I thought this game was a couple weeks away but have seen it at both my local Target and Best Buy. Anyone had a chance to try this one yet? Is it as insanely hard as the last PS2 Contra? It looks like they introduce a new character as well that might be uniquely different from Rizer.

wanted to get it but reviews say it's craptacular, so I'm waiting for $19.99 or less.

I didn't even know a new Contra was coming out.

awww.... i was looking forward to this game. how can you mess up a simple shooter?

well, off to read some "craptacular" reviews...

--
well, 6.8 from gamespot and 7 from ign doesn't sound too good. but if you read the reviews, it's not that bad. it's like getting a 9 for fable from them, but the review isn't so good.

ign says you can beat the game in 30 minutes... that's not good at all.

i was going to wait until it gets to $10 anyway.

There is a playable demo of it in the latest PSM. The demo was pretty mediocre IMO.

BTW- there was also this incredibly strange pop Contra theme song with a female vocal during the intro: "Ccccooonnnnnnttttrrrrraaaaaa" or something like that.

From IGN's review:

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/558/558103p1.html

Closing Comments

Neo Contra is:
1) Different
2) Short
3) Plagued by a woefully inadequate presentation.
4) Not an advancement.
5) Mindlessly enjoyable for a time.
6) Challenging.
7) Incredibly hilarious.
8) Fleeting.
9) Not what anyone was looking for.
Konami, give us back the jump. Give us back the eight-way shooting. Give us back Contra. If not, play Smash TV, ditch the strafe lock, and put in a few more levels.

-- Ivan Sulic

Ratings: Description:
out of 10 click here for ratings guide

5.5 Presentation
No mid-game joining for the second player? No freaking quit option? What the heck is going on here? The extras are cool and the CG is pretty, at least.

7.0 Graphics
The game is gorgeous, but suffers from some pretty significant slowdown at times. The levels are also very small.

6.5 Sound
If only Bill and Jaguar spoke more. They're so horrible that hearing them actually makes us laugh, a lot. Then there's the intro theme... Boy is that ever a catastrophe.

7.5 Gameplay
The new game isn't Contra, but it's not bad. The problem is that it could have been so much better had the controls been scrapped and redone.

4.5 Lasting Appeal
Thirty minutes of gameplay doesn't make for much of a game. Scoring a higher rating is appealing, but even that's only a weekend's worth of play.

7.0 OVERALL:
(out of 10 / not an average)

It sounds like it doesn't play quite as a Contra game either, which is disappointing. I'll still get it, but it is definately a price drop wait now.

It's much more like the PSX contra games in it's sucktitude. And here I had faith in the Contra franchise.

After I read the review, I decided to steer clear of this, way clear.