RE-GEN: The Strike series – 16-bit smart shooter, next-gen firepower

We’ve played that game before, right?
Re-imagining the classics for the new generation. This is RE-GEN.

With power comes evolution: shooters have gone from scrolling to full 3-D environments, from turkey galleries to smart, reactive enemies. Yet even the classics, with their scrolling and their shooting galleries, have virtues all to their own.

The Strike series from Electronic Arts is one of the most notable examples of the genre. A multi-directional, military-themed shooter, it became a hallmark franchise, particularly on the Sega Genesis. Even in that age of solid-state cartridges, Strike was known for its surprisingly challenging gameplay, and became known as the 16-bit “smart shooter.”

After three successful 16-bit titles, and two CD follow-ons in the PSOne (as well as the Saturn and PC), Strike vanished; no more was heard. Perhaps it was a victim of its own success, having stuck too close to its core formula. Or perhaps EA lost interest (happened before, happened since). Pity: the series had quite the potential, even after five games. And especially today.

RE-GEN is all about second chances for the classic titles we loved. Can the power and capabilities offered by today’s platforms, from the high-end PS3 and Xbox 360, to the innovative Wii, to the handheld wonders of the PSP and NDS, offer something new to resurrect the Strike series? This is the question we set out to answer today. Some things, after all, don’t deserve to gather dust in the back of a shelf, when it has more to offer.

Because each platform offers unique capabilities and challenges to developers and gamers, results of updating the classic may vary across them. From here, you can visit the RE-GEN article and see our speculations of the classic specialized to that platform via the links below:

RE-GEN: The Strike series on the PS3/Xbox 360
RE-GEN: The Strike series on the Wii
RE-GEN: The Strike series on the PSP
RE-GEN: The Strike series on the DS

We’ve played that game before, right?
Re-imagining the classics for the new generation. This is RE-GEN.

With power comes evolution: shooters have gone from scrolling to full 3-D environments, from turkey galleries to smart, reactive enemies. Yet even the classics, with their scrolling and their shooting galleries, have virtues all to their own.

The Strike series from Electronic Arts is one of the most notable examples of the genre. A multi-directional, military-themed shooter, it became a hallmark franchise, particularly on the Sega Genesis. Even in that age of solid-state cartridges, Strike was known for its surprisingly challenging gameplay, and became known as the 16-bit “smart shooter.”

After three successful 16-bit titles, and two CD follow-ons in the PSOne (as well as the Saturn and PC), Strike vanished; no more was heard. Perhaps it was a victim of its own success, having stuck too close to its core formula. Or perhaps EA lost interest (happened before, happened since). Pity: the series had quite the potential, even after five games. And especially today.

RE-GEN is all about second chances for the classic titles we loved. Can the power and capabilities offered by today’s platforms, from the high-end PS3 and Xbox 360, to the innovative Wii, to the handheld wonders of the PSP and NDS, offer something new to resurrect the Strike series? This is the question we set out to answer today. Some things, after all, don’t deserve to gather dust in the back of a shelf, when it has more to offer.

Because each platform offers unique capabilities and challenges to developers and gamers, results of updating the classic may vary across them. From here, you can visit the RE-GEN article and see our speculations of the classic specialized to that platform via the links below:

RE-GEN: The Strike series on the PS3/Xbox 360
RE-GEN: The Strike series on the Wii
RE-GEN: The Strike series on the PSP
RE-GEN: The Strike series on the DS