To those unfamiliar with the original, the Contra series is basically Rambo incarnate: there's plenty of two-player side-scrolling action, and lots of shooting-everything-in-sight. You are given only three lives per player and a handful of continues before having to start over from scratch. Remember Red Falcon? You thought your destroyed him at the end of Contra, but he's back, and tougher than ever. Instead of landing on a crappy little remote island, he's decided to mount a full-fledged attack of his own. The only commandos left are Lance and Scorpian, so it's off to serve your duty!

Super C plays a lot like its predecessor, with plenty of weapons that can be collected, with the same aiming and jumping controls. The game lacks the ability to aim diagonally while standing still, and jumping is slightly awkward, but these inconveniences are minor.

As the game progresses, it's obvious how the motifs change... at first human and militaristic, later alien and hideous. The best enhancement in Super C is the removal of those hidden, behind-the-back areas. Instead, there are two overhead levels, much like Commando. This makes navigation much easier. The flamethrower has been made more powerful (it shoots flame balls that burst on contact with a surface). The best improvement is that the game as a whole seems much less frustrating. Many of the unfair deaths in Contra aren't here any more. Still no cakewalk!

Even though the changes seem subtle, Super C is a better game than the already solid original. A must-have for all Contra fans, especially those who felt that the final boss in Contra was too easy to beat. Thumbs up!