Archview #12: Strider 2

 Short 'n sweet.

 Strider 2 is one of the most action-packed games ever, rivaling the best Contra has to offer. It has you travelling from airship to airship, through the artic, battling a gravity defying machine or fighting over flying cars. This game is awesome. It's also over a little too soon.
 The game is very simple, you have a Slash button and a Jump button, go wreck havoc. The game is very fast paced, but the controls are very tight, you always feel in control. Imagine Sonic, but less watching and more playing, that's Strider 2, kinda.

 At the start you can choose from 1 out of 3 missions, and as you clear them you'll unlock 2 more. Each stage is incredibly action packed, but the game, as a whole, is very, very short. It's also quite hard on the default setting, but you get infinite continues. It's a very short game, no doubt about it, but it manages to cram so much fun into it's length that it's quite astounding, and it's highly replayable. Also, beating the game unlocks Hien, and while he is just a Hiryu headswap, his attack is quite different, providing a slightly different experience.
 The game looks good, it has flat sprites on 3D backgrounds. Both are very jaggy, but it doesn't get in the way of the game. Activating Boost also can take a toll on the frames per second, but it's not too annoying. The music is... you'll never hear it, you'll be stuck with Hiryu's "HA!"s everytime he swings Cipher, and you will be mashing that Square button.
 So yeah, it's a short game, but it's also very fun. It's highly recommendable, and it also comes with Strider 1, a much harder and much more punishing game(And despite what the hardcore fans may say, Strider 2 is much better.).
 It's an 8 out of 10.