Cyborg Hunter
System: SMS
Release Date: January 1989
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Activision
Genre: Beat ‘Em Up
Cyborg Hunter is a side scrolling beat ‘em up for the Master System and it’s a pretty decent little title. Many games try to do too much and stay around too long. Cyborg Hunter doesn’t fall into this trap. As Paladin, the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy, you are hired to take out the evil Vipron. You need two controllers in order to access your item screen, so if you just have one, you’re not going to be able to play this game.
There are seven sections you have to traverse, each comprising of five floors. The floors are not long, really, they’re a short jaunt across the screen. You find elevators to ride up to the next floor. On each floor are enemies, and sometimes pickups and new items. You start with a regular punch and a psycho punch. The psycho punch depletes from your P.P. gauge. Later weapons include a ray gun, light gun, and psycho gun. There are also bombs you can collect, which deal damage to everyone on screen.
You have to beat the levels in order from A through G in order to earn the items and ID cards necessary to move along. The shield in section A gets you through the lasers in Section B. You then collect something in each subsequent section to get you through the following. There are typically two types of enemies in each section. In the 3-D view in the upper left corner, there are normal red enemies, and chief cyborgs in white. You must defeat all chief cyborgs to leave the section. There are four boss fights and they’re all pretty easy. Attack as quickly as possible and avoid projectiles as best as you can. I found the jet engine to make the final boss pretty easy.
Graphics: 2.5
The graphics are fine. There’s enough detail in everything, plenty of color.
Sound: 3.0
The music slaps. I really like it and it’s a good representation of the power of Sega synth bass.
Gameplay: 1.5
Despite there being a number of different weapons, it’s not incredibly deep. The enemies are all extremely predictable.
Difficulty: 2.0
This is a pretty easy game. You’ll probably run out of continues once or twice before getting it beat.
Fun Factor: 2.5
I enjoyed myself more than usual. It’s not deep, it doesn’t take a long time to get through, but it’s fine.
Overall Grade: 2.3
Cyborg Hunter earns a C+. This is a decent game all around. It’s not the best thing in the world, but it’s fun for the hour it should take to figure it out and beat it.