Virtual On Cybertroopers (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.7 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Greg Kasavin
• Reviewed on: 10/31/1997
• Updated on: 05/02/2000
• Released on: 09/30/1997
• Originally published on GameSpot: Virtual On Cybertroopers (PC) Review

Its title doesn't make much sense, but far be it from your typical arcade gamer to speak ill of Virtual On. Sega took the basic one-on-one fighting game premise and applied it to giant robots with giant guns to create a one-on-one 3D shooter that has garnered immense popularity in arcades all across the world. It was only a matter of time before Sega ported Virtual On to its 32-bit console and subsequently the PC. But as it turns out, Virtual On for the PC is convincing evidence that some arcade games aren't meant to be played at home.

Virtual On for the PC offers the same great cast as its arcade counterpart. From the nimble, feminine Fei-Yen to the hulking, hammer-toting Dorkas, each of the eight selectable Virtual On cyber troopers is distinctive and interesting. A far cry from the ungainly, overheating mechs you may be used to, these 'bots are blessed with lifelike agility and personality exemplified through highly detailed, colorful polygonal models. Watching the cyber troopers sprint around the battlefield and take to the skies as they unleash flurries of guided missiles upon one another is truly a sight to behold. But even if you can exceed Virtual On's steep requirement for a Pentium 166 with MMX, you'll still encounter a frame rate that's unreasonably sluggish. You can switch to a lower resolution, but even then you'll be hard-pressed to approach the arcade's blistering and uncompromising 60 frames per second. Here's one game that begs for 3D accelerator support and doubly proves that "Designed for Intel MMX" is little more than a slogan. At least all the arcade's metal-crunching sound effects and the manic, upbeat, synthesized soundtrack made it home without a hitch.

The arcade game is able to maintain its detailed graphics at such a furious frame rate only through the power of Sega's awesome Model 2 hardware, which far exceeds the comparatively piddling polygonal horsepower of an unaccelerated high-end Pentium. The arcade game was constructed to take full advantage of Model 2; tremendous polygonal explosions rock the battlefield left and right as the cyber troopers settle their score. But whereas the arcade hardware doesn't even hiccup at such pyrotechnics, your home PC will bog to a virtual slideshow whenever you eat a big missile... making it that much simpler for the opponent to feed you the next one.

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