Assault Retribution (PS1) Review
For Contra fans, the 3D era of video games didn’t bode well at all since Contra belongs to a group of video games that can really only remain entertaining inside of a 2D title. But in 1998, thanks to the Candle Light Studios’ efforts, a 3D title with a Contra-vibe was released on the PS1 that made experiencing a 3D run-and-gun enjoyable. That game was Assault Retribution on the PS1.
There are two characters in the game, a man and a woman, who look like Candle Light Studios’ equivalent for “Bill and Lance” (or any other buddy character combination from the era) from Contra. Surprisingly, each character has their own lines of dialogue in the so-called story of the game, which is not as important as that of Contra: Hard Corps, a title that is still a good example of how the run-and-gun genre could use a storyline.
Assault Retribution’s quality is enough to play an important role in that era of video games. First of all, it has aged well and is playable. Apart from this, it’s the only 5th gen journey to have an experience on a par with Contra. Secondly, Assault Retribution acted as an opponent of 3D Contra titles on the platform and its words are still left unspoken since it got lost in the great mass of AAA titles in 1998. Of course, Assault Retribution was a key player behind the scenes, when fans’ only hope rested with Contra.
Assault Retribution contains seven levels with a futuristic setting. The game is so short that it makes you wonder why it even has a saving system, as it can be finished in less than two hours. But you should wait a moment and think. Saying “it’s short” is like saying “Contra is short” since you could easily finish each Contra title in a jiffy if you analyze each boss’ weak points and patterns. Honestly, the game forgot the difficulty part of the Contra-like recipe; while Assault Retribution outwardly wanted to portray itself as a 3D Contra, with the default difficulty you’re unable to see as much challenge as Contra in a 3D world. Maybe using an auto-save system is the reason to prove that the game doesn’t want to claim it’s a really challenging title.
Nothing can stop you from destroying everything in the game! Maybe it’s a sense of fun invincibility that can only come from forgotten obscure titles.
Most of the gameplay consists of alien hordes attacking you, and there is no stopping them. If you stand in one place, the hordes approach constantly from one side of the screen depending on the perspective. The gameplay is viewed from different perspectives including top-down and side-view. I don’t think this can be a coincidence, as these are the perspectives Super Contra used. Enemies vary from alien pods to alien creatures, and even by the end of the game, you rarely see new enemies since they are all similar in design. Every enemy, including bosses, can be defeated on the first attempt, but what makes the game fun is how it implements its elements on a run-and-gun structure. Enemies are ubiquitous and fill the screen with an unstoppable crowd of aliens. There are some items that make the game feel different than any other of the same style titles, and additionally, the game is not only about shooting, it also has a few platforming scenes. To put it simply, Assault Retribution is a shooter version of Dynasty Warriors and mostly uses a Contra vibe to shape its atmosphere and gameplay style.
Assault Retribution also uses item-based gameplay. There are not that many items in the game, but they’re enough to make the game progress quickly. The items in Assault Retribution are separated into two groups: those which you can use by just walking over them, and those which you can store. You can store only one item at a time and their uses range from extra health, destroying all enemies on the screen, and filling up the ammo bar.
The game has destructible objects with some items inside, but sometimes you’ll find yourself getting hurt, because destroying an object can mean exploding them.
The game has an interesting system for ammo. Each time you shoot, a little bar at the bottom of the screen called the ammo bar starts decreasing. It’s rechargeable and is automatically filled up if you stop shooting. This mechanic gives the game a little bit of challenge. Additionally, each character has their own set of weapons, each of which can be upgraded three times by walking over the upgrade item. The unupgraded default weapon is the only form weapon that doesn’t use the ammo bar. Maybe it was an approach for the developers to prevent the screen from having a landscape of bullets and enemies because Assault Retribution could have looked more like bullet-hell titles if the usage of powerful weapons had been granted without the ammo bar. However, you can fill up this bar by just storing and using the ammo item; they’re not rare at all. These systems combine well enough to keep a decent challenge intact.
Considering there isn’t even a consensus amongst run-and-gun fans on how you should use items, the game uses an automatic system to stop wasting items. Imagine you have the ammo item, what do you do if you see the same one in front of you? Maybe you’d use the item you have and then gain the new one. In Assault Retribution, there is no need to do so because the game is smart enough to detect your problem. In this situation, the game fills up the ammo bar by just picking up the new ammo item, while you keep the old one. This mechanic helps prevent wasted time and inputs so you can kill more aliens and create as much chaos as you want. The same scenario, with more power, happens to the upgrade items. If you wield a weapon that is fully upgraded and see an upgrade item and take it, the game finds the first unupgraded weapon to make it more powerful. This way you won’t lose any items.
Imagine if it was possible to shoot all the time without any limitation. All hell would break loose.
Praise aside there are some problems with the gameplay. Upgrade items are everywhere. However, there is a slim chance to get a new weapon through the levels, since you could easily lose your weapon. Also, you can look up or down, but it’s hard to estimate where your shots will hit. Additionally, sometimes the game forgets which direction you’re pressing and it’s really weird.
The other problem with Assault Retribution is that the male character is so strong that he blows his fellow workers out of the water. He uses a stronger set of weapons and can defeat everything in the environment. The way the game acts shows no real challenge in the gameplay, but this can’t be considered a negative aspect of the title. If we treat it as a shooter version of Dynasty Warriors (a thing that Assault Retribution seems to want to be like) with a Contra vibe then this is the main reason that it feels fun.
To form variety, a few areas have you jumping on platforms. Sometimes you have to shoot the obstacles and objects to release platforms to stand on them. Platforms arrangements are not that good of a fit with a run-and-gun game. It’s hard to estimate where you’ll land after jumping, which is really important when platforms vary from falling platforms to disappearing ones.
The platforming part of the game can’t serve its purpose, and I think it proves that Assault Retribution’s existence is only to shoot aliens in a fun way to fill the void left by the absence of a good 3D Contra on the PS1 platform.
There are platforming moments like this where an item can prevent one from jumping onto the right platform, meaning you have to shoot and jump without a good indication of where you’ll land…
There’s nothing impressive about the graphics, there were better visuals than Assault Retribution on the platform. The graphics are good enough to render numerous aliens on the screen, managing to create some insane moments that never cease to amaze, especially while listening to the driving electronic music of the game. It’s true that the music in the game is not perfect, but it fills the need for run-and-gun audiences. If you still treat the game like what it wants to be, then you won’t have any problem with this aspect.
Even with the problems the game has, Assault Retribution is one of those games you have to experience. It’s insane to have a journey similar to Contra in the 5th generation on the PS1. The game is still playable with a fun structure to the gameplay and it reminds me of a shooter version of the Dynasty Warriors series. It’s fun and functions as an interesting example of what Contra could have looked like on the PS1. For run-and-gun fans, there’s no need to ignore Assault Retribution.
SCORES
GAMEPLAY - 8/10
VISUALS - 7.5/10
SOUND - 8/10
CONTROLS - 9/10
REPLAY VALUE - 10/10
OVERALL - 8.5/10
Assault Retribution was released on the PlayStation in 1998 and was developed by Candle Light Studios. The game was published in North America by Midway Games. Telstar published the title in Europe. Screenshots for this article were captured via emulation.
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