CyClones

The origins of Raven Software <3

CyClones, developed by Raven Software and later brought back to modern platforms by SNEG, is one of those early first-person shooters that feels both ahead of its time and firmly rooted in the experimental phase of the genre. Released during the mid-1990s, when developers were still figuring out what a shooter could be, it doesn’t simply imitate its contemporaries—it actively tries to push beyond them, even if the results are uneven. What you get is a game that’s as interesting to examine as it is to play, especially when viewed through the lens of how the genre evolved. The setting leans into familiar science fiction territory, placing players in a world under siege by alien forces that have begun converting humans into cybernetic hybrids. You take on the role of a heavily equipped operative sent to push back against this threat, moving through a series of missions that blend combat, exploration, and occasional objective-based tasks. The narrative itself is not particularly deep, functioning mostly as a framework to justify the action, but it does attempt to add a sense of context through briefings and cinematic touches that were relatively ambitious for the time. Where CyClones…

Like so many '90s PC games, the mouse sensitivity is INSANE! It's like all the playtesters back then were on cocaine and Cuban coffee via IV.

System shock was way too clunky of a game for me to enjoy playing through. This game interestingly tries to half-step between boomer shooter and ultra retro im-sim. Even if most of that comes from the clunky controls rather than how the game actually is. This game could be a solid fps if you fixed the cursor to the center and let the player look around 360, but by giving free aim around the screen and demanding the player to rotate the view left or right manually on top of that makes this a really interesting game to play. Changing that, giving manual weapon switching instead of right clicking on the screen itself, and having buttons for activating med kits and armor. This would just be an old classic with a ton of ahead of it's time QA, but NO, this game forces everything to be interacted through the right click and genuinely I don't think the game would be at all as noteworthy, memorable or fun to play without it. On one hand you could have another boomer shooter, or you could have something really unique which I'd have any day. Definitely going to have to play through this all the way later.

One of my all-time favorite games, ever. CyClones (1994) released only 1 year after DOOM with numerous industry-firsts. It came on a CD with an AWESOME electronic music redbook audio soundtrack by Power of Seven & Kevin Schilder, full motion video (FMV) cutscenes, mouse aiming system with a reticle, jumping & looking up/down, transparent walls, catwalks, floors-over-floors, 3D mapping, and more. Cost $50 at Wal-Mart in 1996 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGeWo1uoX9s

Pretty dope OST and alright gameplay.