If you were a fan of Contra from back in the day, Hard Corps: Uprising needs to be number 1 on your arcade games to watch for this holiday season. Coming out later this year for PSN and XBLA, Hard Corps: Uprising takes everything that was great about those old school, 2D side-scrolling, run-n-gun shooters and brings it back, but with tweakable difficulty levels and online play. Developed by ARC System Works, who are best known for their Guilty Gear games, players will be able to choose from several different modes of play, from the Arcade Mode, which will make old school gamers feel right at home, to the Rising Mode, where players can earn points by decimating enemies while under a life gauge system, all the while training and leveling their soldier. You can play solo or co-op, online or offline, and there will be achievements to be earned. If there was a gun you loved in Contra, expect to see it back again, but much improved and more powerful. Although the dev team was shy when asked if the infamous Konami code would be in the game, something tells me it will make an appearance here. For old school gamers and new ones alike, Hard Corps: Uprising looks to be must-play material.

Then there’s Rush-N-Attack: Ex-Patriot, based on the old Rush-N-Attack game from 1985, but revamped and built on the Unreal Engine for a modern audience. Coming out this Fall on PSN and XBLA and taking place across three massive areas – a Siberian prison, a bio-weapons lab and a nuke base – players will be able to choose their own style of play. Will you play it MGS style and sneak around, killing the enemy secretly or will you go in guns-a-blazing (or maybe just knives, if you can’t find enough weapons lying around) and proudly let everyone know you are there. However you choose to tackle the levels, you’ll be up against Russian prison guards, elite paratroopers, snipers and more. Your task will not be an easy one as guards and security cams will be everywhere and platforming challenges will abound, but if you are up to the task, Rush-N-Attack: Ex-Patriot awaits you this Fall.