Part shooter, part maze game, you are tasked to track down and retrieve stolen cargo from pirates, returning it to a storage depot at the end of each level (of which there are 3) before time runs out. Not that the pirates are going to sit back and let you interfere with their plans – it’s a good job you are heavily armed and have four ships at your disposal – you’ll need them!
Navigating around the flip screen environment you encounter all manner of hazards, including the aforementioned pirates as well as planetary defences that have been activated and other obstacles that block your path. The best tactic is not to linger too long in any one place and keep firing, as enemies keep on coming, and you have a time limit to consider.
Although your main gun doesn’t run out, you have a finite supply of other weapons, which can be cycled through by pressing + and – on the controller (an improvement over the original, which required you to push keys 1 to 5 on the keyboard!). More ammo can be obtained along the way, and one nice touch is that you don’t lose it all when you die – the maximum amount is provided with each new ship. Other power ups can be collected including the ability to fire backwards and a satellite that orbits your ship, destroying enemies who come into contact with it. These are lost if you die.
Whilst progressing through the level it is important to collect pieces of cargo that are dropped, as you will need at reach a value of 1500 when you get to the storage depot in order to succeed. This is definitely easier said than done! You still advance to the next level if you fail to achieve this target, but at the cost of a life.
The controls are very responsive and the whole game flies along at a fair old pace, despite the huge amount of stuff that is frequently on screen. The extra weaponry is activated by holding down fire, and includes bombs, mines, heat seeking missiles and even a shield, which makes you invincible for a very short time. The shield comes in extremely handy on certain screens, so it’s wise to ration its usage. Deciding on the appropriate weapon to use on each screen is all part of the game, and vital for your survival.
Detailed, well animated graphics and excellent presentation help lift this game above the run of the mill, and at times you are left to wonder how the humble C64 can cope with displaying so much and yet remain running smoothly. The difficulty is pitched just about right – it’s a hard game, no doubt, but one that keeps you coming back for more. The exploration is very linear – each screen simply leads to the next, there are no different paths to take (you can’t even go back on yourself) – but it’s still enough to make you want to see what lies ahead.
You can toggle between music and sound effects on the main menu, but not during the game for some reason. The music is superb, lively and catchy, again showcasing the C64’s remarkable capability in this department. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the sound effects, which become grating rather quickly.
With its flip screen approach and fluid gameplay, Cybernoid offers an entertaining and reasonably unique experience, despite moments of frustration. However, if you are after a pure shoot-em-up or an easy ride, then you might want to look elsewhere.
1. Bass X0
23 Jun 2008, 10:22 GMT
yawn. another shoot 'em up. if anyone wanted a good shoot 'em up, they would have already downloaded one of the widely acknowledged great shoot 'em up games.
2. KeeperBvK
23 Jun 2008, 10:30 GMT
I'm looking forward to it. Some poeple tend to look at the genre, see it's a shooter and mourn about the high amount of shooters already on the VC, even though there is not even a single one like this on the Wii so far...
3. Dazza
23 Jun 2008, 10:53 GMT
@Bass - I am quite fond of this one. Its an exploration game as much as it is a shmup. It offers a very different experience from the shmup games already on VC. Good choice for Commodore to release this one.
4. Bass X0
23 Jun 2008, 12:43 GMT
Yeah. I have to admit I don't know much about this one.
5. DrApostropheX
23 Jun 2008, 18:50 GMT
Awesome! I remember playing Cybernoid for HOURS on the C-64 back in the day. It may look like a shooter, but it has as much exploration involved as the origindal Zelda or Metroid games did. Watching that video I can remember vividly a lot of those enemies and power-ups... so I guess they're still burned into my mind even 15-20 years later!
6. Smileoscar
23 Jun 2008, 21:01 GMT
Um...looks at IK. Eh...looks at this game
Did the C64 have good or bad grapich?
7. Joxe
23 Jun 2008, 21:35 GMT
I really, really love this song! One of the best from the C64 period, so good that I have it on my mp3 player
Haven't played the game though but would probably buy this one for the song, lol...
8. DEMON212
24 Jun 2008, 05:10 GMT
Metroid meets SHMUP... ME WANTEE NOW!
9. aphexbr
24 Jun 2008, 08:19 GMT
Yeah I remember this one, pretty good though i can't remember if I preferred this or the sequel on the Spectrum. This was designed by Raffaele Cecco, one of my favourite old school game designers who also did Exolon, Stormlord and First Samurai.
@BassX0: yeah, probably a good idea to check the game out before blasting it for being something it's not. At least check out a video - it's clearly a flip screen exploration game with some shooting elements, not a shooter.
10. Charco
24 Jun 2008, 18:27 GMT
No thanks. I'll go for one of the TG-16 shmups.
11. deggs
24 Jun 2008, 21:30 GMT
yeah, calling this a shmup doesn't do it justice. like what has already been said, exploration was a big part of it. it was fun in the 80s... don't know how it stacks up these days though
12. Ragnor
26 Jun 2008, 03:08 GMT
I love the soundtrack.
13. Ry-Type
27 Jun 2008, 10:43 GMT
Looks pretty cool, I may download it.
14. Betagam7
27 Jun 2008, 20:42 GMT
I somehow managed to get the game to reset to the blue C64 startup screen where you can type stuff in (programmes, pokes etc). It seemed random as I'd just started the second level. Has this happened to anyone else and is it in anyway an important discovery as it seems that behind every game there must be a fully working C64 emulator in which case...can't we just have that Nintendo?
15. RoninDennis
29 Jun 2008, 09:50 GMT
Music is by Jeroen Tel, who also did the music for Lemmings. Guy's a genius in his own right, methinks!
Edit: spelling
16. Mr 64
01 Jul 2008, 13:34 GMT
This and it's sequel were truly great (if somewhat hard) games. The exploration/shoot 'em up gameplay, along with the ludicrous amount of weapons and upgrades on offer make it a really interesting game. The soundtrack and graphics are further proof that in the world of the 8-bit machines, the C64 was king!
Lets hope the Hewson back-catalog gets extended to include Exolon, Lightforce and Eliminator. They too were favourites of mine back in the day!
17. AMP
02 Jul 2008, 16:37 GMT
It's like the very first Metroid game, with a spceship instead!
18. ICEknight
04 Jul 2008, 14:38 GMT
I loved this game... but the Spectrum and Amstrad versions, I'm not getting this one. =(
19. Dehumanizer
05 Jul 2008, 23:49 GMT
"Exploration" is not the term I'd use to describe this game, as, unlike Metroid, it's completely linear. Each screen has one entrance and one exit. However, it's not a shoot'em up either; it's more of an action puzzler. Again, the player in the video plays a perfect game and makes it look easier than it is; play it yourself, and you'll see that many screens require some thinking, you can't just rush in.
20. jesus 666
07 Jul 2008, 04:56 GMT
Don't believe the hype, this was always a truely abysmal game that relied more on the high quality graphics and sound (for it's time) than any kind of merit gameplay wise. The game is basicaly a flick screen shooter, where you travel from screen to screen shooting enemies and dodging dangers, there is no difficulty curve to speak of, and surviving many of the screens is completely reliant on luck.
21. Mr 64
07 Jul 2008, 09:19 GMT
Jesus! That's a harsh critique! I think you'll find an element of luck is involved in the fundamentals of most shoot 'em ups, otherwise you'd just be able to plot your route though the levels. I admit the game is an acquired taste, but it's not exactly an abysmal game is it? You've obviously not played Double Dragon on the C64!
22. jesus 666
07 Jul 2008, 20:27 GMT
When I play Double Dragon on the C64 I feel mildly bored, when I play Cybernoid I feel as though a seven year old is making me punch myself weakly whilst repeating "stop hitting yourself" over and over for half hour whilst Joe Pasquale is doing a rendition of "I know a song that'll get on your nerves"
23. jesus 666
07 Jul 2008, 20:35 GMT
I may of strayed off the point a bit with that last comment so here is the shortened version
Double Dragon C64 = boring
Cybernoid = Unnecessary pain
There a youtube video on the NES version that I think shows why I hate the game pretty well but goes a bit over the top so don't take it seriously http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LR5DPHGLQo
24. Mr 64
08 Jul 2008, 08:36 GMT
Lets agree to disagree. I personally think the Cybernoids are great games, though maybe as a VC upgrade, the aforementioned Joe Pasquale soundtrack would be an added bonus.
25. Mickeymac
12 Jul 2008, 06:22 GMT
Wow, a shmup and a Metroid ripoff all in one, woopee...
26. JRAPOCALYPSE
15 Jul 2008, 06:04 GMT
This game is crap! i've seen better than this on the 2600.
27. Adamant
21 Jul 2008, 02:20 GMT
How does that make it crap? The 2600 had tons of great games.
28. Eltigro
25 Jul 2008, 03:32 GMT
Thanks Jesus 666, I thought that this looked familiar. I remember the NES version, but I never played it. I just remember seeing it in Nintendo Power and thinking it looked hard.
29. Betagam7
29 Sep 2008, 14:03 GMT
Overrated, a waste of 500 points in my opinion. Awful frustrating difficulty and very short
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