Up, up, down, down, B, A, select, start

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises for me at this year's E3 was one of the most low key showings from Konami. In the midst a flurry of Metal Gear Substance and Dance Dance Revolution advertisements (and one very cute Konami rep) were two friends who should be quite familiar to older gamers. The first would have to be the return of Contra. There have been a few Contras released on the PlayStation, but they were complete failures and just didn't have that Contra feel. After playing through the demo numerous times in both single and two player modes it's safe to say that Contra is BACK!!! Story details are scarce and if this follows tradition don't expect a deep one. One of the more surprising things about the game is that Konami has bucked the recent trend in making games 3D and has returned to a side-scrolling format. However, instead of being sprite based, the levels and characters are all made up of polygons - making for some really cool effects such as ships zooming in and out from the screen and a really sweet looking boss who flies in as a sleek looking helicopter and then morphs into a robot. In addition to the side-scrolling levels, there are also vehicle-based chases very reminiscent of Crash Bandicoot. In one level, you have to ride a motorcycle to catch up with a subway train while blasting away at an endless onslaught of enemy soldiers. Also, what Contra game wouldn't be complete without the usual arsenal of spread-cannons, lasers, and flamethrowers? In addition to a brand-new Contra for the PS2, Konami will also release Contra Advance for the GBA. For the most part, this is a port of the SNES version of Contra, although there are a few changes, most notably the addition of new levels. Unfortunately, the build shown at E3 lacked the dual-weapon system found in the SNES version. Hopefully it will be added in a later version. Contra: Shattered Soldier storms store shelves this November.