''CyberStrike'' is a futuristic 3D combat

online game An online game is a video game that is either partially or primarily played through the Internet or any other computer network available. Online games are ubiquitous on modern gaming platforms, including PC game, PCs, Console game, consoles and ...

by Simutronics, involving team combat between customizable

mech In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the mean ...

s, each of which is controlled by a different player. Initially exclusive to the GEnie online service, it opened in February 1993, and later that year it caused ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'' to create the new category of "Online Game of the Year" so it could be awarded to CyberStrike. In 1994, it was offered in stores by

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizatio ...

. In 1997, a sequel, '' Cyberstrike 2'', was announced as a joint project between Simutronics and Sony's

989 Studios 989 Studios was a division of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) that developed games for PlayStation consoles and Windows personal computers. Their games include ''EverQuest'', '' Twisted Metal III'', ''Twisted Metal 4'', ''Syphon Filter ...

. A single-player mission-based version was released in stores, and a multiplayer version opened on GEnie in December 1998. It was also released on

America Online AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

, and then via the Simutronics website. After ''Cyberstrike 2'' opened, the original version of the game was renamed as ''CyberStrike Classic''.

Reception

'' in 1993 praised the simple user interface and "amazing" graphics, including the weather. The reviewer reported that he played 12 hours before stopping at $6 an hour, concluding that "''CyberStrike'' is addictive, action-filled and downright fun. The violence is bloodless ... but the challenge is exhilarating". That year the magazine named ''CyberStrike'' the On-Line Game of the Year. A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game four stars out of five, stating that it was "very competitive in a multi-player environment but lacks the long-term rationale of ''

Multiplayer BattleTech ''Multiplayer BattleTech: Solaris'' is a version of the multiplayer ''BattleTech'' computer game which was available on AOL, and on Kesmai's (later named GameStorm) game service between 1996 and 2001. At its height on the AOL server, thousands of p ...

''".

References

External links

CyberStrike website at Simutronics
* 1994 video games DOS games DOS-only games MicroProse games Multiplayer online games Vehicle simulation games Video games about mecha Video games developed in the United States {{action-videogame-stub