1996 · Action · Sports

HyperBlade

HyperBlade introduces the 3D battlesport of the future. Players engage in a futuristic street-hockey style game played out on the interior of an elongated ellipsoid arena. Body-checks (weapons are included) go for blood in this game as players can be gruesomely eliminated from the game, including the option to score with an opponent's dismembered head. Power-ups, speed boosts, ramps, and simple team management (for substitutions) are all part of the experience. Some strategy is required for play, but it's mostly pure action.

Released: 1996
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Action Sports Tactical
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Perspective: Third person
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB T PEGI 16

About

HyperBlade is an action video game, depicting a futuristic sport in a futuristic world. The sport is a mutated version of hockey, played in an egg-shaped arena rather than on a flat field or rink, which is loaded with weapons and deadly traps.

It was released by Wizbang! Software Productions in collaboration with Activision on December 16, 1996 for Windows 95, and serious graphics bugs are common in later operating systems. The game was originally announced under the name Hockeydrome, and scheduled to be released for the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and 32X platforms video game consoles as well, though none of these versions materialized.

Keywords

future sport

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Brutality to an extreme is permitted, as advances in medical sciences have prevented once-fatal conditions (such as decapitation) from altering one's life. Each player must avoid the jaks of other players, as well as many arena objects. The players are allowed any enhancement, from steroids to bionic appendages. Each player is in a suit that allows maximum flexibility, strength, and protection, all of which are needed, colored to represent the team they play for.

The players have one free gloved right hand, and a bladelike glove called a jak on their left. Players use this blade to pick up mines, swarves, and roks, as well as slash at their opponents (allowed). The primary method of transportation is skating, although jumping is very common to avoid obstacles and players.

Development

The game was developed by WizBang! Software Productions, a company founded in 1994.

Nearly all of the polygons which form the players and environments are flat shaded, an unusual design choice given that most games of that time applied texture mapping. Lewis Peterson of Activision said of this that "Part of it was an aesthetic decision. More importantly, a texture-mapped polygon costs about 10 times the processor budget of a flat-shaded polygon, so we had to make a decision as to whether or not we wanted one big texture-mapped polygon, or a more detailed and fine-tuned characters. [sic]" Support for texture mapping using Direct3D graphics accelerators was added to HyperBlade after Peterson made this statement.

Reception

Computer Games Magazine said "After a few games it grows tiresome, due to its lack of challenge and bothersome gameplay quirks. However, it has so much potential it makes you long for next year's model"

The game sold over a million copies.