Cyberbykes: Shadow Racer VR

[timstro59]

This game is 3d action cyberpunk game released in 1995 by Artificial software(no, really).

It was among the last games to used untextured polygons, but despite this it had unusually high system requirements for the time, it's recommended specs being a pentium 1 with 12 megabytes of ram. This being said, the requirements where due to the large amounts of onscreen rendering being performed, which can consist of up to 10 other vehicles, multiple powerups and special effects(explosions, gunfire, fire and the map boundary). In addition to all this, there was also the A.I. scripts for the enemy vehicles and turrets(I use the I in A.I. very loosely).

 

This game was also noted for high resolution selections, the highest being 1280x1024. In terms of 1995, HOLY S***. In addition to the high resolution, this was one of the few pc games to support 3d glasses and vr headsets(hence the name)

 

Despite these facts, most people found the missions to be confusing, because of no in-game reminders of your objectives. Most, myself included, generally tended to drive around the maps just exploring, which are fairly decently sized for the time. This confusion can be avoided by reading the mission briefings you get when selecting a map. There is also a bit of a progression system as the more maps you complete, the more stuff for your "byke" you unlock. You can even unlock different models, ranging from crotch-rocket to dune-buggy.

 

This missions can vary in objective from intelligence gathering(weird swirls of energy, marked on map overlay with yellow dot[?]), assassinations(destroy specific enemy vehicles(also marked on the map overlay with yellow[?] dot) and bombings(you shoot at a vaguely bomb shaped object and the "building" it's on goes away). Extremely varied gameplay for the time, other than "These things are bad, kill them."

It also has a built in level editor........good luck with that.

 

The music is easily the worst part of this game, beyond needing a dos emulator, cheap bit music. I don't much care for it, but others might be of a different opinion.

 

In short, this is a game an overlooked gem that more than worth a look.(Though, it might just be the nostalgia talking.)

 

Download link V

 

http://www.myabandonware.com/game/cyberbykes-shadow-racer-vr-2r6