Every few years someone beats Contra without losing a single life and thinks they've done something no one's ever done before, and you can't blame them. Contra may not be the hardest game ever made, but when it was released on the NES in 1988 it brought more addictive agony than our finger blisters had ever experienced before. I went looking for the fastest Contra speed run and found this video (link below) by Tommy Montgomery. By cutting back on all the conservative routes in the game and skipping all unnecessary enemies he was able to rush through the rampage in just 11 minutes and 25 seconds, faster than all other twelve minute claims in recent years. Are any of you guys and gamer girls speed runners? If you've got any bragging rights, let's hear 'em!

Update: I changed the video to an even better Contra recording, the 10 minutes and 50 seconds world record speed run. You can watch the Tommy Montgomery video here. Thanks, Rob!

IGN put together this top ten list by polling editors around the office, and combining their lists with reader review input. Here's the ten they claim to be the toughest games to beat of all time:

• 10. Ninja Gaiden Black
• 9. Devil May Cry 3
• 8. Battletoads
• 7. R-Type
• 6. MDK2
• 5. Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts
• 4. F-Zero GX
• 3. Shinobi
• 2. Mega Man
• 1. Contra
  

Obviously endless games like World of Warcraft are disqualified, but I thought E.T. on Atari would show up on the list. How many have you and your friends beaten? I didn't reach a passing grade, but in my defense, not all "classic" games are good just because they're hard to beat. There's nothing that pisses me off more in gaming than people who constantly brag about beating games that came out decades ago.

Why wait for the 6 new Atari games to show up on Xbox Live in January 2007 when you could get the beastly game Contra on Xbox Live this Wednesday? I can even see a few gamers across America reading this news and finally saying "Fuck it, I'm buying a 360, the PS3 can wait." Contra has been a gamer favorite since the day it was released, so it's good to know a new generation of gamers will get to enjoy the spread gun like we all once relied on. Screw Gears of War, pick up this game for 400 points before you do anything else. Here's what the game includes:

• Players can opt to play the original arcade game or play in the enhanced mode with improved graphics and sounds
• Xbox Live Multiplayer: Battle all 8 levels together over Xbox Live, or locally on the same console
• Xbox Live features: Players can see how they rank against their friends with worldwide leaderboards and achievements
• 12 achievements: “Contra” offers achievements which range from straightforward to challenging for players of all skill levels
• New visuals: Enjoy enhanced artwork including rendered new bullet effects and explosions