Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace Review

Originally released in 1991, Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace tells the story of bionic heroes Arnold and Sonya on their mission to save the planet, and their friends, from Emperor Rhyo and his cronies who are attempting to conquer Earth.

Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace is a typical 2D action platformer where you go thrhough each level in order to reach the boss and then progress forward; typical 2D action platformer formula. There’s some level diversity as an underwater level where you ride a submarine and a flying stage riding a spaceship. While you do have a life bar that can be refilled with pickups, you have one life. Once you’re life meter is empty, it’s back to the start of the game.

The only upside of these ports from years past to current generation consoles is the addition of perks like save states or even cheats available from the get-go. You can also rewind if you sustain damage or are about to die to rectify your mistake. For whatever reason, you can also fast forward; while you’d think it’d be useful in cutscenes, it barely fast forwards the text and just makes the music annoying.

The game looks fine for what it is given its aged. The company handling this re-release didn’t bother doing any visual or audio improvement for an authentic experience, which is fine, but will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Levels are a bit bland and quite similar from one another limiting the variety; same color palette used throughout the game. Again we have to be fair given the limitations back in the day. The soundtrack is mildly enough; not a classic chiptune affair but enjoyable enough to not have to mute the game when playing.

The first issue here is the delay with the controls. Whether you shoot or jump, there’s a half a second of delay between the button press and the action on screen which will cause unnecessary frustrations and in-game damage. The other nuisance, akin to other similar ports, is the menu-ing. Why in the hell it doesn’t simply use a simple scheme is beyond me. Also for whatever reason, non walking levels do have any health refill. There’s also annoying collision issues, especially in the underwater level.

Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace unfortunately clearly shows its aged and it’s also a reminder of how hard games were back in the day. If you thought games like the Mega Man series was hard, Cyber Citizen Shockman 2: A New Menace is a whole new level of difficult. And the delay in the controls doesn’t make things any easier. It’s fun, but incredibly tough as there’s no room for error and might turn off even the more hardened gamer. It’s the perfect example that shows how far we’ve come and spoiled we are with new games. Try at your own risk.