Contra 4 impressions at Nintendo World Report.

"Unlike most recent game sequels, Contra 4 holds fast to the difficulty found in the original games. This means one hit and you’re dead. Period.

Contra 4 plays very similarly to the run-and-gun NES and SNES originals, which is an interesting fusion of the platforming and shoot-em-up genres. The hero runs from left to right with no scroll-back. A plethora of enemies who enter the screen from all directions try to stop him. The hero can jump and shoot in eight directions. The game makes no use of the DS’s touch capability, but it does use both screens to pile on even more action."

Full Source: Nintendo World Report