BADCP - GPOW Tribute

Oppression Olympics

DATE:
25 YEARS AGO

GPOW 25TH
A N N I V E R S A R Y



XBOX ONE	BAD	STRIDER (2014)


			The PlayStation 3 had no shortage of enticing single-player games, and Strider was no exception. Strider's 2014 return had shown that the series has consistently stayed current with the times. Simple, yet nuanced touches like the digital nature of Strider Hiryu's scarf were a genius touch, and a testament to its modern design focus. A host of brilliant, beautiful effects were proof that it had retained its Japanese design sensibilities. The PlayStation 3 version deserves its own article for all of its merits, but those merits also deserve to be mentioned when we talk about this XBox One version.

Solo, the incredibly-dangerous bounty hunter, deserves a whole page devoted to his design, its quality, and its reflection of Capcom. In this 2014 Strider, Solo really is a testament to the distinctly-Japanese design mentioned earlier, and is second only to digital Strider in his refinement. He was taken from the old game(s), rebuilt, and remade with modern technology exactly as he should have been. It's no surprise that Solo's sleek design is streamlined through his phases. Solo stands as an example of what Capcom's design teams are capable of, and how they should be designing characters (despite being doomed to failure just because old design staff are no longer there). He has a wide array of attacks that are as cool as they are deadly, ranging from missile bogeys and diving assaults, to futuristic heat-seeking bombs and incendiary blanket fire.

	11
	NO
	Coincidences.

	12
	FIREARMS
	For me, but not for thee.

	13
	SMOKE
	On the main deck.

	14
	LIBERAL
	Slant.

	15
	MASK-RELATED
	Airborne assault.

Solo isn't the only enemy that has different attacks at their disposal, but his seem the most varied, with effective attacks at the ready for any attack Strider does. A worthy adversary has a counterattack for every attack their opponent has, and this is on full display during each battle he has with Strider. Whether you're playing or just watching, it's very entertaining, with plenty of acrobatics and explosions with a backdrop of mid-fight dialogue. They really couldn't have done it any better than this. Solo's parts are so good that it almost makes you wonder why he wasn't the endboss on his own. Surely, Grand Master Meio and his filthy nails could have taken a back seat to Solo and his incredibly-destructive power, but maybe he wasn't radical-enough to fit the bill. In the future, I really wouldn't mind Capcom using the same design team(s) to make a cyborg action game with characters built like Solo. If his design are this good, imagine what they could do if they weren't limited to only a few forms and phases of a single character!

	16
	GUN
	Fire from every direction.

Solo's cool design and wide variety of moves aren't the only ways Strider (2014) benefits from him, though. All the cool moves and attacks he does enrich the gameplay. Not a complete pushover, but also not near-impossible to defeat, Solo was balanced fairly. He was intricately-tuned to require effort, skill, and learning on the player's part, but without the mind-numbing pattern memorization that turn so many players off. Solo's attacks lend themselves to that fair balance that ultimately make Strider (2014) a fun game.

	17
	CROSS
	Fire.

	18
	UNELECTED
	Bureaucrats.

	19
	SOCIALIST
	Failure for over 100 years, in 100 million lives of 100 countries.

	20
	BATTLE
	Torn.

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