Contra IV hands-on

Contra IV intimidated me. I really, really wanted to try it out. The instant I found out where the demo booth was, I started to sweat a bit. I had heard the horror stories of the game. I am not talking about the game being bad, I am talking about it being badass. The take no prisoners, hardcore, old-school, 2d, relentless action type of badass. In such a public showing, I was nervous that I would quickly become Contra IV’s bitch, and the entire crowd would be laughing at me. “Ha ha, look at the guy who can’t handle hardcore 2d side-scrollers anymore!” I could hear their taunts in the back of my head (the same spot where my bald-man mohawk is lacking), but I didn’t let them stop me. I walked over to the open demo, strapped myself into the DS, and held on for dear life.

This my friends, is the true return of Contra. There aren’t any gimmicky 2d/3d attempts here. This is flat out 2d action that we haven’t seen in a long time. If you are a fan of the series, you will be able to jump into the game no problem. The level designs, weapons, and baddies will instantly be familiar. Yes, the spread gun still rocks…and the flame gun sucks. That’s the way we want our Contra, and that’s how it should always be.

As I mentioned before, this game will indeed kick your ass. There is no denying that the game is hard…but it’s the good type of hard. You know, the same type of Ghouls N’ Ghosts hard that keeps you coming back for more. Your hands will be sweating, your brow dripping, and your teeth clenched from the action. We will be putting up a video of me playing sometime over the weekend, and you can watch me get my ass handed to me. The thing is, I was really happy things went that way. Contra IV proved to me that it deserves to be the next true entry in the series.

This is the best thing Konami has done with the Contra license in years. I don’t know why it took them so long to return to the true format, but I am just happy they did. WayForward is doing an excellent job, and I can’ t wait for the full game. If the first level is tough as hell, I can only imagine what comes later.