Burn:Cycle

Moby ID: 3962
CD-i Specs

Description official descriptions

You play data thief Sol Cutter in a very Johnny Mnemonic-like plot. You have just pulled off a major data theft, but in doing so you've infected yourself with a neural virus, named Burn:Cycle, which will literally turn your brain into goo in 2 hours. Unless that is, you can find a cure while you simultaneously try to avoid the people whom you stole the data from.

Why are they chasing you if you're gonna die anyway? How do you get rid of this virus? What does it all mean? You'll try to figure that out in this game which plays like a Cyberpunk The Journeyman Project, in full screen and with more action sequences. Gameplay consists of first-person action and puzzle sequences spiced up with video in-between.

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Credits (CD-i version)

107 People (97 developers, 10 thanks) · View all

Cutter
Kris
Gala
Doc
Zip
Dealey
Buddha
Rage
Vielli
Female Cutter
Hotel Agent
Taiwanese Pirates
Barwoman
Psychic Roulette Players
Orange Man
Additional Voice
Televerse Adverts
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 76% (based on 23 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.3 out of 5 (based on 12 ratings with 1 reviews)

Another Interactive Movie failure

The Good
The best things about Burn: Cycle come from a story/creative content point of view. The story, which stars you as data thief Sol Cutter, is ripped straight from Jhonny Mnemonic (that really awful movie starring Keanu Reeves based on an excellent short story by William Gibson collected on the equally excellent Burning Chrome compilation) but is done so with good production values and actually eliminates some of the annoying elements that made the movie such a flop. The story is set on a cyberpunkish future with giant media conglomerates ruling over the population and a super-developed cyberspace that has spawned millions of hackers that act as freelance rogues ready to make a quick buck and stick it to the man in the process. Cutter is one of the later, but instead of jacking into the net for a living he's a living hard drive able to download and steal data into his brain. In J. Mnemonic, the problem came from the fact that Keanu downloads a sensitive file bigger than his memory's able to handle, so not only does he have to get rid of the file pronto, but he also needs to escape the bozos that don't want to see that information released. In B. Cycle Cutter has no size limitations, the problem comes from the fact that the data he downloaded was infected with a nasty virus that will liquify his brain in 2 hours real-time, so he needs to get a cure pronto. Plus guess what? The data in his brain is extremely sensitive (as in world-saving sensitive) and a bunch of bozos are after it as well.

Soo.... yeah, let's say Gibson should sue. But that's good news really. The story is interesting, and it's told via FMV that stars a cast of unknowns that really manage to deliver convincing performances and with a good use of art direction both in live sets as well as computer-generated backgrounds that bring the cyberpunk world to life.

As far as the game goes, it's interesting to note that it actually uses a real-time 2 hour limit which does actually enhance the sense of desperation on the later stages of the game.

The Bad
The only bad thing about Burn: Cycle is the game itself. This is a typical interactive movie in the worst way possible, a story (that is actually interesting this time) slapped with a collection of uninspired mini-sequences based on arcade/puzzle mechanics that work around a myst-like interface where you walk around in first person perspective and deal with the mini-games as they pop up. The problem with these interactive movies is that there is no real gameplay concept, they just make a story and then come up with the connecting "game sequences" as they go. Result? Incoherent, unimaginative filler material that doesn't draw you in and has no inherent challenges. In fact, the only moment they can get difficult is when they become so unimaginative that they resort to cheap shots in order to try and "keep you occupied" for a while, Case in point: near the end there's a HORRIBLE puzzle that is actually just a stupid maze, seen from a top-down perspective with you losing whenever you clip a wall.... yeah, right? But get this: to make it a challenge they decided to screw up your control making the whole mini-game a cheap exercise akin to those "Shock sticks" seen on fairs....good god can't they at least TRY???

Oh yeah, and you also get for your money shoddy digitized graphics courtesy of shitty video codecs from the era...

The Bottom Line
The typical Interactive Movie: all the attention placed on a rather good (albeit COMPLETELY ripped off) story, and none given to the gameplay. For collectors only.

Windows 3.x · by Zovni (10504) · 2004

Trivia

Extras

  • The original CD-i release came with an audio CD featuring the game's soundtrack composed by British TV and film composer Simon Boswell, as well as a fold-out box which included a series of e-mails directed to our character Cutter and in which some of his past was revealed.
  • The first run of Burn:Cycle for the PC came in a black box whose front was coated with a Liquid Crystal thermal graphic material that had the ability to display the body heat from hands and such, similar to a mood ring. It contained the same extras as the original CD-i release.
  • Later releases of the game came with dog tags: one with the Burn:Cycle logo; the other with the name and code from the main character of the game, Sol Cutter, 448E-3858RT-03.

Awards

  • EGM
    • 1995 Buyer's Guide - CD-i Game of the Year
  • VideoGames
    • March 1995 - Best CD-i Game in 1994

Information also contributed by Big Jiohn WV, James Evans and tbuteler

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Zovni.

CD-i added by Corn Popper. Macintosh added by Multimedia Mike.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Alaka, Patrick Bregger.

Game added May 2, 2001. Last modified October 13, 2023.