'Strider' gets a well-timed update

"Strider" ($14.99 download for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, PS3, PC; rated Everyone 10+) isn't just fun. It feels "relevant." Developer Double Helix takes the game's early-'90s mechanics and style and updates it with the sorts of touches more commonly found in third-person action games such as "Ninja Gaiden" and "Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance." The sword play of protagonist Strider Hiryu is at the fore, as it should be, and the player's success will have everything to do with the way the player learns the timing and the strength of the game's trademark half-oval sword swipe. These aren't terribly surprising elements of a video-game arsenal, but like the best modern action games, what you get out of it is directly proportional to what you put into it.

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