Cyber Cross

~ CYBER CROSS ~

Face

HuCard

1989

Cyber Cross has no business being a PC Engine game. Hell, no halfway-decent NES title would ever want to be associated with it. It's primitive and goofy, repetitive and uninteresting.

The mission comes off as a pointless endeavor right from the start. You play a doofus who initially can do little but engage in "hand-to-hand combat." He meanders along and drops the same few boring enemies over and over, as a single not-very-appealing melody is used over and over. Eventually, the dope dons power suits and obtains weaponry. You can use an energy blade, a gun, or a boomerang and perform "special" charge attacks to bring down your foes. That may seem like a lot of options to have on offense, but there isn't really any strategy involved--the sword and the gun work well in just about every situation you can find yourself in. The controls are quite stiff, but this isn't much of an issue, as health restorers and power-ups are plentiful, and your nitwitted adversaries just don't possess many combat capabilities. Even the bosses are simpletons.

The stages don't look very good, and as you stutter step your way through them (enduring irritating sound effects all the while), you'll discover that they're straightforward, dull, and far too large for the little that they offer. Things get "interesting" later on when leaps/falls into pits can put you in position to reach your destination... or land you right back at the beginning of the board.

Despite its inadequacy in so many areas, Cyber Cross actually is playable. But if I'm going to play something repetitive, straightforward, and boring, I'd rather go with Vigilante. Yes, I prefer Vigilante... chew on that for a while.