Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine

Cybernoid is a game released for several home computers and the Nintendo Entertainment System. In 2004, it was one of the games featured on the Commodore 64 Direct-to-TV.

Story
Pirates have raided the storage depots of the Federation and stolen valuable minerals, jewels, ammunition and the latest battle weaponry. The Cybernoid ship has been depatched with instructions to retrieve the stolen booty and to return it to storage within a specified time limit. The pirates have activated planetary defense systems and the Cybernoid will have to battle with these as well as the pirates themselves in order to retrieve the stolen booty.

Gameplay
In Cybernoid, pirates have raided the storage depots of the Federation and stolen minerals, jewels, ammunition and the latest battle weaponry. The Cybernoid ship has been dispatched with instructions to retrieve the stolen booty and to return it to storage within a specified time limit. The cybernoid needs to battle the pirates and their planetary defense systems in order to retrieve the stolen booty.

Cybernoid is split into levels with each level consisting of several screen which are travelled via a flick-screen system of play rather than scrolling. The hazards in each screen can be different - some will have just enemy pirate ships, some homing missiles, some gun turrets, some indestructible enemies on fixed-paths that have to be traversed and some a mixture of these. The Cybernoid ship can collect power-ups for assistance (including a rear-gun and a giant spiked ball which flies around the ship) and also use a variety of built-in special weapons such as shields and homing missiles. Shooting pirate ships often leaves power-ups or jewels which Cybernoid can then collect.

Critical reaction
Cybernoid achieved great critical success. CRASH magazine awarded an overall score of 96%, with one reviewer exlaiming: "Fantastic! Who needs 16-bit machines when Hewson and Raffaele Cecco can produce games like this on the 8-bit Spectrum?", referring to the smooth animation and addictive gameplay.

Your Sinclair also awarded the game 9 out of 10, the reviewer also highlighting the excellent graphics, fast gameplay and the fact that tactics are required to pass each screen.

Sequel
Following the Cybernoid a sequel, titled Cybernoid II: The Revenge, was published the following year on the Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum. In 2004 it was one of the games featured on the C64 Direct-to-TV. The plot of the sequel revolved around the return of the pirates in a new Battlestar, again plundering Federation storage depots.