Cybernoid 2

STORY / GAMEPLAY
The game is similar to its predecessor (Cybernoid) but with improved graphics and some minor differences in gameplay. The Fighting Machine is again a flip-screen shoot 'em up where you control the deadly Cybernoid craft and your mission is to rescue the cargo stolen by a wave of pirate ships. the key factor here is to use correctly all weapon systems provided. These include side-aiming guns, bouncing bombs, seeker smart bombs, bombs that move around the screen to find a target, and time-sensitive bombs that explode a few seconds after you drop them. Shooting pirate ships releases cargo and you must collect at least 1500 points, but on many screens it is more prudent to escape immediately, as some screens hide more hazards than others and not all aliens react in the same way. I have to mention that Cybernoid II is a really tough game and almost impossible to advance from one level to the next! Simply insane! I personally never completed this.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The ZX version has nice visuals and uses a good selection of colors, detailed backgrounds and foregrounds and pretty smooth sprite animation. There is no screen scrolling though, as the game runs in flip-screen mode. Note that the 128k version offers an impressive main-menu music tune (the same as on the CPC version) composed by Dave Rogers and in-game there is a variety of cool (but noisy) sound effects.