[h1]Introduction [/h1]
Contract is a newly released side-scrolling shooter, think Gunpoint meets Hotline Miami. Your brother has been taken and the only way you can get him back is by completing a number of assassination contracts for the only person who knows where he is. As an ex-cop you know your way around a gun but you’re out of your depth as a new assassin, do you have what it takes to get your brother back?
Full Disclosure: A review copy provided by the developer.
[h1]Presentation [/h1]
Contract has a nice pixel art type appearance going on and it looks great. Its appearance is clearly inspired by the likes of Gunpoint but the dull colours throughout and the contrasting blood red make the visuals stand out. Contract’s crosshair makes up one of only two UI elements in the game and it’s done very well. The crosshair’s size increases the further you move your mouse away, giving you a rough idea of where your bullet will hit and making it obvious that your gun has better accuracy at close range, it sounds simple but without it, aiming in Contract would probably be a lot harder. The other UI element is a simple counter in the top right of the screen telling you how much ammo you’ve got, not much to say about this one.
[h1]Gameplay [/h1]
At the beginning of each mission you’re given a short briefing on what you need to do, often including some information on the building you’re going into or the business that operates there. Once you’ve been briefed you just have to make it to your target, kill him and then find an exit. Some missions have an alternate route to your target and you can pick between the two, deciding which one you want to take. It’s also worth mentioning that your target is the only person who has to be killed for you to complete the mission, killing other enemies will award you with a small cash bonus but there is, of course, a risk that you could get killed.
The game has five different kinds of enemies:
[list]
[*]Regular guards: One shot to kill, they carry a pistol with a medium fire rate.
[*]Armoured guards: Three shots to kill, they carry a pistol with a medium fire rate.
[*]Heavily armoured guards: Five shots to kill, they carry a light machine gun with a slow fire rate.
[*]Dogs: One shot to kill, they’ll kill you instantly if they get close enough to bite you.
[*]Targets: One shot to kill, they surrender as soon as you enter a room and will never attack you.
[/list]
So on to the character you’re actually playing as. With the default gear you can take a couple of shots before you’re down for good but if you manage to survive after taking a bullet or two you’ll gradually return to full health, I have no way of knowing how fast that occurs though as there’s no health indicator. You’re given a bog standard pistol to begin with but you can purchase a silenced pistol, assault rifle and submachine gun once you have enough cash and you’re at the safe house. As well as guns you also have a melee attack which can be used to kill all of the enemies apart from the dog, unless you somehow manage to punch it before it kills you. When you’re at the safe house you can also buy new clothes, most of which have an effect on your stats. For example, you can buy medium armour which increases your health, meaning you can take more shots without dying.
Some of the missions also contain things for you to interact with, such as computers to unlock security doors or switches to turn off the lights. These don’t play a huge role in the missions like they do in games like Gunpoint but since the switches and computers are often in isolated rooms with only one way in, trying to find them adds a nice challenge sometimes.
The game’s combat is pretty simple, it’s just shooting back and forth, yet it’s a lot of fun. However, the game does have a cover system, crouching by an object will give you cover and make you harder to hit as well as increase your accuracy. Crouching away from cover also makes you slightly harder to hit and, as with cover, increases your accuracy slightly.
[h1]Audio [/h1]
What Contract lacks in soundtrack variety (there are only two or three tracks) it makes up for in how good said tracks are. They fit nicely with the game’s style and while they do of course get repeated a lot I didn’t find myself growing tired of hearing them. The sound effects for the guns are also very good, they make the guns seem like they have a real punch to them, something you would of course expect from guns.
[h1]Miscellaneous [/h1]
[list]
[*]Contract doesn’t have much replay value since the twenty missions are always the same. There’s enough content to warrant the price tag, just don’t expect much once you’ve beaten the game.
[*]Most of the bugs and issues with the game have been fixed at this point but there may be one or two left in there, nothing game-breaking though.
[*]You can’t pause the game but that’s not a huge issue since as long as you’re not in a room with enemies, chances are you won’t be attacked.
[*]Enemies do react to gunshots on the same floor as them, they won’t come running into the room and attack you but the will be facing the direction that the shots came from when you enter a room so you need to be prepared.
[*]While the three hours is how long it took me to beat the game I’d say an actual run of all twenty missions takes around two and a half hours, I had to restart a couple of times due to my save being broken by updates.
[*]The story isn’t going to win any awards but it does a good job at tying the missions together and it is pretty intriguing, even if it does have a rather abrupt ending.
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[h1]Verdict [/h1]
[b]Worth Purchasing. [/b]
Contract is a great side-scrolling shooter that’s easy on the eye, has simple yet satisfying combat and a good amount of content for the price. If there’s one thing I’d like to see it’s a mission generator but if you’re a fan of the genre or just fancy taking a side-scroller for a spin then I’d suggest you give this one a go.
[i]No drama, [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/justreviews]Just Reviews.[/url][/i]
El K.
