Hyper Blade
Sold Out		(Win95/98) (Retail) (HYPERBLPR)

Activision

Game

Ratings:

4 stars from ComputerLife

8 out of 10 from Computer & Net Player

8 out of 10 from boot

3 1/2 (out of 4) stars from HomePC

The 3-D Battlesport of the Future

It's time to enter the Drome. Prepare to clash with the world's fastest and most lethal warriors as your team battles for league supremacy. In this sport, you're more than an athlete - you're a high-speed killing machine... Litter the surface of the Drome with severed limbs and boost the body count. Do whatever it takes to win or survive. Because if the speed doesn't kill you, your opponents will.

Hockey Meets Combat. HyperBlade fuses the high-speed action of hockey with the slashing brutality of combat to bring you the only sport where you can win the game by slaughtering the entire opposing team.

Decapitating Action. Hack. Grab. Then score with your opponent's severed head. Dismember, maim and cripple your enemies with deadly weapons and lethal obstacles as the crowd chants for more.

Motion-Captured 3-D Fury. Perform 360 degree flips. Rail slides and half-pipe shreds. Execute in-your-face tripping, kicking and body-checking. Each Drome is armed with power-ups, laser hurdles, ramps and armories.

Savage Network Play. Select from over 45 uniquely skilled players, three skill levels, 12 teams, 12 arenas and network play. Customize your teams with downloadable tools from the Activision Web site.

Requirements: A 100% Windows 95 compatible computer system (including compatible 32-bit drivers for CD-ROM drive, video card, sound card and input devices), Pentium 90 MHz processor, 16MB RAM, double speed CD-ROM drive (300K/second sustained transfer rate), 80 MB uncompressed hard drive space, 256 color SVGA (640x480) graphics, VESA local bus (VLB) or PCI video card with 1 MB RAM, Microsoft Windows 95 English language operating system, 100% Windows 95 compatible mouse, 100% Sound Blaster 16 compatible sound card.

Important Note: Requires your system to have the latest Windows 95 drivers that can fully support Microsoft's DirectX.

Optional Feature: If your video card fully supports Microsoft's Direct 3-D, this game can utilize the enhanced features of your 3-D card. Some of these cards may require a processor faster than a Pentium 90.

Windows 95 Local Area Network play requires one or more of the following in addition to the minimum requirements: 100% Windows 95 compatible network, IPX network, TCP/IP network (note: Internet and modem play not supported).

Reviews:

ComputerLife, February 1997

"If tomorrow's sports are as fast and violent as Activision's HyperBlade, I won't have the pain tolerance to play, but I'll be a big fan. The game is a futuristic hockey-like sport played in large, concave arenas filled with obstacles, jumps, and weapons. The league's 12 teams each consist of two players and a goalie, which are equipped with armor and skates. You control one team in exhibition games or tournament format and score points by throwing a projectile (called a 'rok') into your opponent's goal.

"I quickly learned that this is no sissy finesse game. Trying to control my players, I started out beating myself up running into barriers, then floundering on the ground while my opponent's goalie pounded me with cheap shots. After a few games, I started to get the hang of the controls and decided to fight back, I was soon jarring the rok loose from my enemy with vicious (sometimes fatal) blows, leaping off walls to avoid attacks, and executing graceful spin moves before hurling the rok past that bully goalie. The satisfaction was capped with my player's victory strut in the goalie's face.

"Although the 3-D graphics consist mainly of stick-like figures fleshed out with polygons, they are sufficiently solid-looking for this high-speed simulation. From the player's perspective, the freestyle skating moves feel very fluid.

"HyperBlade allows network play, but I was disappointed that it doesn't offer modem support. And it's a shame instant replay isn't included: Action this fast begs for repeated viewing (and decapitations played out in slow motion are what we fans live for)."

Computer & Net Player, February 1997

"A few years back, there was Speedball 2 for the Amiga. It was a gleefully violent, great sci-fi sports game and state of the art for its time. Well, it's been a while since anything of that caliber has come down the pike, but Activision's HyperBlade squarely fills the bill as a suitable successor to that classic. With two three-man teams competing to score goals in an elliptical arena while surrounded by spinning blades, concrete blockers and the blood lust of their opponents, this 3D sports game has an attitude and a strong sense of sadism. It's also one of the best games I've seen in a while and one of the coolest new titles around."

boot, February 1997

"HyperBlade is perfect for those who like a bit of the old ultraviolence."

"Graphics quality and performance within HyperBlade's bloody arena vary greatly depending on what you have under your hood...."

"The play-by-play text, as well as the graphics, are violent, bordering on gross. You can hear dying players in the throes of agony. And HyperBlade makes it personal by giving in-depth descriptions and biographies of the poor bastards."

"On the downside, this is a fairly limited game, with no season play, and the only championship is the Gauntlet, awarded to the player who can defeat all 12 teams in the league. HyperBlade is pretty boring solo, but get four of your buddies on a LAN and you can hack each other to pieces. Neither modem play nor Internet play is currently supported."

HomePC, March 1997

"Don't worry about getting bloodied - you'll be too busy trying to keep up with the action on the screen. Try to enjoy the fluid motion of the hyperbladers, who skate so well you'd think the developers filmed the NHL champion Colorado Avalanche in action. Remember, though, every time you get the rok, your opponents will try to topple you or slice off your arms."

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