Out of all of the procedurally generated FPS games I've played, Strafe stands out as the best one. Strafe doesn't waste any time getting straight into the action, and the shooting is very fast-paced and visceral. All of the weapons are varied and fun to use, and although the sound design for the gunshots leaves a little to be desired, the guns nonetheless feel powerful in their own right. The procedurally generated levels are generally put together fairly well by the game. All of the various rooms utilized by the proc-gen system flow into one another nicely and they feel good to b-hop and circle-strafe around whilst blasting baddies. After playing the game for several hours, you may find yourself becoming familiar with a lot of the rooms that the game cycles through, which can lead to runs feeling samey, but I personally never found it to be much of a problem. Especially when the focus of the game is shooting things and earning upgrades for your character. Strafe also has some of the most enjoyable easter eggs and secrets that I've experienced in a game like it, such as a Wolfenstein 3D-esque arcade machine that can be played and a hidden speedrun / jump course that's accessed through completing a mini challenge right out of a Tony Hawk game. They add a lot to the game's charm, and they make me look forward to starting new runs so I can experience them again. Strafe isn't perfect. It has some glitches that can halt progress, the automap on your HUD is borderline worthless, and a lot of the weapons you pick up tend to take the backseat in comparison to your upgradable primary weapons. The intentionally retro aesthetics are also a bit odd, since they mix low-res models and textures with modern physics and other effects such as dynamic blood that make the presentation a strange hybrid between modern and classic visuals. At the end of the day, though, the strange visuals add to the charm for me, and they don't make the game any less fun or replayable in my book.
When I saw that this game was re-released on GoG, I payed it little mind. After all, the original N64 version of this game hasn't exactly aged all that well. Matter of fact, it's almost unplayable. But, some time has passed and I decided to give this version a go. Is it any better than the original release? Quite frankly, yes. Yes it is. For starters, the game looks and sounds infinitely better than it ever did on the N64. High-quality music and sound effects and a buttery-smooth framerate that never dips below 60fps. And to top it off, the game now features fully voice-acted FMV cutscenes. The FMV still looks pretty good, considering when this came out, and the voice acting isn't half bad either. It's not amazing, but the actors involved at least sound like they actually give a damn about what they're doing, and it makes the game on a whole much more captivating than the original console release, where cutscenes were just 2D stills with accompanying text-walls. So, the presentation is much, much better in this version of the game. But how's the gameplay? Well, the default controls are far better than what they were on the N64, and most off the bindings can be reassigned. It's still a bit awkward, and it might take a little bit to get used to, but blowing away Stormtroopers in this game has never been easier. Though, I would highly recommend using a gamepad or flight stick for the vehicle stages, as playing those with a mouse and keyboard can be extremely awkward. While this version definitely improves the game where it needed to be improved, there are still some fundamental problems with it. Certain boss fights are still stupidly hard, platforming is still a pain, and there is still some pretty bad enemy placement. But, if you're like me and grew up with this game, then you'll probably be able to see through those issues and enjoy this as the definitive version of the game. For those who haven't played it before, I'll just say that it's flawed, but otherwise good.
