Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Release: 10/18/95 Genre: Action
I miss deluxe arcade cabinets. I miss the arcade in general but there was something special about a massive cabinet with all manner of accoutrements to give you an experience like no other. Games like G-Loc and Brave Firefighters at the time were incredibly unique and could not be replicated at home. But with the advent of the PlayStation and Saturn those barriers began to disappear. Unfortunately for every excellent port like Tekken there were many like Cyber Sled that better off in the arcade. Cyber Sled is not a bad game per se but it makes for a better rental than purchase.
Cyber Sled is a third person vehicle based arena fighter. You select from a diverse set of characters, each with their own specialized tank with varying stats. These stats (speed, weapons, and shield) heavily influence the feel of each craft and how you approach the game. A character like Marie Yamamoto is quick but very weak and not suited for a head on battle while Rexer has incredibly strong weapons to dish out punishment quickly. Possibly the best element of the game is that the difference in tanks is almost immediately noticeable, almost like a fighting game.
While they have nailed the feel of the tanks the controls will still take some adjustment. In the arcade Cyber Sled used a twin stick setup with the left stick controlling movement and the right enabling strafing. As a near launch title for the PlayStation Cyber Sled has to make do with the default controller. Unfortunately the control scheme is slow and unwieldy. The d-pad controls movement and strafing. To turn you use the L1 and R1 buttons which is reasonable. In practice it is slow and cumbersome. In the arcade you could circle strafe easily and dart around the playing field with ease. Here it is not a viable tactic as the computer is practically on ice skates in comparison to you.
Even with better controls mechanically Cyber Sled would still be a simple game. Each bout takes place in an enclosed arena with walls throughout. Ducking for cover behind objects is the extent of the game’s strategy. Your only weapons are missiles and machine guns and every match comes down to who can unload their arsenal first. Sure you might have to hide briefly if using a weaker character but the same tactics work for everyone. If the arenas were more complex with bridges, slopes, and varying terrain it could have made matches more interesting. As is they are a quick thrill at best. That is what the game was designed for but I do not think it is unreasonable to expect more.
The main problem with Cyber Sled is that it is a bare bones package. Despite featuring more characters than the arcade game you can still follow the same tactics to win nearly every match. This is not a difficult game so the single player campaign is over in ten minutes or so. There are no unlockables meaning the thrill of having a near perfect recreation of the arcade game is over quickly. Multiplayer does not add replay value either. Despite featuring a few cool extra items like radar and missile jam it is still too simple to be anything more than a novelty. That is to say nothing of the awful framerate.
One of the few positives I can think of is the quality of the port. The PlayStation version is a near perfect conversion of the arcade game. This should come as no surprise as it was a flat shaded title originally. The simplistic non textured look and small arenas allow for a high framerate which is crucial for a title like this. The game is not big on visual pizazz but seeing a deluxe arcade game recreated so well at home was still a shock in 1995. There are a few bells and whistles like brief CG intros for each competitor in arcade mode but nothing extravagant. There is also an original graphic mode that is slightly different but not that you will notice. I guess it’s the thought that counts.
In Closing
Cyber Sled was certainly an experience in the arcade. But as a home title it is lacking. There simply is not enough meat on its bones to hold your interest longer than twenty minutes. This is a good port but it needed more. Some games are best left in the arcade.
