After an eight year hiatus, Contra is coming back, not just through the recently released Contra Anniversary Collection, but a brand new game, too. Contra: Rogue Corps is set after Alien Wars and will let you shoot your way through the Damned City as one of several weird upgradeable bounty hunters and treasure seekers. It's also a 3D twin-stick shooter.

Konami's been churning out Contras since 1987, largely side-scrolling action games with the occasional 3D detours. In Rogue Corps you'll be murdering your way through hordes of mutants, monsters and aliens in 3D battlegrounds with up to three pals, or you can fight against them in PvP.

You'll be able to play as Kaiser, an Alien Wars vet and typical soldier bloke; Ms Harakiri, an assassin that's been fused with an alien that now hangs out on her stomach; Hungry Beast, a cyborg panda with a human brain; and Gentleman, an alien brain bug.

Contra's always seemed like a strange candidate for 3D makeovers, and previous attempts have resulted in the series' poorest games. It's one of Konami's most enduring series, but Rogue Corps looks considerably uglier than its 2D predecessors and unfortunately has the whiff of a budget game.

The reception to the trailer has been largely negative, though the sentiment that Contra shouldn't have weird characters like talking pandas is one I can't get behind. We need more pandas and fewer soldiers. Get rid of Kaiser and chuck another bear in there.

Contra: Rogue Corps is due out on September 24.