First isn’t always the best just as the original Coded Arms has shown PSP owners back when it was released. I mean, it did suffer from the usual hardware limitations and the gameplay felt really dated but curious gamers wondering what a first-person shooter would play like on Sony’s handheld took an interest in the title. As a result, Konami has released Coded Arms: Contagion, a game that’s actually better than its predecessor but not by very much. It’s time to plug-in again, first-person shooter fans, then quickly plug out because this is one hollow shooter.

Believe it or not, Contagion contains a story but you won’t know it by playing the game. You assume the role of Major Jacob Grant, a futuristic Special Forces agent working under the command of General Clark to help contain an abandoned combat simulation called A.I.D.A. that’s be used illegally by hackers. In this world, inspired by The Matrix trilogy, people can jack into A.I.D.A. and move through a living simulation that’s used as a training tool for special agents only now it’s being hacked into by those wanting to make a name for themselves. Yet during a mission into this virtual world, Major Grant quickly becomes involved in a fight against those pesky “Coded Ones” as well as a new enemy that threatens to spread through all of Earth’s networks.

The story sound interesting, doesn’t it? This is the tale as told in the game’s instruction manual because in the game Grant is given very little instruction or a reason to be plugging into A.I.D.A. to fight a number of virtual enemies. Played out through 13 levels, Contagion begins with a tutorial mode that teaches you how to make good use of most of the game’s many weapons that range from sniper rifles, shotguns, grenades as well as machine guns. It is during this tutorial that you are given the news that another team, Bravo, is caught in the middle of a battle and are in serious need of a rescue. Sure you’ll get a mission briefing now and then from General Clark but there’s very little that pushes a story or anything that gives gamers a reason for shooting the enemies you’ll encounter.

The good news is that the controls, having been a bit awkward back when the first Coded Arms game was released, just feels a lot more comfortable now and they’re actually responsive enough to have you strafing and shooting with the best of them. My only real complaint with the controls is the lock-on feature that sometimes doesn’t lock on to the closest threat but rather the enemy behind your intended targets. Still, this doesn’t happen often and thus making this a major improvement over the first game. What doesn’t work is the blandness that is the level design that has you running through the environment actually looking for enemies. Scattering enemies far apart from each another just makes this a rather dull experience. Even combat is by-the-numbers but thanks to some new bigger enemies there’s some challenging fights.

There’s also some hacking in the game and it is, by far, the weakest element in the game as well. You’ll be asked to match numbers that appear on the screen as two columns of numbers scroll above. It’s not the best hacking mini-game and - sadly - you’ll be seeing a lot of it. Weak single-player mode aside, there’s a multiplayer mode for up to eight players that include Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Last Man Standing. Not only can you play using an Ad Hoc connection, you can play the game online via Infrastructure mode.

As far as the graphics are concerned, Contagion isn’t a very visually impressive game either. Sure, the guns look good and the visual effects are way better than the first game but sometimes you’ll be looking at the dullest backgrounds around. There are areas that look pretty good, especially later in the game, but there’s a sort of blandness to the rest of the locales you’ll be running through. Still, this is a virtual world and we can forgive some of the weak backgrounds. There is, however, a decent soundtrack that picks up nicely during combat. It’s the sound effects that could have been better.

Coded Arms: Contagion for the PSP isn’t a bad game but as far as first-person shooters are concerned this one lacks all the things we love about shooters including its own sense of style. With bland levels that don’t offer much diversity, Contagion rises above the first game’s weaknesses but still manages to remain a first-person shooter that could have been better if more thought was placed on the story and level design. First-person shooter fans should skip this one, sorry Konami.

Gameplay: 6.0
The control scheme isn’t bad at all and gamers who have played their share of first-person shooters on the PSP can easily pick up their PSP and start shooting with the best of them. Unfortunately, the bland level design won’t give you anything worth shooting at and the upgrade system leaves much to be desired. Even the hacking bits are weak.

Graphics: 6.2
Your arsenal looks pretty good and all the visual razzle dazzle effects look pretty good. The environments can look a bit murky in places, though, but at least many of the enemies you’ll face look pretty good.

Sound: 6.0
The music picks up in all the right moments and the sound effects do the trick when it comes to the shooting and explosions. There’s some decent voice acting but it’s nothing really special.

Difficulty: Medium
Many of the enemies you’ll face will actually put up a good fight and the much bigger enemies will actually provide enough challenges to have making good use of all your weapons.

Concept: 6.0
Obviously inspired by The Matrix films, the game sci-fi appeal and “plug” into the virtual world is a neat concept. Still, the lack of an involving story and lackluster firepower upgrades could have been better than this. There’s an online multiplayer and it runs smoothly but I don’t see gamers hopping online for very long.

Multiplayer: 5.9
You can play online using Infrastructure mode with up to eight players and there are enough maps but the Deathmatch modes feel like your average garden variety matches. The good news is that the framerate runs as smoothly as the single-player game.

Overall: 6.0
If anything, Coded Arms: Contagion is better than the first Coded Arms game but this first-person shooter still has a long way to go if it wants to make an impact on the PSP. Sadly, the uninspiring action, lack of story and scantily designed levels will leave you wishing there was more to this game that isn’t horrible but not great either.