Contra 4 explodes onto DS

The two bad-assiest commandoes in the world are set to return for another round of insane shoot 'em-up action. Contra 4 was just announced this morning and while the details are slim and there are no screens to share, we're totally stoked. After several lackluster showings and one impossibly hard entry (we're looking at you, Shattered Soldier), the time is ripe for a solid shooter to rake everyone's old school skills over the coals.

The tentatively titled Contra 4 will support two players at once (of course) and use both DS screens to pound your hardened trooper with as many aliens, robots and missiles as possible. A new addition - the grappling hook - lets you zip out of harm's way. Sweet god, if they pull this off, mixing Contra with Bionic Commando, all the NES fans in the world might just die of joy.

The fourth entry takes place two years after the SNES cinematic powerhouse Contra III: The Alien Wars, and pits Bill Rizer, Lance Bean, Mad Dog and Scorpion against another alien monstrosity - the Black Viper. Yup, the Red Falcon's apparently out of commission for this one.

No hard release date is set. All we have now is the intentionally vague "2007" timeframe.

June 20, 2007

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.