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Cyber Sled

Cyber Sled[a] is a vehicular combat video game developed and published by Namco. It was originally released for arcades in 1993.[7] The game's perspective is third-person by default, but can be switched to a first-person perspective.[8][2] The game was nominated for Most Innovative New Technology at the 1994 AMOA Awards.[9] It later received a sequel in 1994, Cyber Commando.[10]

Cyber Sled
Arcade flyer
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)Namco
Composer(s)Shinji Hosoe
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation
ReleaseArcade
PlayStation
  • JP: January 27, 1995[5][6]
  • NA: October 18, 1995
  • PAL: November 10, 1995
Genre(s)Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single player, Multiplayer

Gameplay

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In-game screenshot, showing the player about to take out a nearby enemy

Cyber Sled involves maneuvering a hovercraft style tank through a futuristic arena and fighting to eliminate an opponent (either another player or the computer). Various power-ups are available throughout the game, which feature improved radar, extra missiles, and shield re-charging. There are walls and other obstacles in the arena, which can be useful for hiding as well as a hindrance, and some of which can be destroyed. Each player can choose from among eight different tanks, which vary from slow but heavily shielded, to quick but vulnerable. Player's viewpoint can be either from the cockpit, or from behind the vehicle.

Each player has two tank-style analog joysticks, each with a finger and thumb trigger. The finger trigger releases a steady stream of bullets, but if held down will overheat and stop working for a short period of time. The thumb trigger releases a limited number of missiles.

The game is rendered in 3D polygons and is viewed from a third-person perspective by default. There is a viewpoint button that allows the player to switch to an alternative first-person perspective.[8][2]

Release

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Arcade

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The arcade game was first published by Namco in Japan on March 27, 1993[3] and later in North America by Namco America in October.[1] The game was also released in Europe during 1993.[4]

PlayStation

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A console version of Cyber Sled was released for Sony's PlayStation in 1995. It was originally slated as a launch game for the PlayStation.[11] It features more characters than the arcade version, and a choice between the original arcade graphics, or a more realistic texture mapped mode. The original arcade version was released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan on May 19, 2009.[12] The PlayStation version was released through the PlayStation Store in Japan on June 26, 2013, and in North America on January 28, 2014.[13][14]

Reception

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Arcade

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Game Machine listed Cyber Sled as being the second most popular arcade game in Japan during October 1993.[23] Play Meter listed it to be the twenty-second most-popular arcade game at the time in North America during December 1993.[24]

Upon release in arcades, Rick Skews of Computer and Video Games magazine gave the arcade game a positive review in early 1994. He compared the game favorably with Atari's classic arcade first-person shooter tank game Battlezone (1980), considering Cyber Sled to be a multiplayer 3D polygon successor to Battlezone. He called Cyber Sled "an enjoyable coin-op" that is "most fun when played with a friend". He scored it 82% for graphics, 76% for sound, and 84% for gameplay, for an overall 82% score.[8]

At the 1994 AMOA Awards, the game was nominated for Most Innovative New Technology.[9]

PlayStation

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Upon release on consoles in 1995, Famicom Tsūshin (Famitsu) scored the PlayStation version of the game a 29 out of 40,[16] giving it an 8 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review.[17] GamePro criticized it for its lack of originality and unimpressive graphics, saying it "looks like something you could've played on a 16-bit system", but concluded that "it's fine, fast-paced fun, especially in two-player mode".[18] Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and wrote that "this title didn't need to come home at all, but if you're an absolute die-hard fan of the original coin-op, the one-player mode is a close match".[20]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: サイバースレッド, Hepburn: Saibā Sureddo

References

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  1. ^ a b Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971-2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971-2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 126–7. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  2. ^ a b c "Cyber Sled: Head to Head Combat to the Extreme!". RePlay. Vol. 19, no. 1. October 1993. pp. 19–20.
  3. ^ a b "Video Game Flyers: Cyber Sled, Namco (Germany)". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  4. ^ PlayStation/サイバースレッド (in Japanese). Bandai Namco Games. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  5. ^ サイバースレッド [PS]. Famitsu (in Japanese). Kadokawa Corporation. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  6. ^ "Actualidad - Flash". Micromanía (in Spanish). Vol. 3, no. 6. HobbyPress. July 1995. p. 12.
  7. ^ a b c d Skews, Rick (March 15, 1994). "Arcade Action - Cyber Sled" (PDF). Computer and Video Games. No. 149 (April 1994). United Kingdom: Future Publishing. p. 84.
  8. ^ a b c "AMOA Jukebox And Game Awards Nominees Announced" (PDF). Cash Box. July 23, 1994. p. 30.
  9. ^ "NG Alphas - Cyber Commando". No. 5. Future Publishing. Next Generation. May 1995. pp. 82–83. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "Cyber Sled". GamePro. No. 76. IDG. January 1995. p. 209.
  11. ^ Spencer (March 26, 2009). "Namco Bandai Backs Virtual Console Arcade In A Big Way". Siliconera. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "『スマッシュコート』、『ゼビウス3D/G＋』などナムコの名作5タイトルがゲームアーカイブスで配信開始". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  13. ^ Spencer (June 26, 2013). "Mr. Driller G, Pac-Man World And Other Namco Games Waka Waka On To PSN". Siliconera. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  14. ^ "Testscreen: Cybersled" (PDF). Edge. No. 19. April 1995. pp. 80–81.
  15. ^ a b PLAYSTATION CROSS REVIEW: サイバースレッド. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.333. Pg.23. 5 May 1995.
  16. ^ a b 読者 クロスレビュー: サイバースレッド. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.336. Pg.31. 26 May 1995.
  17. ^ a b Captain Squideo (October 1995). "ProReview: Cyber Sled". GamePro. No. 85. IDG. p. 44.
  18. ^ "Cyber Sled". IGN. November 21, 1996. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  19. ^ a b "Finals". Next Generation. No. 9. Imagine Media. September 1995. p. 88. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  20. ^ "Cyber Sled (Arcade) Review". Archived from the original on November 16, 2014.
  21. ^ "Cyber Sled (PlayStation) Review". Archived from the original on November 16, 2014.
  22. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). Amusement Press. November 1, 1993. p. 25.
  23. ^ "Equipment Poll - Video & Pinball Combined". Play Meter. Vol. 19, no. 13. Skybird Publishing. December 1993. p. 8.
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