Fast Striker

Here's what I love about video game developers -- they're persistent. Even when a console has been dead for years or even decades, there are still game creators wanting to code for it. That's the case with Fast Striker, an old school shoot 'em up that was first released on the Neo Geo and Dreamcast back in 2010. Now, thanks to EastAsiaSoft, this cult classic has finally made the leap to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, and while it certainly looks and feels like the classic shooters I grew up loving, I'm not so sure it was worth the wait.

If there's a story here, I must have missed it. Fast Striker is a fairly straight-forward vertical shoot 'em up where the whole goal is to stay alive long enough to defeat a nasty boss and move to the next level. You do this by firing both in front of you and behind, all while doing your best to dodge a screen filled with colorful bullets. The trick is to stay alive long enough to fight through all six stages and put your name on the leaderboards.

Although Fast Striker trots out a lot of the well-worn shoot 'em up cliches, it does offer a few twists on the formula. Beyond being able to shoot in two directions, you'll also find that the spread of your weapon will drastically change depending on whether you hold the button down or mash on it. You'll also find that the ship flies faster and attracts the nearby items when you're not shooting, offering some incentive to not spend the whole time holding the shoot button.

I also like the way they handle the ship's armor. You start each life with a number of shields that will speed up the character and make them invincible for a few seconds. This is a great way to get out of a tough spot, especially when it comes to the boss fights. The shields will also activate automatically when you're hit by an enemy, but watch out, because that will leave you with no extras to spare. The idea is to trigger them manually and avoid being hit by enemy fire.

It's also worth noting that the four difficulty modes will not only change the amount of fire you need dodge, but will also remix the colors and some of the enemy patterns. Best of all, you'll play as an entirely different pilot, complete with their own unique weapons and collectibles. And it's not just the different difficulty settings that help ease novice shooter fans into action, but also the way it keeps giving you more credits the longer you play. But remember: All of those extra credits go away the moment you quit the game, so keep that in mind.

Now on the negative side, I feel like Fast Striker is one of those shoot 'em ups I'm going to quickly forget. Don't get me wrong, the action is fast and the controls are precise, but there's nothing here that grabbed me. This is a short and relatively simple game that never finds its own voice.

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Probably the most obvious example of this comes in the form of the backgrounds. As much as I like the general look of the game and the dozens of bad guys, the backgrounds suffer from being terrible. Almost all of them are the same color and just repeat the same boring design over and over. They don't stand out in any way and all blur together after a while. The same goes for the bosses, which are mostly just large, unremarkable ships. Again, I love dodging the bullets and blowing everything up, but there's no personality in this game.

It doesn't help that Fast Striker is completely devoid of different modes and extras. A lot of developers releasing 2D shooters in 2018 will pack it full of level selects, boss rush modes and other goodies, but there's nothing like that here. This is as bare bones as the rock-bottom price tag suggests, which left me a little disappointed. I had a good time playing through the six stages, but I'm not sure I'm going to remember Fast Striker a few months from now.

On one hand, I'm happy to see Fast Striker make the move from the Neo Geo and Dreamcast to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita. I also like the price and some of the ideas it brings to the table. Unfortunately, the whole thing is over too quickly and lacks any kind of personality. The six stages are certainly fun to fight through, but the backgrounds are weak and the bosses are completely forgettable. This is an above average shooter with a great price point, but I doubt I'm going to go back and play Fast Striker any time soon.