kevincal Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 (edited) Game: CyberMorph Price: Pack-in game for the Jaguar set($250) / $50 New in 1994 / $5 Loose on eBay in 2008... Release: 11.18.93 Format: Atari Jaguar cartridge The Atari Jaguar is a rather obscure and controversial classic gaming console. Most classic gamers have never owned one, and have based their opinions solely from heavily biased video game magazines of the past. Cybermorph was the pack-in game for the Jaguar when the system launched in late 1993. Not much hype was generated for the system, or CyberMorph for that matter. Atari didn't have the money needed for many commercials and other advertising. CyberMorph actually started life on the Atari Panther. Most probably don't know what that is. It was a 32-bit system Atari was working on in the early 90's. However, they scraped their plans for the Panther in favor of the Jaguar technology, which was considerably more powerfull. CyberMorph was initially developed for the Panther however, and it was basically ported over to the Jaguar hardware and surely tweaked a bit to take advantage of the Jag's extra power. CyberMorph opens with a nicely animated into screen of your morphing-abled ship, named the T-Griffon. A very catchy and futuristic tune also plays during the brief intro. There are no difficulty settings in the game, so basically the game gets progressively more difficult as you advance. You start off on Level 1 with the option of choosing any of 8 planets. These planets range in colors and terrain. The basic concept of the game is collecting diamond shaped "pods". These pods contain valuable information and weapons which the evil Pernitian Empire has stolen. In a sense, the story resembles that of Star Wars in that there is the evil Empire which is conquering planets and galaxies. You play the last hope for humanity, flying your TransmoGriffen in these worlds fighting off the enemies of the Pernitian empire, who by the way have regenerative capabilities... So when you destroy an enemy, they can come right back. I have personally played this game off and on since 1994. This game does have a difficult learning curve. The problem is that extra ships are hard to come by, and it is very easy to lose a ship by accidentally flying into a building or being creamed by a giant worm. The control is actually very responsive in this game. It doesn't take long to get used to the basic feel of the ship's flight characteristics. The ship has the ability to accelerate, decelerate and turn left or right rapidly. You have a standard one-shot with unlimited ammo. Most enemies only take 1 hit. Many weapon power-ups are scattered in the worlds such as bombs, missles, flamethrowers, thunderquakers (the equivalent of the room-clearing BFG-9000 in Doom) and many more. There are also several viewpoints including an inside the cockpit view. I only recently completed this whole game in the past year! There are actually 5 levels with 9 planets each (8 regular planets and then a boss planet)! So about 45 levels total... Most people will find it difficult just to beat the first level of planets! Practice, practice, practice... There is no in-game music, however I didn't find this to detract from the gameplay, nor make the game "boring". You'll probably find yourself too busy looking for those pods! As that is the idea for each world. Use your radar to find the pods. A yellow arrow on the radar helps to point you in the right direction. Overall, for the first game on a new system, this game is quite good! It's by no means a short and easy game... It will take even a veteran game player weeks or even months to beat! Rating Scale: 1-3-- (Absolutely terrible) 4-6-- (Average at best) 7-9-- (Very good -- meets expectations) 10-- (Excellent; the best of the best) Graphics: 7 The game features Gouraud shaded polygons in many wonderfull colors. There is some significant pop-up in the game, however the game has quite a smooth frame-rate. Sound: 7 Although there is no in-game music, there are many varied and great sound fx that give a great futuristic sense. Your green, female holographic co-pilot Skylar has a nice British accent too. Gameplay: 8 The controls of your ship are tight and responsive. Although collecting pods may seem overly basic, sometimes many tasks are required to get hard-to-reach pods, which can be rewarding! CyberMorph is also one of the first 3d games that is "free-roaming", no rails here... Unlike a certain game from Nintendo released around the same time... Overall: 8 This game is quite fun one you learn how to fly safely and retain enough extra ships to progress through the levels. You will get "Game Over" quickly at first, but if you stick with it, you'll be progressing through the game nicely. The worlds become more varied and exciting as well, so there is some incentive right there! Not to mention that you can obtain a score in this game. Improving your hi-score can be quite addicting. Edited December 24, 2008 by kevincal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 And STGuy, have you gotten my PM's!? Been waiting to hear what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 I'm a big jag fan and enjoy cybermorph as a curio of it's time, when even shadow squadron on the lowly 32x slays it or silpheed on the sega cd... i enjoy the free-flying nature of it, that's definately my favorite thing, but even ancient amiga games like frontier or damocles eat it for lunch. Yes, I played it a lot and beat whole planets. It just wears so thin. Heck, I'd even give the nod to elite and space rogue and others from c=64 era, maybe even saying 2600 solaris is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted December 24, 2008 Author Share Posted December 24, 2008 You say you beat whole planets... Did you even get past the first 8 planets + the boss of Level 1 of 5 in CyberMorph? I have an extremely difficult time believing those "archaic" games you mentioned are better than CyberMorph... Their graphics and gameplay are surely much more simplistic than CM. I think you are quite a bit biased in favor towards systems of the 70's and 80's... I can understand that though. I've played numerous 2600 games and like some of them, none were as good as CyberMorph though. The 2600 controller is just plain horrid. It's tiny and way too stiff. Then the graphics...of course... I mean, nobody can say anything about how basic the gameplay is in CM if they claim any 2600 game is better LOL... I can safely say after play over 50 2600 games, none of them come close to having the amount of game content as even the lowliest Jag game... To me the 2600's games are like a bunch of mini-games that grow old after 15-30 minutes. It doesn't help that the 2600's graphics, sound and control are...dare I say it, garbage. Of course, I am biased myself being born in '81 and growing up playing the vastly superior NES. Atleast with CyberMorph, I was entertained for hour after hour with the gameplay and storyline. Plus the control is great. I've played Shadow and Silpheed and fail to see how they "slay" CyberMorph in the least bit. Both of those games felt very 16-bit like to me. CyberMorph is a notch above them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakenut86 Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 Awesome review!!! I also really enjoy Cybermorph and think that this was right on except the part about Skylar, she is freakin annoying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted December 25, 2008 Author Share Posted December 25, 2008 I like her. Did you get the package yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 Nah, nothing to do with age; yes I beat a few bosses before it wore out. Have you played Yager on the xbox (as far as modern stuff goes,) or Crimson Skies. I also prefer the original Mercenary. Just pure timeless great gameplay. cyber has good gameplay and I even defend the game against those who say it sucks. It does not. It is not, however, great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakenut86 Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 I like her. Did you get the package yet? She's ok I guess, just that her phrases become a bit repeatative. No not yet, we had the big blizzard and then its also the holidays so the mail is gonna run a bit slow anyways. I figure it will be here by saturday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted December 25, 2008 Author Share Posted December 25, 2008 Nah, nothing to do with age; yes I beat a few bosses before it wore out. Have you played Yager on the xbox (as far as modern stuff goes,) or Crimson Skies. I also prefer the original Mercenary. Just pure timeless great gameplay. cyber has good gameplay and I even defend the game against those who say it sucks. It does not. It is not, however, great. Sorry, I was a bit harsh on you. I haven't played those games. True, I feel CyberMorph is Good to Very Good...but not Great. I like her. Did you get the package yet? She's ok I guess, just that her phrases become a bit repeatative. No not yet, we had the big blizzard and then its also the holidays so the mail is gonna run a bit slow anyways. I figure it will be here by saturday. Ya I've been hearing about that weather you're getting. Ya it should be there by Saturday for sure. I bet it comes the day after Christmas. If the postmen work that day anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakenut86 Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 Nah, nothing to do with age; yes I beat a few bosses before it wore out. Have you played Yager on the xbox (as far as modern stuff goes,) or Crimson Skies. I also prefer the original Mercenary. Just pure timeless great gameplay. cyber has good gameplay and I even defend the game against those who say it sucks. It does not. It is not, however, great. Sorry, I was a bit harsh on you. I haven't played those games. True, I feel CyberMorph is Good to Very Good...but not Great. I like her. Did you get the package yet? She's ok I guess, just that her phrases become a bit repeatative. No not yet, we had the big blizzard and then its also the holidays so the mail is gonna run a bit slow anyways. I figure it will be here by saturday. Ya I've been hearing about that weather you're getting. Ya it should be there by Saturday for sure. I bet it comes the day after Christmas. If the postmen work that day anyway... Yeah 19 inches the other day and another 2 day before yesterday. Plus the 6 or 7 inches we already had. Not sure if mail will be going tomorrow or not but if it is I'd also bet that it comes then. Merry Christmas everyone!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 Indeed! Happy holidays! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted December 25, 2008 Share Posted December 25, 2008 Good review: but overall score I would give it a 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STGuy1040 Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Game: CyberMorph Price: Pack-in game for the Jaguar set($250) / $50 New in 1994 / $5 Loose on eBay in 2008... Release: 11.18.93 Format: Atari Jaguar cartridge The Atari Jaguar is a rather obscure and controversial classic gaming console. Most classic gamers have never owned one, and have based their opinions solely from heavily biased video game magazines of the past. Cybermorph was the pack-in game for the Jaguar when the system launched in late 1993. Not much hype was generated for the system, or CyberMorph for that matter. Atari didn't have the money needed for many commercials and other advertising. CyberMorph actually started life on the Atari Panther. Most probably don't know what that is. It was a 32-bit system Atari was working on in the early 90's. However, they scraped their plans for the Panther in favor of the Jaguar technology, which was considerably more powerfull. CyberMorph was initially developed for the Panther however, and it was basically ported over to the Jaguar hardware and surely tweaked a bit to take advantage of the Jag's extra power. CyberMorph opens with a nicely animated into screen of your morphing-abled ship, named the T-Griffon. A very catchy and futuristic tune also plays during the brief intro. There are no difficulty settings in the game, so basically the game gets progressively more difficult as you advance. You start off on Level 1 with the option of choosing any of 8 planets. These planets range in colors and terrain. The basic concept of the game is collecting diamond shaped "pods". These pods contain valuable information and weapons which the evil Pernitian Empire has stolen. In a sense, the story resembles that of Star Wars in that there is the evil Empire which is conquering planets and galaxies. You play the last hope for humanity, flying your TransmoGriffen in these worlds fighting off the enemies of the Pernitian empire, who by the way have regenerative capabilities... So when you destroy an enemy, they can come right back. I have personally played this game off and on since 1994. This game does have a difficult learning curve. The problem is that extra ships are hard to come by, and it is very easy to lose a ship by accidentally flying into a building or being creamed by a giant worm. The control is actually very responsive in this game. It doesn't take long to get used to the basic feel of the ship's flight characteristics. The ship has the ability to accelerate, decelerate and turn left or right rapidly. You have a standard one-shot with unlimited ammo. Most enemies only take 1 hit. Many weapon power-ups are scattered in the worlds such as bombs, missles, flamethrowers, thunderquakers (the equivalent of the room-clearing BFG-9000 in Doom) and many more. There are also several viewpoints including an inside the cockpit view. I only recently completed this whole game in the past year! There are actually 5 levels with 9 planets each (8 regular planets and then a boss planet)! So about 45 levels total... Most people will find it difficult just to beat the first level of planets! Practice, practice, practice... There is no in-game music, however I didn't find this to detract from the gameplay, nor make the game "boring". You'll probably find yourself too busy looking for those pods! As that is the idea for each world. Use your radar to find the pods. A yellow arrow on the radar helps to point you in the right direction. Overall, for the first game on a new system, this game is quite good! It's by no means a short and easy game... It will take even a veteran game player weeks or even months to beat! Rating Scale: 1-3-- (Absolutely terrible) 4-6-- (Average at best) 7-9-- (Very good -- meets expectations) 10-- (Excellent; the best of the best) Graphics: 7 The game features Gouraud shaded polygons in many wonderfull colors. There is some significant pop-up in the game, however the game has quite a smooth frame-rate. Sound: 7 Although there is no in-game music, there are many varied and great sound fx that give a great futuristic sense. Your green, female holographic co-pilot Skylar has a nice British accent too. Gameplay: 8 The controls of your ship are tight and responsive. Although collecting pods may seem overly basic, sometimes many tasks are required to get hard-to-reach pods, which can be rewarding! CyberMorph is also one of the first 3d games that is "free-roaming", no rails here... Unlike a certain game from Nintendo released around the same time... Overall: 8 This game is quite fun one you learn how to fly safely and retain enough extra ships to progress through the levels. You will get "Game Over" quickly at first, but if you stick with it, you'll be progressing through the game nicely. The worlds become more varied and exciting as well, so there is some incentive right there! Not to mention that you can obtain a score in this game. Improving your hi-score can be quite addicting. Strange! You didn't get my PM? I really liked the review a lot and it will be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorf Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 As a game I think 8 is a fair score. As a pack in its a 10 hands down considering other packs in before it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted December 26, 2008 Author Share Posted December 26, 2008 (edited) Good review: but overall score I would give it a 7. I had given it a 7.5 originally... However I felt like doing all of my scores as a solid number. After finally beating this game, I just really feel than this game is generally underrated.. Except of course for the review the legendary Diehard GameFan magazine gave it.. They gave it 3 scores in the high 90's and gave it game of the month! I dunno, an 8 out of 10 is something like a grade of B in school. I think CyberMorph rightly deserves the score considering it was the very first Jaguar game. I do think the game is something like a fine wine though, it takes a long time to appreciate how good it is. If only it had a better save system, a lot more people could have enjoyed this game for what it was. Most people never have made it out of the first level of planets I believe! They die very quickly and it leaves a bad taste in their mouth. That's kinda how it was for me at first too. However this review is from someone who has played this game countless hours over a number of years. Edited December 26, 2008 by kevincal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete5125 Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 As a good pack-in you shoud be getting an adictive game that shows what the system can do well, and a game adictive enouth that you do not feel you waisted your $150 on the system, a good pack-in makes or breaks a system, Compare sales of Sega Gennesis w/ Altered Beast (good looking game, way to short not worth the money)to Sega Genesis w/ Sonic the Hedgehog. I guess out of the 1st 5 or so games for the Jag this was the best one, but once Temptest or Alien Vs Predator came out the Jag should of switched to one of those games. Cybermorph isn't a bad game just it feels incomplete w/ the lack of music....the computer bald headed girl taunting you will drive an average gamer insane and the steep learning curve will keep most average gamers away from it... But I am biais I never liked this game and even though you didn't have the free range on StarFox(SNES) I liked Star Fox better because it was more fun. I do counter that my roomate at the time would of gave it a 9 out of 10 and spent many hours on this game to my dismay, trying to kick him off so he could beat one more level then we could play stupid Kausami Ninja or Alien Vs Predator....may be the other reason that I detestid this game,...he some how always got off work 30 minutes before me so the gang would have to sit their and whatch him fly slowly around the city collecting power pellets, and listening to the lady from Star Trek the Motion Picture say, "where did you learn to fly"...then you would hear the engeine from Astroids, and the blaster from space invaders/missle command...as e shot through the bad guys....the game is long never ending and we had moved on to Sega Saturn before he ever beat it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZylonBane Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 The game's official name is "Cybermorph", not "CyberMorph". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted January 13, 2009 Author Share Posted January 13, 2009 LOL Well then... EXCUSE me.. To be honest though, when you fire the game up and the title screen comes up, all the letters are CAPITAL.. "CYBERMORPH".. So technically, neither of us are correct.. Same thing with the logo on the box and cart I do believe as well etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Read the manual Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevincal Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 CYBERMORPH Cybermorph CyberMorph Schmybermorph... It doesn't really matter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesusc Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) As a game I think 8 is a fair score.As a pack in its a 10 hands down considering other packs in before it. 2600-Combat 5200-Pac Man or Super Breakout, both excellent games. Colecovision- Donkey Kong NES- Super Mario Bros Genesis-Altered Beast SuperNes-Super Mario World If Cybermorph is a ten, you must be using a scale of 100. Edited January 21, 2009 by jesusc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
else Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) The original 5200 pack-in was Super Breakout, not Pac Man. Yes, later is was Pac Man, but later the 2600's pack in was also Pac Man. A lot of systems have had their pack-in game switched over time, so it's conceivable that had the Jaguar lasted longer it also would have had different pack-ins. Edited January 21, 2009 by else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 If Cybermorph is a ten, you must be using a scale of 100. Not all of us have a hate-on for the Jaguar. I'd give Cybermorph about a 7 or 8 out of 10. (That's a 70 or 80 on your scale.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesusc Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Because I totally have a hate on for the Jaguar. "Hating" a system is kinda stupid, unless it physically hurt you or something. I appreciate the better games for the system. Cybermorph is not one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
else Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 5200-Pac Man or Super Breakout, both excellent games. Hey, no fair. You changed your post.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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