Line of Contact Basics:

LOC($50) does NOT come with the controller.
The original Steel Battalion($200) DOES come with the controller.
You can NOT play LOC without owning the original game;if you have neither it's essentially a $250 purchase.
It's worth it.
You should still be able to order the old game (they've re-released it) as well as LOC from ebgames.com or capcom.com.
The rerelease of Steel Battalion shipped 2.24.04.
LOC shipped 2.27.04.

TidBits:

The game is 16:9 optimized, wether you're running Hi-Def or not.
It's 720p compatible. I've run it at this resolution, and there are no slowdowns.
It is LAN compatible. That's good news.
There's a lot more color in the textures / lighting. How refreshing!
The draw distance has been increased fantastically.