Cyberia

I used to love this game when I was younger. These days, I'm not so sure. For its time Cyberia had a pretty slick presentation, with nice 3D-rendered graphics and great CD-quality sound. Unfortunately, this is one of those titles that just didn't age well, as it has very awkward controls and never decides if it is an action/adventure game, or a rail shooter.

As mentioned above, Cyberia was very good looking; parts of this game still look fantastic. The look is grainy, though, not as polished as it should or could have been. The plot involves government organizations, mysterious secret weapons, crazy mutant viruses, and fast-paced shoot-outs...and Jim Carey! Not really ...

The puzzle elements in this game are done very well, for the most part. When you begin a game you can select the shooting sequences difficulty and the puzzle difficulty. This is also one of those titles where you will die repeatedly and discover the answers to puzzles through trial and error. This is acceptable, though, as you are given an ample amount of restore points. This also gives you the option of playing previous scenes over again, as some of them are pretty cool.

This game is ultimately the victim of identity crisis. While the puzzle solving is well-implemented, some of the shooting missions feel very "tacked on" and aide in deterring from the real action. Another issue I had with this game was the control scheme. This is a 3D game, but it is not free roaming. Your character has designated locations he can walk to, and turns abruptly to face them in an un-natural fashion. Walking in this manner makes it difficult to engage in shoot-outs with enemies, and again, feel as though they had to "add more crap" to a tin game.

This isn't a terrible game, it probably won't hold your interest long enough to get interesting, though. Well worth a shot for anyone that still has an attention span.