Cybermorph
Where did you learn to fly?
By Brendan OnfrichukMarch 6, 2006
When I first got the Atari Jaguar my eyes
were wide open. I could barely stand the suspense as I unwrapped the
console and controller. My hands were shaking as I screwed the RF
adapter onto the back of the TV. Once everything was hooked up I opened
my first game, Cybermorph. This game was made by the original
developers of the Jaguar hardware after Atari asked them to make a tech
demo. They went on to make a complete game to show off all of the
aspects and features of Atari's new console. Being the first game made
for the Jaguar it was used to advertise the console at launch and it
continued to be the only pack in game ever chosen for the Jaguar.
Gameplay:
At first glance would appear that the developers have tried to dog
Nintendo's polygon flying game Star Fox but anybody who has
actually played both games would realize that they are very different.
In the game an evil empire has stolen all the new weapons your forces
developed to defeat them. The only ship left is an intergalactic
prototype cruiser known as the Cybermorph. It is your mission to
round up all of the stolen weapons and kidnapped scientists that have
been sealed into pods left on the planet surfaces while keeping enemy
fighters at bay.
You start your game by selecting which planet you want to go to. Your
ship can fly in 3 dimensions unlike Star Fox where your ship
flies on a predetermined track. Most of the gameplay consists of
shooting down enemies and collecting the "pods" which reminded me of
picking up people in Defender. Aiming your guns is not always
easy with a digital gamepad. Turning on your cross-hair makes it a
little easier but you will still find your self circling around enemies
a couple of times to hit smaller targets.
In the top left corner of the screen is Cybermorph's computer
hologram who looks like the bald girl from the first Star Trek
movie. While she is meant to provide direction in the game she is
usually quiet or annoying. She'll tell you how many pods there are left
or give you a pat on the back every time you shoot down an enemy but her
must annoying phrase is "where did you learn to fly?" which she says
whenever you bump into a wall. And when I bump into a wall I usually
over compensate and hit another wall just to trigger the same phrase.
The player can collect power-ups left behind by enemies such as rapid
fire, bombs or afterburner just to name a few. When have collected all
of the pods you exit via portal and return to the planet select screen
which consists of eight planets. When I completed all of these planets
and defeated a ridiculously difficult boss (who looked like the floating
head of a sentinel from X-men) I was taken to another planet select
screen! Let me tell you, this game is long and I can't imagine ever
finishing the game. This game takes a while to get into but you will
most likely enjoy the gameplay in the long run.
Graphics:
The graphics look like an average polygon game on the Jaguar.
Cybermorph consists of enough polygons and they move fluently when
the ship speeds up. The environment looks fine as well but unfortunately
only buildings seem to have any kind of texture mapping and water is
blue and perfectly flat. The enemies look a little worse than
Cybermorph making it hard to figure out exactly what you are
fighting sometimes. Your ship's weapons are simply orange balls and they
don't look to interesting but overall the 3D graphics in this game seem
like they had work put into the shapes to give them a unique appearance.
Sound/Music:
The only music in the game is during the title screen which is
unacceptable in 1993, especially since the Jaguar was advertised for
having CD quality music. But what music is there sounds great. Sound
effects are obviously digital recordings such as the laser effect or the
afterburner noise and these sound great. Cybermorph's computer
has digitally recorded voice which is wonderfully crisp and clear along
with all of the other sounds filling the game but the game is a little
to quiet without music.
Control:
Controls are simple enough. Pressing A will increase throttle and C will
decrease. The B button is used to shoot and the keypad turns a couple of
features on and off. The only buttons on the keypad you will use during
combat are 1, 2 and 3, they activate different power-ups you collect.
While they keypad isn't ideal for this it is the only way possible on
the Jaguar's gamepad. Flying the ship also takes a little practice at
mastering the throttle and steering. But the controls work great for the
most part.
Overall:
Cybermorph is a fun game that most Jaguar owners will experience
since it is the most common game. The game offers hours worth of
gameplay and it's shortcomings should not destroy the game for anybody.
If you loved games like Defender, you'll certainly like to fly
through the levels in Cybermorph.
Game Data |
Scores
|
| Title |
Cybermorph |
Graphics |
75% |
| Publisher |
Atari |
Sound/Music |
75% |
| Genre |
Shooter |
Gameplay |
65% |
| System |
Jaguar |
Control |
80% |
|
|
Overall |
75% |
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