Fast Striker
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''Fast Striker'' is a
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
developed and published by German developer NG:Dev.Team in 2010 for the
Neo Geo MVS The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based arcade system board and the fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in ...
. The player flies a space fighter craft through vertically scrolling levels to shoot waves of enemies. The game was later ported to
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
,
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
,
Neo Geo AES The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based arcade system board and the fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in ...
,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
. ''Fast Striker'' was developed in conjunction with HUCAST's ''
DUX ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...
'' over the course of six years after the Hellwig brothers founded NG:Dev.Team and development of their first video game, '' Last Hope'', was completed. The team went with a different approach for their vertical-scrolling shooter project compared to the level memorization focus of ''Last Hope'', emphasising fast-paced reflex action and an elaborate scoring system. The staff also received support from German shooter communities during beta testing, advising from ''
Twinkle Star Sprites is a 1996 competitive scrolling shooter arcade game originally created by ADK. It was ADK's last production for the Neo Geo platform. The gameplay, which can be characterized as a combination of a fixed shooter and a versus puzzle game, uses co ...
'' designer Yoshiyasu Matsushita and approval from
SNK Playmore is a Japanese video game hardware and software company. It is the successor to the company Shin Nihon Kikaku and presently owns the SNK video game brand and the Neo Geo video game platform. SNK's predecessor Shin Nihon Kikaku was founded in 197 ...
. ''Fast Striker'' was met with mixed reception from critics. Reviewers praised its fast action, scoring system, techno soundtrack, speed, and adjustable difficulty levels that alters each playthrough but others criticized the gameplay, monochrome visual style, pacing and short length, as well as the lack of additional options on the PlayStation versions.


Gameplay

''Fast Striker'' is a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
-themed vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game in which the player take control of a space fighter craft through six increasingly difficult stages in order to defeat an assortment of enemy forces and bosses. At the start, there are three difficulty modes to choose from (Novice, Original and Maniac), each one hosting unique scoring systems. In Novice mode, the enemies' color palette are altered to make them more visible and the player collects golden stars to gain points. In Original mode, the ship has a shield that can be activated for a brief protection time period against incoming enemy bullets and holding the down the spread fire button will also perform a short burst of rockets. Maniac mode introduces new strategies to obtain higher scores and the player can activate "Grind Mode" by concentrating the ship's laser on a large enemy, turning green and destroyed enemies will give high scores.


Development

''Fast Striker'' was developed by NG:Dev.Team in conjunction with HUCAST's ''DUX'' over the course of six years as their second project, after the brothers René and Timm Hellwig founded the company and development of ''Last Hope'' was completed, though René stated they considered game development as a hobby at the time. In various interviews, René stated that the team went with a different approach to the project, focusing on fast-paced reflex action and emphasis on an elaborate scoring system when compared ''Last Hope'', which was more bulky and required players to memorize the level. The team developed ''Fast Striker'' using a Neo Geo development kit and also took more time to test the game, with German shooter communities Triggerzone and Daddelking participating in the game's beta testing phase. ''Twinkle Star Sprites'' designer Yoshiyasu Matsushita also tested and liked the title, giving the team advices to improve the project. René claimed that the team also got quality approval from SNK Playmore for their project but did not get a license due to complications with reviving the Neo Geo platform. The title employs
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
for stages, runs at 60
frames per second A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...
and displays up to 180 simultaneous enemy bullets on-screen. The music was co-composed by Christian Werdehausen and Ronny Leuendorf.''Fast Striker'' user's manual MVS LE (Neo Geo MVS, WW) Antone Pires and Steven Wen served as character artists. A two-player mode was planned but scrapped due to technical issues.


Release

''Fast Striker'' was first released by NG:Dev.Team for the
Neo Geo MVS The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based arcade system board and the fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in ...
on June 30, 2010, while a limited edition included a soundtrack album. At 1560
megabits The megabit is a multiple of the unit bit for digital information. The prefix mega (symbol M) is defined in the International System of Units (SI) as a multiplier of 106 (1 million), and therefore :1 megabit = = = 1000 kilobits. The megabit ...
of data, it is one of the largest game developed for the Neo Geo platform. The MVS release supports software updates via a USB port and employs an anti-piracy system using proprietary hardware. A
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
conversion dubbed ''Fast Striker 1.5'' featuring an "Omake" game mode was first announced in publications such as ''
Joystiq ''Joystiq'' was a video gaming blog founded in June 2004 as part of the Weblogs, Inc. family of weblogs, now owned by AOL. It was AOL's primary video game blog, with sister blogs dealing with MMORPG gaming in general and the popular MMORPG ''W ...
'' and Spanish magazine ''GamesTribune'', before going gold in December 2010 with a tentative release date of December 21 of the same year. The Dreamcast version was released on December 28, 2010, in a Japanese-style DVD packaging as three editions; a regular edition, a deluxe edition limited to 1000 copies featuring an alternate cover art and a soundtrack enclosed with the game, as well as a pack containing both editions. An
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
version based on the Dreamcast port was released in North America on March 27, 2011, and later in Europe on April 22 of the same year. In 2013, a
Neo Geo AES The , stylised as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a cartridge-based arcade system board and the fourth generation home video game console released on April 26, 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was the first system in ...
version limited to 150-200 copies was also released. In October 2018, Eastasiasoft published ''Fast Striker'' worldwide on
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
via
PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
. Eastasiasoft also published a physical edition for both PS4 and PS Vita via
Play-Asia Playasia is an online retailer of entertainment products from Asia. The website sells import games, DVDs, music, CDs, gadgets, groceries, books, gaming console accessories, cables and toys. Playasia is based in Hong Kong and caters to the Asia-P ...
in a special cardboard box with embossed art on the front.


Reception

''Fast Striker'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
site
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. However, according to NG:Dev.Team co-founder Timm Hellwig, sales of the game only totaled to 60% of ''Last Hope'' before it. ''ReVival''s Cyril Denis regarded the game as "an excellent shoot'em up which, if only for its vertical scrolling using the entire width of the screen, deserves Dreamcast owners to take an interest in it." Carlos Oliveiros of Spanish magazine praised the art design, techno soundtrack, enemy variety and adjustable difficulty but criticized the Dreamcast conversion for being a straightfoward adaptation of the Neo Geo MVS original, monocromatic stage visuals and lack of a two-player mode. ''
Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...
''s Darran Jones and Stuart Hunt commended its fast-paced action, attack formations, bosses, intricate bullet patterns, music, mechanics and scoring system. '' Jeuxvideo.com''s Dominique Cavallo criticized the graphics for being unpleasant, techno soundtrack and overall length. However, he praised the scoring mechanics, gameplay and adjustable difficulty levels that alters each playthrough. ''MAN!AC''s Matthias Schmid commended the Dreamcast version for running at a consistent framerate, the addition of "Omake" mode from revision 1.5, thought-out scoring system and soundtrack but criticized the visuals and stages for their monotonous colors and abundance of bullets during gameplay. Likewise, Spanish publication ''RetroManiac'' commended NG:Dev.Team for balancing their game to cater to a wider audience, praising the scoring system, visual presentation, speed and music, stating that "''Fast Striker'' is a pretty remarkable shooter that emphasizes dodging shooting patterns on us, eliminating bosses, and mastering our weapons system. ''Vida Extra''s Oscar Bouzo criticized the PlayStation Vita conversion for its lack of additional options and "ugly" 3D stage design but commended the release for the bosses and gameplay differences each difficulty mode offers. In a similar manner, ''
Push Square Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
''s Nathanial Eker criticized the PlayStation 4 port for its Neo Geo-style graphics for the "ugly" color palette, lack of extra options and basic gameplay, though he gave positive remarks to the soundtrack. '' Oprainfall''s Nick Benefield gave the title a positive outlook on PS Vita, praising the upbeat music, bosses, visuals and gameplay but criticized the power-up system.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fast Striker 2010 video games Arcade video games Dreamcast games Homebrew software Indie video games IOS games Neo Geo games NG:Dev.Team games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Vita games Science fiction video games Single-player video games Unauthorized video games Vertically scrolling shooters Video games developed in Germany