Back in the days of the 8-bit era, no shooter was more loved and/or respected than Konami's Contra. It was a tough as nails side scrolling shooter that, unless you were just a master gamer, or used the infamous Konami code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start) you were lucky indeed to conquer this classic at its default state. The series was followed up by some genuinely excellent sequels on the Genesis and SNES and made the name of Contra a household one. Then the 3D era came to pass, and Konmai attempted its first sequel done in full 3D, and to say the least, it failed to live up to expectations. It was not until 2001's brutally tough, but underrated Contra: Shattered Soldier that Konami could hold their heads up with pride when saying the word Contra.

Now that same team has brought their follow-up to that splendid title. They have attmpted the delve into the 3D realm once again in the hopes of drawing more of today's younger, uninformed in the ways of 2D greatness, audience to their Contra series. Neo Contra integrates all of the classic shooting elements that have defined this series, but thanks to a new isometric 3D camera, adds more strategy in defeating enemies. You can choose one of two characters in Neo Contra, Bill Rizer and Genbei Jaguer Yaguy. Both members have unique styles of game play. Bill is a gun toting, blast everything in sight kind of guy, while Genbei is more at peace with himself when slashing his enemies to pieces with his samurai sword. No matter who you choose as your character, there is plenty of fast-paced action to be had that has made the Contra name so famous.

Neo Contra tries to revitalize the formula once dreamed up back on the PS one, by setting the game in an isometric 3D point of view. What makes this work for Neo Contra is that the experience is not a broken one as with the PS one version. The game retains its fast, gritty, and excruciatingly hard premise of the old shooters, especially if you leave the game on its default or higher degree of difficulty. The environments depict the typical post apocalypse future with the world in a shambled mess. Each level provides the necessary amount of cover, exploding devices, and tons and tons of enemies to dispose of. The presentation this time around gets you into the mood with wonderfully done CG cut scenes, huge boss fights, and even a hit rate system that allows you to keep track of scoring kills. Most impressive is that with all the exploding, blown up enemies and environments, and plenty of polygons on one screen at a time, there is never a hint of slowdown to be found.

Audio is a wild mix of explosions, gunfire, and metal! You will make the neighbors crazy with this title as from beginning to end, the mayhem does not stop. Even once the level is over, your cut scenes keep the action heated and heavy. The only drawback is the game does not use any sort of surround capabilities, but for basic stereo, it is good.

What can I say about the game play that fans of the series do not already know? The game's difficulty is a bitch! Unless you are one of those wimps who looks for the cheat codes, or lessens the difficulty so you can have 30 men and tons of continues, you will find that Neo Contra is a challenge indeed. Even with the coolest arsenal at your disposal, the enemy will find a way to mow you down. The game is made up of old school one hit kills, so be wary if you do not have the patience to try levels repeatedly. If you think the levels themselves are hard, wait until you get to the mid and end level bosses. It is great to see that Konami is not afraid to give fans what they want, and with Contra, we want it fast, difficult, and oozing with enemies. Thank you Konami for once again delivering on this promise. One real bummer is that, the jump button has all been forgotten. I can see maybe that it is not too useful in this 3D world, but it is awkward the first time playing and expecting to jump. All in all the game plays?well like a 3D Contra.

There is one hiccup in Komami's latest effort that will keep it from leaping off the store shelves for purchase, and more for a rental. The game is woefully short. Even with all the continuing, level repeating, and CG watching, you can finish this in less than a half day. It just feels like a tease as it is over far before you expect it too. I am sorry, but if you are a developer out there and you want gamers to shell out 40-50 dollars for your product, make sure it has depth to it! In the game's defense, it may take you a bit longer to get the perfect hit ratio, but you are not rewarded for it, so it would only be a moral victory anyway.

In the end, if you loved Contra from the olden days, I suggest finding Contra: Shattered Soldier, as it was more like the original. This game feels somewhat more like Smash TV meets Contra. If you have already played C:SS, then this game will provide a decent amount of shoot'em up action for a little while, with the emphasis on the word little. It is a necessary rent title for shooter fans, but only diehard Contra fans will want this to own in their collection.