William Gibson's "Neuromancer", considered by many readers to be the definitive cyberpunk novel, is the inspiration for this game by 
Interplay Productions. Borrowing Gibson's basic plot line (a hunt for a malicious AI), as well as some of the characters from the book, "Neuromancer" puts the player in the role of a "Cyberspace Cowboy," a slightly futuristic hacker/cracker. The object of the game is to crack various databases, battle assorted AI's, and wipe out Neuromancer, the virtual entity that is threatening to take over cyberspace.
This is a highly entertaining game to play, designed with a sense of humor and with enough levels of difficulty to keep it challenging for the experienced gamer. The player travels to various locations, gathering communications and cracking software with which he mounts his silicon attacks. Along the way, characters -- some human, some not -- offer varying degrees of help and/or hindrance. The graphics, while not spectacular, are interesting enough to get by. The soundtrack is based on Devo's "Some Things Never Change"; it sounds fine on the Commodore and typically cheesy on an IBM clone. The game is copy-protected through the use of a decoder wheel that allows the player access to message bases and banking operations -- you won't get far without it. Overall playability rates high. Fans of Gibson's books or gaming in general should find "Neuromancer" worth wasting a few hours on.
(F. Miles)
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Neuromancer Game
Interplay Productions
1575 Corporate Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 549-2411
