Computer Gamer


Cyborg

Author: Tony Heath
Publisher: CRL
Machine: Commodore 64/128

 
Published in Computer Gamer #27

At last Cyborg is here! But was it worth the wait? Tony Heath finds out.

Cyborg

It is the year 2087. A seven-man team has been sent out to investigate an asteroid that's on collision course with Earth. It took them 31 days to travel in the space ship Strata to the asteroid, called Avernus. Five days later, contact with the team is lost, so someone had to go after them and find out what happened, but the mission was too dangerous for a man... so they sent the Cyborg.

You are the Cyborg, a half-human, half-robotic killing machine. Your self-generating metal skin protects your armoured central body, blood control and disease elimination system, and synthetic muscle control units. On your right wrist is a heavy-duty particle beam disruptor complete with built-in nuclear power supply, the other wrist houses your computer control panel.

The screen display shows your control panel at the bottom of the screen below a 3D view of Cyborg and his current location. As the game begins, Cyborg is in the control centre of his Gal Corps ships. The panel consists of a series of keys that can be accessed any time by pressing F1. Now you can check your inventory, hold the game, check your shield and power unit satus, scan the area, reload your weapons, get objects and collect information on the creatures you meet.

Cyborg

You check the mission details on your ship's terminal before leaving. Being a Cyborg, you don't have to worry about breathing apparatus and can happily walk on the asteroid's surface. You soon find the scientists' ship and examine their computer. A message appears in your panel screen warning you that the asteroid isn't an asteroid but a disguised ship full of angry aliens! A few yards on from the ship, you find the entrance to the aliens' base.

The entrance is actually a lift that goes down to three levels, although you soon find out there's more. The lift opens out into a corridor patrolled by a peculiar selection of critters who all seem to take an instant dislike to you. They show this by firing laser bolts at you that soon wear away your armour and will kill you if you don't do something about it. You could last them away, but since your sidearm has only fifteen shots, they have to be conserved. The only alternative is to dive for a door. To get through this, you will have to examine the mechanism that will reveal a coded console and enter the right entry code. Luckily, the first level code is provided in the scientists' message and the other codes can be got out of the computers that you'll find scattered around the base.

You'll also find various objects including more weapons - such as a 50 shot light rifle, to fight your way through to the scientists.

Cyborg isn't an easy game to master and it will cost you several Cyborgs before you're through the first level so it's just as well you can load and save your current game position. You *can* delve deeper immediately from the lift, but the reception committee, consisting of armed troops, bouncing blobs, flying eyes and ambling aliens, ensure silly ideas are very quickly squashed, otherwise you will be!

Cyborg features excellent graphics, particularly the room interiors and the motley collection of animated aliens. The panel is easy to control - although a space bar instead of F1 would have been even easier - as is Cyborg himself. You'll soon be diving through doors and blasting aliens, but it'll take *weeks* before you'll stand a chance of completing the game.

Tony Heath