Contra 4

The Contra series has fallen on hard times over the past 10 years or so. It was living on the street in a cardboard box, and Wooliting underwear in the sink at the local Starbucks every morning… Until now. After several botched next-gen attempts to restore the franchise to its former glory, Konami finally did chicken right with Contra 4. The classic hard-as-balls action is split up over the dual screens on the DS. Boss characters literally tower above your little side-scrolling commando. While the nine levels are a borderline bitch to get through, it's the 40 or so mini-challenges—kill X amount of enemies using this weapon, etc.—that will keep your thumbs off the streets and out of trouble.