Contra 4

Call me old school but some of the best games I have ever played were the side-scrolling platforming games such as the first Metroid and Contra. I do not miss the graphics of the old days, but I sure do miss the addictive do-or-die gameplay.

After 20 years, the first Contra has finally been resurrected as Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS. And it is awesome. The developers went old school and stuck with the original hardcore side-scrolling action. However, they did update the graphics so the game looks awesome on the DS. This is a tough game. You cannot save your progress at all. And there is a limited number of continues just like the old days. If you run out of continues, you must start over. And the developers made Contra 4's normal mode very challenging. As with the original Contras, you do not have a health bar. If you get hit once, you die! Ya, Contra 4 is hardcore! I highly recommend this game for all the old school gamers out there.