Woohoo! I got this baby few hours ago, and put it into test. Here is my impressions after playing game for 45 mins. 
First thing that you will notice when playing game is that from audiovisual standpoint Contra 4 is really, really good. WayForward is truly a master of sprite art, and it is lovely how much attention artist has put into minor details like weapons, eyes, enemy suits, etc. Even better is that the animation is incredibly fluid with no jerky movements to speak of. Backgrounds are ace too, with multiple layers and bright colors. Music is little strange, with each song starting with intro from the older song. It really sounds Contraesque, but I would have prefered using old songs.
After being forced into continue screen multiple times on first level, I must say that difficultywise Contra 4 is harder than original Contra or Contra 3 ever were. Most of this can be attributed to three things. First and most obvious one is that game uses extensively two screens. Because game is rather intensive, I often forget to watch other screen, and get hit by random bullet. You really need to keep your attention, or you will be screwed. Good thing is that unlike many other DS developers, WayForward has taken "gap" between screens into account, and as a result of this, two screen mechanics doesn't feel cheap, just different. But it certainly does add some flavor to the game.
Second thing that adds to the difficulty is with the way how you character dies. When you die, character is invisible for few moments. But unlike in other Contras, this period is only 1.25 seconds long. This isn't really problem, but in original Contras I usually exploited invisibility to its fullest extent, and now same strategy doesn't work. Thirdly, game doesn't feature power bombs anymore, and you need to collect powerup twice before you can use its full power. For example, both Spreader and Flamer are relatively poor weapons without having second powerup. If you play on easy, you get ten lives right on the start, enemies take less hits, and you don't need to collect additional powerups. Easy mode is most definetily closer to the home console experience than normal mode.
My only real gripe with Contra 4 is that controls will require some time to get used to. B shoots, Y jumps, R drops the current weapon, and L changes current weapon (each player can carry two weapons like in Contra 3). Shooting is now automatic, and you don't need to tap button to repeatedly shoot with any weapon. By pressing X, player can launch cable that attachs to the wires above. Considering how much cable is used, I think that launch button is little awkardly placed, because shooting at same time requires moving your finger into rather cumbersome positions. D-pad works fine, and it makes me feel like I'm playing one of NES Contras.
Overall, experience has been very positive, and this is easily best run n' gun I have been playing in last eight years. I haven't unlocked anything yet, and to be honest, I'm not sure how it happens.
First thing that you will notice when playing game is that from audiovisual standpoint Contra 4 is really, really good. WayForward is truly a master of sprite art, and it is lovely how much attention artist has put into minor details like weapons, eyes, enemy suits, etc. Even better is that the animation is incredibly fluid with no jerky movements to speak of. Backgrounds are ace too, with multiple layers and bright colors. Music is little strange, with each song starting with intro from the older song. It really sounds Contraesque, but I would have prefered using old songs.
After being forced into continue screen multiple times on first level, I must say that difficultywise Contra 4 is harder than original Contra or Contra 3 ever were. Most of this can be attributed to three things. First and most obvious one is that game uses extensively two screens. Because game is rather intensive, I often forget to watch other screen, and get hit by random bullet. You really need to keep your attention, or you will be screwed. Good thing is that unlike many other DS developers, WayForward has taken "gap" between screens into account, and as a result of this, two screen mechanics doesn't feel cheap, just different. But it certainly does add some flavor to the game.
Second thing that adds to the difficulty is with the way how you character dies. When you die, character is invisible for few moments. But unlike in other Contras, this period is only 1.25 seconds long. This isn't really problem, but in original Contras I usually exploited invisibility to its fullest extent, and now same strategy doesn't work. Thirdly, game doesn't feature power bombs anymore, and you need to collect powerup twice before you can use its full power. For example, both Spreader and Flamer are relatively poor weapons without having second powerup. If you play on easy, you get ten lives right on the start, enemies take less hits, and you don't need to collect additional powerups. Easy mode is most definetily closer to the home console experience than normal mode.
My only real gripe with Contra 4 is that controls will require some time to get used to. B shoots, Y jumps, R drops the current weapon, and L changes current weapon (each player can carry two weapons like in Contra 3). Shooting is now automatic, and you don't need to tap button to repeatedly shoot with any weapon. By pressing X, player can launch cable that attachs to the wires above. Considering how much cable is used, I think that launch button is little awkardly placed, because shooting at same time requires moving your finger into rather cumbersome positions. D-pad works fine, and it makes me feel like I'm playing one of NES Contras.
Overall, experience has been very positive, and this is easily best run n' gun I have been playing in last eight years. I haven't unlocked anything yet, and to be honest, I'm not sure how it happens.
Will be picking this up.
and now I see what they did there it's 
!
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