Konami Bringing Contra IV to Nintendo DS

Konami plans to expand its decades-old Contra franchise on the Nintendo DS with Contra IV, with multiplayer capability and a grappling hook.

For video game players of a certain age (including DT’s Fearless Leader) video games just never got any better than the side-scrolling, shoot-em up classic Contra, which chronicled the adventures of the shirtless, muscle-bound Bill and Lance (or, as we preferred to call them, “Sly and Arnie”) as they…um, well, ventured boldly from left to right and blew stuff up.

Now, news from Konami: Bill and Lance’s adventure will continue in Contra IV, due for release on the Nintendo DS handheld later this year.

For those of you following the saga, Contra IV will take place two years after Contra III: Alien Wars. (Never mind that it’s been fifteen years since Contra III, we’re sure Bill and Lance have had the best cosmetic upkeep money can buy.) This time the boys will go up against the alien menace Black Viper, with the help of new mercenary allies Mad Dog and Scorpion. The game, being developed by WayForward Technologies will leverage the DS’s dual screen layout to let players…well, blow stuff up. And engage in multi-screen boss battles. And crack wise. And, you know, stuff. As with earlier Contra titles, the game will offer multiplayer modes so fans can team up against Black Viper, and the game offers a sophisticated new technologies players can leverage to create whole new strategies for saving the world: that’s right, Contra IV will feature a grappling hook.

Konami hasn’t set a release date for Contra IV save to say it will be released during 2007. Konami also has not released any pricing information, but these are minor details to fans who’ve been waiting 15 years to get back into the thick of it with Lance, Bill, and their 2D side-scrolling world.