This game is not nearly as difficult as people would lead you to believe. And that means it's an amazing game.
Lolwhat?
Gameplay: 9/10
Obviously the main attraction, Hard Corps delivers the fast and frenetic action anyone who who loves a retro 2D scroller wants. All the series staples are here: super awesome gun power ups and lots of fast-paced action. A truly hardcore player will rarely stop sprinting as they move from start to finish in this game. Bosses are incredibly well designed and offer plenty of challenge but they never break the ultimate ideal of all good 2D scroll fights: they can all be beaten without getting hit once so long as you're on top of things. The game's limited checkpoints are due to the nature of the game and anyone who wants to play it should understand that. The gameplay is not about "beating the boss" alone, it's about "getting through this part of the stage without losing too many lives and retaining my powerful weapon before I reach the boss." For instance being set back in time gives you the opportunity to get powerful weapons before fighting the boss again. The game performs incredibly well online so long as you have an "OK" connection with your partner. A second player can sometimes actually hinder you though due to the same-screen nature of the game. The game has some difficulty spawning players in safe areas during co-op play but nothing major.
Difficulty: 10/10
This game's difficulty is perfect. I've read a lot of other reviews and people will whine about the most ridiculous of things. Your character is more than capable of zooming through an entire level at breakneck speeds while bypassing most obstacles and downright ignoring almost all challenges. Not to mention you can easily avoid everything in the game. Even if you don't feel like dodging your character comes with a built-in "bullet reflect" ability that lets you shoot back projectiles, including some of the bosses' shots. People who are whining about how cheap the game is are simply not playing the game correctly. You don't even need to be a "hardcore" Contra player in order to get this game down. All of the "cheap deaths" in this game are simply the result of players not paying attention to previous hints in the game. For example, one of these deaths results in you jumping up a ledge and a robot tries to punch you backwards off into a bottomless pit. You've encountered this robot twice in the same stage and have been given the opportunity to notice the property of its attacks, including how you can easily dodge it by jumping or going prone.
Replay: 9/10
Anyone who loves 2D scrollers knows one of the funnest things to do is immediately replay the game with the foreknowledge of every obstacles. While games should never make it impossible to win without foreknowledge Hard Corps offers an incredibly fun replay game. Not only can you power up your character considerably in Rising Mode but there's plenty of 1-UPs and little secrets to be found in each stage. Being able to zoom through a stage in less than 5 minutes when it took you an hour on your first try is still as immensely satisfying as it was "back in the day"
Music 8/10
It's Daisuke Ishiwatari. Players of BB and GG will immediately recognize his work. His music in this game is more focused on metal than the "artistic rock-and-roll" he is known for but it still works very well for the game.
Final 9/10
Hard Corps: Uprising is an excellent, fast-paced 2D shooter with lots of replay value. It's an absolute blast to play with a friend with it's high-performance network code. Bosses are tough but balanced and incredibly satisfying.