3D CyberPuck
for PC (DOS)

Mr Creosote:Popular Vote:
2/6
Company: Ticsoft
Year: 1994
Genre: Sport, Action
Theme: Individual Sports / Multiplayer / Science Fiction
Language: English, Deutsch
Licence: Shareware
Views: 59762
Review by Mr Creosote (2001-12-27)
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How could this game's concept be described most accurately? Yeah, right - by telling which classic game it's a clone of! Two problems with this though: Nobody will know the original and (even worse) even I forgot the title! It was a sports game by Lucasfilm on the C64 (at least I think it was on this system). Edit: In fact it was Ballblazer by Lucasfilm on the old Atari. Thanks to Chris for reminding me!

So I have no choice but to write an independent description. Cyberpuck is a kind of mixture between football (soccer), hand ball, american football and maybe ice hockey. There are no teams though, but just two opponent players. These players fly around on the field in small pyramid-shaped hovercrafts. Then there is a ball which they can carry as long and far as they want. Or rather as long as they can because the other player can take violent measures to seperate them from the 'round piece of the winner' again!

The ships have to mega-weapons like lasers or cannons though. Cyberpuck is still relatively civilized. But they players can punch the other one if he's holding the ball and his energy to keep it will be reduced. When there's none left, he loses the ball and the chase is on again.

If the opponent isn't fast or strong enough though, you can safely carry the ball to his goal and score. You can also shoot from farther away, and you'll get two points at once.

Special attention has to be paid to the playing fields. There are about 10 of them, and each is uniquely laid out. They have different shapes, not only always the usual squares. And there are obstacles on them: from simple walls to ball magnets and mines. These make the game and the direction the ball is taking less predictable.

There is just one game mode: the walk through the levels. Starting with the first, you get to the next once you've won the game with indefinite tries. Between the levels, you are awarded money which you can spend for improvements on your ship. There are two types of improvements: the ones which are always equipped (more powerful punch, more speed,....) and the ones for one-time use (portable walls, nitro,....).

Other than that, there are just network-play options. Nice, but not really understandable why such a game doesn't support a null-modem or split screen.

Even though 3D Cyberpuck is a great game for some time, including great graphics and a funny concept, its long-time value is limited. The later levels tend to be a bit overloaded with obstacles, moving goals and so on. It just gets too random if you can score or not. It had a lot more potential, but still highly recommended!

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