CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Products | CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars |
CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars is a strategy title combining turn-based and real-time elements, created by Dynamix and launched in 1998 as the follow-up to MissionForce: CyberStorm. The game was distributed by Sierra On-Line.
Plot
Taking place well after the events of the original game, with the Cybrids no longer posing a significant danger, the uncovering of a jumpgate within the Typheous system ignites rivalry among eight powerful Earth-based corporations. Each company establishes an outpost in this system to compete for dominance through the use of cutting-edge military technology.
Gameplay
Presented from an overhead isometric perspective, CyberStorm 2 retains many visual elements from its predecessor but implements several gameplay modifications.
Players select a corporation, each characterized by unique advantages in areas such as financial resources, engineering expertise, bioengineering capabilities, and military strength. Advancement is achieved by completing randomly generated missions along with special lucrative assignments, with the ultimate goal of conquering the entire system by overcoming opposing corporations.
Corporate mechanics
The player oversees nearly every facet of their subsidiary corporation’s operations, including directing research priorities, constructing and upgrading bases, and establishing defenses. Revenue is generated through mining operations—either on neutral territories or by disrupting competitors’ mining activities—with consistent income supporting ongoing research efforts.
Allocating funds to research enables technological progress across various fields like weaponry, armor, shields, life support systems, sensors, among others. Maintaining and enhancing base facilities involves upgrading building technologies to improve their resilience and functionality; for instance, upgrading command centers boosts research capabilities, vehicle bays determine the types of units producible, launch pads restrict deployment capacity, and turret enhancements raise offensive power.
Combat
During engagements, players control between four and eight units depending on their chosen corporation, deploying forces against rival companies or remaining Cybrid factions. Unit categories include:
- HERCs (Humaniform-Emulation Roboticized Combat Units with Leg-Articulated Navigation): large bipedal robots that move at a slower pace but can traverse different terrain elevations by jumping and always orient themselves toward their targets. Most models from the original game return alongside new variants.
- Tanks: ground vehicles equipped with turrets capable of independent rotation relative to the chassis; their shields rotate in unison with the body.
- Grav Tanks: hovering vehicles that boast high mobility and terrain independence but possess weaker weaponry, armor, and shielding; lacking turrets, they constantly face their target directly.
The core gameplay revolves around destroying enemy structures and units. Buildings are heavily armored but lack shields, whereas enemy units feature both armor and shield protection. Typically, players use energy-based weapons to breach one of eight shield segments before employing ballistic weapons to damage armor. Certain weapons can partially or fully bypass shields to strike armor directly.
Unlike the first game’s hexagonal map design, CyberStorm 2 employs a grid-based system with eight directional facings and introduces octagonal-shaped shields aligned with this new grid format.
Development
The title reached completion ("went gold") on April 28, 1998.
Reviews
- The Duelist Issue 34
External links
- CyberStorm 2: Corporate Wars available on GameFAQs