Sega Mega Drive: Strider

Year: 1990
Genre: Run 'n Gun
Players: 1
Our Rating: 7/10

Mini Review

It is the year 2048 and the “Grand Master” has become an all powerful dictator of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. A secret agent, a “Strider” has been sent to assassinate him. You are that Strider. The game was reprogrammed from the arcade hit. The graphics and sound took some small downgrades but the overall feel is fairly similar. You will find yourself dashing and sliding in to the futuristic Soviet troops with your incredibly sharp blade.

The effects are excellent. Most of the enemies will go down with one hit and explode with great colour and velocity which is very satisfying. In essence this game uses the run and gun approach to game play. The boss fights though usually just descend in to a button mashing contest. The game has some classic enemies such as the Soviet government turning in to a huge centipede and also later a large robotic ape. Strider was great in it’s time and is still widely remembered today. Personally I like this game a lot. My preference would clearly be for the arcade or Amiga versions but the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version is also still great fun.