Contra 4

I went into this knowing I would never beat this game. Didn't care. It's Contra. I bought it just so I could see the spine of the case in my collection. So far I've gotten to the second stage on Easy. Of course, since it's Contra, there are no save points so probably not the best game to bring for your morning bus ride. What can I say? Frustrating as anything but when I first saw Bill Rizer riding in on that Huey and start running through the jungle, you couldn't wipe the smile from my face.

Perfect retro look and feel is complemented by the 80s guitar driven soundtrack. Two player is here too. I haven't tried it but I'm sure it's frustrating as well. Especially on the vertically scrolling levels.

All the guns you know and love are here and are automatically upgraded on the Easy setting. Biggest complaint is that for whatever reason you can't configure the button layout! Personally I'd rather use B as my fire button and roll my thumb over Y to jump. As it stands you have to arch your thumb over Y and roll back to B to jump. It gets sticky sometimes. Would've liked to start with a bomb or two as well. And why can't I do the poses like you could in Alien Wars?

Other gripe is that apparently there are a couple of older Contra titles included on the cart but I guess you've got to unlock them first. The game delights in reminding you how hard it is so it seems a bit cruel to have to beat the game before you get the bonus content.

If you're one of those people who buys a game planning to sell it when you've beaten it then steer away from Contra 4 because you'll be holding onto this game for a long time.

Buy it because you've got to TRY DAMN IT!