E3: Hands on with Contra 4 on DS

One of the greatest things about gaming is the memories it creates. Countless hours spent in front of a television in the middle of the night, jamming on a NES controller or squinting to see the black and white screen on a Game Boy – all game veterans can fondly recall such experiences. New platforms have played host to innumerable remakes and sequels to classic games, but precious few succeed in tapping into that excitement found in our best memories.

Enter Contra 4. Hitting a new platform with old school gameplay, Contra 4 marks a concerted effort by Konami to capture the essence of the venerable action series and bring it exclusively to Nintendo DS. While new features and enhanced visuals ensure the game will hold its own among the current generation, the game is aiming to the series' roots with its arcade-style action.

From our hands on time with the game during E3 2007, it seems clear to us Contra 4 will succeed in this goal.

Contra 4 picks up two years after the events of Contra 3: The Alien Wars, marking the return of series heroes Lance and Bill. The pair are once again thrust into an impossible conflict that requires tons of shooting, platform jumping, and general ass kicking. Through several levels of side-scrolling mayhem, it's up to you to confront an alien force known as the Black Viper and keep Earth safe.

Although Contra 4 sets out to capture the essence of the series' earliest installments, it does well to take advantage of features unique to Nintendo DS. The action occurs on both screens, with the ability to use a grapple hook to travel between the one screen and the other. In the opening jungle level we played, hitting the X button enabled us to grapple onto bars and walk on platforms located on the top screen.

You can navigate the dual screen levels on your own or cooperatively with a friend via local wireless connection, and a little extra help could be required if the game ships with its current level of difficulty. The aforementioned jungle level featured wave after wave of enemy forces that rushed onto the screen to take out Lance and Bill. At the end of the level, we were faced with a massive mechanical wall bristling with laser turrets and topped by a sniper. Destroying a turret served only to raise the wall higher, and the intensity along with it.

Fortunately, you'll be packing plenty of firepower to deal with all the commotion. Weapons familiar from previous iterations find their way into Contra 4, but the new upgrade system should freshen things up. Though you can equip only two weapons at a time, you can enhance these by picking up a second weapon of the same type. For example, picking up a flamethrower while one is equipped increases its power.

For all that Contra 4 does right, the presentation is a little lacking at this point in development. Konami argues it is going after a retro look for the game, but we know the DS is capable of more than the bloated sprites and busy backgrounds featured in this build. That said, gaming is all about the gameplay, and if everything checks out with Contra 4 this autumn, it'll soon be making fond new memories.