I don’t remember exactly why, but eventually I went back to Sega’s list of iOS games. I took a quick look at Streets of Rage 2. What’s this?! They fixed the problem.
What’s New
Version 3.0.2
- Bug fixes and refinements
- Fix for restore purchases
I was able to get rid of those pesky advertisements and play Streets of Rage 2 again… and it was good! Streets of Rage 2 has great music and sound effects. The graphics hold up too. Well, I like the classic style… reminds me of my youth. There are plenty of modern games that try to recreate the look of 16-BIT era games. Maybe there’s more to the appeal than just nostalgia.
Streets of Rage 2 was a reprieve from beating myself up on what I could be doing in life. It’s more relaxing to beat up bad guys instead. Instead of wasting time watching YouTube videos, I was wasting time playing video games and listening to YouTube videos. This is still not productive, but at least it’s more efficient.
Streets of Rage 2 has something that modern games lack — morality. There’s no ambiguity. Max, Axel, Blaze and Skate are the good guys. Everyone else is bad. Somehow, modern games see nobility as uncool. But with all the anti-heroes, or heroes that sound like they speak with gravel in their throats, I think the world could use more paragons. Is destroying private property criminal mischief? Is it a felony? Our heroes don’t seem to mind. Now pick up that turkey and eat it… yeah, the one that fell out of the garbage can and is sitting on the ground. Streets of Rage… more like Streets of Salmonella.
The point is that the heroes of Streets of Rage 2 don’t go around brooding. Perhaps that’s my problem. It seems I’ve been overthinking lately. Streets of Rage is certainly a remedy for that. While the gameplay is fun, challenging and does involve some… street smarts …it’s not mentally taxing. Well, not unless you’re playing on the more challenging of difficulties. That’s what I started to do. The higher the difficulty, the greater the potential for points. Eventually, this was the result…
…it seems humans can achieve perfection. I got a perfect score. I’m #1. Yeay me! Is this the meaning in life that I’ve been searching for? Heh, no, but it was fun. Additionally, this experience did remind me of the benefits of gaming. Video games can be educational. Games can teach people how to overcome difficulty and win. That’s a big part of life. That’s another reason why I like Streets of Rage 2.
Also, the cooperative play is hysterical. If you’re not careful, you can hurt your teammate. So many of life’s lessons are hidden in a seemingly simple game. Learning to work with others, conserving of energy, using metal pipes to reach far away objects — THWACK!
The point is that inspiration can come from anywhere. That’s why, in general, I think games can be good. I put Streets of Rage 2 on the good side. Nice job Sega. The update was great. While I still haven’t solved the problem of the direction for this website, Streets of Rage 2 reminded me of an important lesson in achieving success — keep fighting!