[b]ASTRO PORT[/b] goes high definition! Finally, in the year [b]2013[/b] (the original [b]Japanese[/b] release), right when the first [b]4K[/b] TV was released, we've got the chance to play [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] game in glorious... [b]1024x768[/b]... Yeah... The guys were still at it. Even though they've finally updated their engine, it still felt laughably outdated. And the price for it was a bit too high, since it heavily impacted [b]FPS[/b]. Nothing critical, but don't expect this game to provide the smooth and stable [b]60 FPS[/b] like the previous ones.
But enough about the bad stuff. I'm a pretty big [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] fan, after all, and, well, there's a lot of good stuff in [b]STEEL STRIDER[/b]. Unlike the other [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] games, this one is a twin stick shooter, similar to the popular [b]DOS[/b] game [b]Abuse[/b]. [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] claims it to be like [b]Super Contra[/b] and [b]Turrican[/b], but don't really expect that, since you'll end up being disappointed. [b]STEEL STRIDER[/b] is way, [i]way[/i] slower than those games. Heck, it's even slower than [b]Abuse[/b]! Remember [b]ASTRO PORT[/b]'s [b]GIGANTIC ARMY[/b]? That's the pace. Only this time we control a small robot (reminds me a lot of [b]Ex-Ranza[/b] AKA [b]Ranger X[/b] from [b]Sega Genesis[/b] / [b]Mega Drive[/b]) in [b]Abuse[/b]-like style. That's pretty much it. Doesn't sound like a good thing, but it... kind of is, since [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] are pretty good with their thing. It's just when they claimed their [b]GIANT ARMY[/b] to be like [b]CYBERNATOR[/b], it was true, while this time... it's very different experience from what they say on the store page. Or maybe it's a publisher's fault, I don't know, whatever.
Anyway, [b]ORDAN[/b]'s design is still here and this time there's a big reason for that. The thing is – [b]STEEL STRIDER[/b] acts as both prequel and sequel to another [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] game - [b]SATAZIUS[/b]. And it won't be only about text briefings (yep, like [b]GIGANTIC ARMY[/b], this game has story-related texts between missions). We'll experience some of the [b]SATAZIUS[/b] parts again, this time from the different point of view. For example, not only we'll see [b]Trafalgar[/b] vessel, we'll actually help it to take off and escape pirates. Pretty cool stuff for [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] fans, just make sure to play this game [i]after[/i] [b]SATAZIUS[/b] to fully enjoy it. Not like this game won't be fun without playing [b]SATAZIUS[/b], it's just... you know. It's always make things more fun when you see all the references. The game will also switch to the [b]SHMUP[/b] style from time to time (again, a little bit of [b]Ex-Ranza[/b] here) and will try to be creative about the level design here and there.
Unfortunately, it'll also mean a pretty bad thing for us – [b]STEEL STRIDER[/b] comes with a lot of cheap deaths. Sure, [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] games used to have some of those, but this time? Those are everywhere. Pretty much every level has at least one of them. And even though you can re-play levels as many times as you want this time, it still feels pretty annoying. In this case, [b]STEEL STRIDER[/b] brings back the part of the past that you don't really want to return. Even though it isn't the hardest game from [b]ASTRO PORT[/b], don't expect your first playthrough to be painless.
So... yeah. Here comes [b]STEEL STRIDER[/b]. Should you buy it? As long as you like [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] games, absolutely. Sure, it fails to be as fast as the games it claims to be similar to. Sure, [b]FPS[/b] is less stable this time, while resolution still isn't high enough. Sure, it has way, [i]way[/i] more cheap deaths than usual. But it's still very solid and fun old school experience. An experience that even [b]PC[/b]-only players will probably like, since, let's just admit it, everybody who wasn't born yesterday, loves [b]Abuse[/b]. And with the price of [b]$ 5.99[/b]? I'd say you don't even need to wait for a sale. It's totally worth it. Especially since it's longer than [b]ARMED SEVEN[/b]. Not [i]that[/i] longer, since it's always a bad idea for such a game to be too long, but longer enough to make it feel better ([b]ARMED SEVEN[/b] felt a bit too short). So, yeah. Like with pretty much all other [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] games, I do recommend this one. Just don't expect it to be an advanced “modern” game. The only “modern” thing this game has is [b]Steam[/b] achievements. But well, if you've played [b]ASTRO PORT[/b] games before, you know the drill. The guys just live in the past and let's just admit it, it totally suits them.
