I found the load screens unusually long for an Xbox LIVE Arcade game. The time between rounds of matchmaking on Halo: Reach isn't nearly as long as the wait encountered between stages in Hard Corps: Uprising - which is a real shame.

I invited several friends over to my house to play Hard Corps: Uprising with me, and everyone agreed on one thing though: despite the insane difficulty of Hard Corps: Uprising's arcade mode, the game as a whole is a complete blast to play while during a party.

Hard Corps: Uprising is available from the Xbox LIVE Arcade for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). You can download the demo of Hard Corps: Uprising for Xbox LIVE Arcade or purchase the full title here.

For more information about Hard Corps: Uprising, visit www.konami.com/games/hardcorps.

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