Neo Contra and the Empty Game Case Blues

Back in 2002 I rented Contra: Shattered Soldier for the PS2. Besides the swanky new visuals, the game play was a pure blast from the past: an excruciatingly hard difficultly level and nothing but pure action. I never made it through the entire game (I’m not overstating anything when I say it’s difficult).

So I was thrilled when I found a copy of Neo Contra for the PS2 in the bargain bin at a local electronics store. Although I’m aware that they changed the game play up a bit for this version, I was still rather excited to play it.

So I get in the mood to play, set up my Playstation 2, and then proceed to tear the shrink wrap off of the game case.

“Hmm, it feels a little lighter than most cases”, I though to myself.

And then I stare in horror at what I find inside. A bloody tampon!

Oh, wait. Never mind. No, that’s not it. That might have actually been preferable to what ultimately was in there. Nothing but the manual and a spot for where the disc should have been. Yep, that’s right – there was no disc inside.

Oh well. Maybe someone out there doesn’t want me to play this. The funny thing was that it was brand new and factory sealed – even with the old style plastic strip on top.

At least it was only a few bucks. And I now have a very nice case to look at.