''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 PCs, consoles and mobile devices, a ...

Simutronics Simutronics is an American online games company whose products include '' GemStone IV'' and ''DragonRealms''. It was founded in 1987 by David Whatley, with husband and wife Tom & Susan Zelinski. The company is located in St. Louis, Missouri. ...

, involving team combat between customizable mechs, each of which is controlled by a different player. Initially exclusive to the

GEnie GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...

online service, it opened in February 1993, and later that year it caused ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was 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 199 ...

'' 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), Civilizat ...

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

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

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 Fi ...

. 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 (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, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo! Inc. The service tra ...

, 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 ...

''".

References

External links

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