If there is one thing that Xbox Live definitely has a massive shortage of, its needlessly difficult side scrolling action. Contra harkens back to a time when game completion time was determined not by the content of the game itself but of the amount time spent doing the same impossible challenges over and over. Contra is the classic side scrolling shooter in which players using a variety of fictional firearms must battle against the evil alien terrorists known as the Red Falcon.

The added features of the Xbox Live version of Contra include an enhanced graphics mode (we’ll get to that in a second) the ability to play co-op locally or online, and of course the ever popular Xbox Live achievements.

While Contra is known for its difficulty, these achievements don’t make the game cross the threshold from challenging to unrealistic. That’s a good thing, and while many veteran gamers may have been skilled enough to pull off these achievements without thinking in the past, they’ll have fun getting their skill levels back up to par…but this time with a small reward to show for it.

The game features both “enhanced” and “original” graphics, but the difference between these is a simple 8 bits. Original mode resembles the classic NES version of the game, whereas enhanced mode is a bit closer to the arcade or a Super Nintendo version, if there had been one. The music and sounds are a cleaned up version of the arcade original which seem a bit less digital, but still hold that old school 80’s science fiction flair. Shooting a laser gun doesn’t sound like the soft hum gamers got as the 3D age introduced physics, it sounds like the controlled lightning we had in our fantasies as little kids.

The gameplay is just as fun as it ever was, and serves as a good reminder that 2D side-scrollers are far from dead in this world of Hollywood graphics and intricate architectural backgrounds. Contra practically had tears streaming from my eyes as I sauntered up that legendary level 2 waterfall, which whimpering softly to myself “When are they going to release Symphony of the Night?” The game is just as fun and frustrating as it ever was, and if for some reason you never played the original, you owe it to yourself to take the challenge, feel the anger, and see what true gaming is all about. Contra is basically a gamer’s version of puberty, but if it sounds too intense, don’t worry. The classic Konami code to play with extra lives does work here, except they removed that whole part about pushing the start button at the end.

You’ll get more longevity out of the Xbox Live version of Contra than out of any other of its releases. Not only will you have a hell of a time getting through the game in the first place, but then you can try doing it without codes, going for the Xbox Live achievements, with an online friend, etc. The replay value is still limited though, and depending on how serious you take the game you may wind up with a broken controller along the way. If you don’t though, you’ll get a classic challenge that every gamer should experience, if only to truly test themselves against what was, and is, one of the best side-scrollers of all time.