Gaming's biggest movie rip-offs

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Can't get the license? Make the game anyway!

Perpetrator: Contra | NES

Konami's seminal shooter was just a big old Jive Bunny-style megamix of the hottest action movies of the '80s. The house of Snake wanted to create a meaty, no nonsense, visceral monster shooting game, and with that kind of material already prolific in the rampant, coke-fuelled environs of 1980s Hollywood, all it had to do was look west to find all of its production design already done.

Thus, we have a plot of evil aliens crash landing in the South American jungle with the killing of humans on their minds (Predator, anyone?), lots of fleshy, biomechanical scenery (That'll be Aliens then), and a couple of sweaty, muscled-up commandos running in guns ablazing to sort it all out. And if you need any explanation as to whom those guys are supposed to be, just at the NES box art look below. Visual clues edited in by ourselves.

Above: That penis-headed monster in the middle is slightly familiar too, is it not?

David Houghton
David Houghton
Former GamesRadar+ Features Writer

Former (and long-time) GamesRadar+ writer, Dave has been gaming with immense dedication ever since he failed dismally at some '80s arcade racer on a childhood day at the seaside (due to being too small to reach the controls without help). These days he's an enigmatic blend of beard-stroking narrative discussion and hard-hitting Psycho Crushers.