We just can't get enough of 'em. Doom started a genre that is spawning some incredibly fun and action-packed games. Cyclones is in this category but remains unique enough to warrant plenty of attention from action-gamers and Doom players.
The plot is simple (isn't it always?). Earth is ravaged by an alien race that threatens to destroy it completely. Human tissue samples have been used to create a genetically enhanced warrior - the Cyclone. Your job, as part of earth's last defense, is to use your high-tech weaponry and armor and defeat the Cyclone army. To quote someone, "Ah, the smell of napalm in the morning!"
Cyclones features the now-ubiquitous first-person, smooth-scrolling perspective but adds a new wrinkle. You can target and shoot at something independently of your motion or direction. In other words, you can be shooting at something moving left while you're running or sliding to the right. Targeting and moving are now under separate control. This, undoubtedly, will require much practice and control, but its very rewarding and can facilitate much more tactical moves into enemy territory.
The graphics are top-notch, the musical score and sound effects are mood- enhancing and you even get a combat tutorial to prepare you for the real thing.
You're gonna like Cyclones! It takes a now familiar genre and does more than just copies it - it enhances it in all the right places.
This preview is Copyright (C) 1994 by Ross Erickson for Game Bytes Magazine. All rights reserved.