Contra 4 preview at Gamespy.

"During E for All, a product manager for Contra 4 mentioned that he couldn't tell whether or not people liked the game after stepping away from the Konami booth. Whether it was genuine dislike or a sense of dejectedness at the game's difficulty, he wasn't sure. He asked us what we thought, and we freely told him. Make no mistake about it, Contra 4 is hard as nails. If you were of gaming age in the late 80s, you either put in your fair share in the arcades or the legendary 30 lives code is still burned into your brain. Your reflexes, however, might not be as agile as they were during the summer of 1988, even if Ninja Gaiden has lulled you into a false sense of arrogance. Nintendo even had a download station set up at its booth. You could tell who'd downloaded Contra 4 based on the winces on their faces."

Full Source: Gamespy