Contra: Shattered Soldier is a very adult game. No, not adult in a foul mouthed low-budget porn kind of way, but in the sense that a good part of the gaming public just won't 'get it'. Not to cut down or insult the current generation of gamers, most of whom have developed in the nice warm womb of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, but you have no idea the kind of fun you guys missed out on. Yeah - it's cute when you walk around talking about 'old school' gaming and the 'good old days of the NES or Atari', but how many of you actually played those systems? Better yet, how many of you actually used the now infamous code 'Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start' instead of just hearing us old farts talk about it? Which leads me back to the subject at hand - Contra.

Show of hands - how many people played Contra? How many remember the days where games were only 3D if we slammed our heads into a wall a few times or drank too much sugar-laden Kool-Aide before playing? This, O readers, is how games were played back in the good old days.

Despite the fact that the game is made completely out of polygons, C:SS is a full on, break out the leg warmers, Guns N' Roses tapes, and piano tie throwback to the old days of gaming. Everything is just how it used to be - only now all of the really cool effects are done using polygons rather than Mode 7 tricks.

Stylistically, Contra is a very dark and not-so-happy vision of the Contra universe, thanks to the incredible artwork of British comic book artist Ashley Wood. One of the cooler aspects of this new universe is that nearly every enemy from past Contras has been reimagined and redesigned, including the 'Dam' boss from the first game and the Turtle from Alien Wars. Adding to the fantastic visuals are some outstanding effects. The lighting effects are great and really help to give an unsettling mood to the game, while the gratuitous explosions remind you that this truly is a Contra game. Then there's the oh-so-sweet flame-thrower effect.

C:SS combines remixes of classic Contra tunes, with a healthy mix of Electronica and Heavy Metal tracks. Of course, it's a solid bet that you'll never actually hear the music at any time during the game since explosions and gunfire take center stage at all times. Not that it's a bad thing; I mean, who doesn't appreciate a good explosion.

When looking at the gameplay, Contra: Shattered Soldier looks exactly like it used to - only with a few minor design changes. The biggest would have to be the new weapons system. In all honesty, this is the thing that is seriously going to throw the old timers for a loop. Instead of having to shoot down the 'eggs' as they float across the screen, C:SS gives you all of the weapons from the start - the machine gun, grenade launcher, and flame-thrower. This adds an interesting twist to the game since players now have to decide when to use certain weapons and when not to. The flame-thrower may be a really cool weapon for dealing with one enemy, but can it take care of the other enemies as well? I wasn't jazzed about this system when I first started to play the game -I can't tell you how much time I spent lamenting the loss of the spread cannon, but as I played through the game it really grew on me.

Another classic Contra tactic making a return is boss patterning. Much like every other side-scroller, every boss (or enemy for that matter) follows a very tight and specific pattern. Figuring out these patterns is your key to victory. As you play through the game, it's very easy to see that most of the game's design went into planning out areas of the game. The number of challenges the game presents you with at any given time is mind-boggling. Not only do you have to constantly think about what weapon you're using (this includes the alternate fire modes of each gun), but the game also shoots you forward, backwards, up, down and every way in between forcing you to constantly readjust yourself. This, combined with the aforementioned boss patterns makes C:SS an extremely cerebral shooter, requiring both a quick trigger finger and even faster wits.

Three Lives.

Three Continues.

That's it. Contra: Shattered Soldier is a hard game. No, it's not just hard; it's really, really hard. Hell, if I could find the exact words I'd probably say it was even harder than that. Let's take a few seconds to analyze C:SS's difficulty rating. In the options menu you're given your choice between Easy, Normal, and Hard; but in truth they should actually read: Hard, Even Harder, and 'HAHA!- Gary Coleman has a better chance of growing four feet and leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a championship than you do at beating even the first level' (try saying that 3 times fast). The only real difference between each of the levels is the number of lives and continues you have. Easy gives you 8 lives and 99 continues while Normal and Hard give you 3 or less of both.

'99 continues! Hell, anyone can beat the game with that many continues!' Well, in theory that's true - but the only way to get the ending or unlock any of the goodies is to play it on Normal, which is really hard because it took my roommate and I no more than 20 continues and 160 lives each to get past the first four levels.

When I first started playing, I complained at great length about this - but then I realized that my roommate and I were enjoying every second of the game. It didn't matter how many times we died, we were having fun. Of course, this got me to thinking about my original point all the way at the beginning of the review - this is a very adult game. In the case of my roommate and I, we are both products of the 'NES/Atari generation'. It took us some time to get our chops back, but we could handle it. C:SS requires a lot of patience to even play through the first level, something that frankly, I don't think many gamers of the 'PlayStation Generation' are ready for.

Prove me wrong guys.

Contra: Shattered Soldier feels like Contra when it comes to control. There's no need for a million different button configurations or anything like that; one button shoots, the other jumps. However, what C:SS does is take the original configuration and update it; but at all times the original scheme remains in tact. In addition to the 'charge' (or secondary fire) button, C:SS makes use of the shoulder buttons by allowing you to easily cycle through your weapons as well as giving you the ability to lock your weapon in a fix position. Contra fans will really dig the 'lock' option since you can finally shoot at things above you while still running forward.

Overall, Contra: Shattered Soldier is an excellent revival of an old classic and worthy of the Contra name. However, the price this comes at remains to be seen. As I've stated multiple times, I'm not completely sure that everyone is ready for this game yet. Fans of the original Contras, as well as hardcore shooter fans, will love this game - but players whose idea of a 'good game' requires infinite continues, health power-ups, and a save point every five feet should stay away. This isn't your type of game.

Again, none of my comments should be taken as a slam against newer gamers. It's an excellent hobby that I think everyone should be able to enjoy. But the face of gaming has changed so much in the past 10 years that I couldn't help to wonder if this was too much game for some people. Of course, I'm always excited for people try something new so if you feel up to the challenge, more power to you.

Prove me wrong guys.