Cyberia (Saturn)

Cyberia? What in the world could this game be about? It has the word "cyber" in the title. Something with computers? How about the fact that it's a homonym with "Siberia", meaning that really cold isolated part of Russia? Well, to be honest, this game does have some connections to these terms, but there is so much more!

Graphics: 10
All I can say here is wow! The 3-D world of Cyberia is absolutely beautiful. Everything moves very smoothly, especially your character. Also, each character looks different, and not too boxy for the sega saturn. On top of all that, the characters' lips move when they talk! Lighting is done very well. Details of each object in the game are just immense. The world is done beautifully, with lots of great detail in sceneries and the like. When I popped this game into my saturn, I had to think: this is the sega saturn?! Why aren't all games on this system like this?!

Gameplay: 8
There are ups and downs to this aspect of the game. On the bright side, this game has multiple different types of gameplay, including a mode where you have a third person perspective, a mode where you control a gun turret and shoot down enemy planes, and even a mode where you fly a modern ship and get to shoot at ground targets. You'll never get bored of this game, since it seems every so often there is an interesting change of pace that keeps you on your feet. Most games are very one-sided. You perform the same types of tasks repeatedly until you win. Not Cyberia. You'll have to be quite versatile to be successful here. Even though you often have restricted areas to explore based on the limitations of the game, who cares? Most of the time you don't want to explore that which you have no access to anyways.

There is a downside on the game play. That is, there are SO many ways to die. I remember when I first turned on the game and I walked towards a door. Beside it, there was a bucket with some oil spilled on the ground next to it. I walked over to the bucket, slipped on the oil and fell. Next thing I know, the game screen flashes to "Game Over". I'm left to think: are you serious? If the designers of the game put as much time into the design of the world rather than how many ways they could think of the hero dying, Cyberia would be even better. As it stands, dying so many times can become very frustrating, but at least the load time is minimal in between deaths.

Storyline: 6
The storyline involves a government project that you are sent to investigate or something like that. You get briefed in the beginning of the game, but beyond that things get confusing. Honestly, I have not been able to beat the game yet, so the story might pick up later. As far as I know for now, the storyline disintegrates rather quickly. My favorite is when you first enter this building in the beginning of the game, you enter a quick sequence of events. You are ambushed by a woman, then the base is under attack and you have to defend it (I thought these were bad guys?). After you successfully defend the base, the woman comes up to you and simply says, "That was amazing. Kiss me," and you kiss for a few seconds while some third party watches you on camera. Quite the rollercoaster of events, I'd say.