Cyborg Force is a new Neo Geo game developed by the two-man team at indie publisher Neo Byte Force. It pays homage to all the classic Neo Geo games of old, especially Metal Slug which is the clear inspiration for the game. Cyborg Force has also been ported to the PC, PSP and Dreamcast which we’re reviewing here.
Previously, Neo Geo AES and MVS physical carts were available although these are currently sold out. The team has plans to bring a physical Dreamcast disc as well. In the meantime, all the versions are available to purchase as ROM files and can be used on emulators or SD card reader carts. The Dreamcast version can be burned to a disc to play.
Cyborg Force plays like a traditional scrolling shooter with eight directions to jump and fire into as you make your way from left to right during each level. You choose one of eight Cyborgs to control although they all play the same, you’re just choosing aesthetically. Stages are broken down into two main levels followed by a boss fight. The controls are straightforward only using jump, shoot and throw grenades.
The gameplay has some interesting mechanics that make for a deeper experience than you may first expect. Firstly, you can carry two weapons at once and switch between them at any time. This is useful as every weapon has its advantages as well as disadvantages and works better in different situations. You can also hold the switch weapon button to lock yourself in place and then fire in eight directions.
When we first started playing Cyborg Force we were running too quickly and getting into lots of bother. The game, while fast-paced and filled with enemies and bullets, requires patience. Simply running through will lead to many deaths but taking your time, slowly creeping forward, and thinking about how to attack each section starts to uncover the nuances of the game.
It’s not just the positioning that creates interesting mechanics, each enemy is weaker against a particular weapon so making sure you have the right gun on hand is vital to win. Your cyborgs control well and although there are a few patches of collision detection issues the overall gameplay is well-executed and fun. Cyborg Force is very challenging and has that classic brutal Neo Geo difficulty curve.
Graphically, Cyborg Force has a great use of colour and some of the backgrounds are detailed while scrolling beautifully. We would liked to have seen a bit more animation of the cyborg characters and enemies but nothing looks out of place. Some of the weapons, notably the flame thrower and pulse rifle, look great and the bosses are large and detailed.
One of the stand-out features is the game’s heavy metal soundtrack that pulsates along at a great beat. We were bopping our heads while blasting the enemies and the sound effects are excellent in places. Overall, Cyborg Force’s presentation is decent for the most part just lacking a little polish here and there. Being hyper-critical, we would’ve liked to have had more scenery to explode or objects to interact with.
Cyborg Force keeps the controls and levels simple and puts all its deeper gameplay into a great weapon system that will take time to master. It feels like a run-of-the-mill title when you start playing but quickly becomes a nuanced experience that run-and-gun fans will devour. It’s not quite on the same level as Metal Slug but it’s a fine game that deserves the attention of arcade lovers.
