CYBORG HELLGATE — Amstrad CPC Edition

The ZX Spectrum Next's CYBORG HELLGATE brought to the Amstrad CPC.

Defend the planet against an escalating alien invasion in a frantic Defender-style bullet hell. Rescue humanoids from landers, destroy mutants and survive an increasingly ridiculous collection of enemies while building your HIT chain and power level.

The HELLGATE can save a humanoid in trouble — or warp you three waves ahead if you fly into it with enough humanoids aboard.

Ghosto lets bullets pass straight through your ship while destroying anything you touch. The Guard creates a temporary barrier that eats every bullet on screen. Collect P pickups and gems to increase your power level, upgrade your laser and survive the increasingly intense bullet patterns.

And then there are the giant mechs.

Every fifth level becomes a boss level, with MECHRA's giant machines throwing fans, rings and spirals of bullets across the screen.

The game never ends. Keep going until you lose your last ship and see how high you can push your score, wave, level and mech destruction count.

GAMEPLAY

- Rescue humanoids before the landers take them away.
- Catch falling humanoids before they become mutants.
- Build your HIT chain with rapid kills.
- Collect P pickups and gems to increase your power level.
- Upgrade your laser through five power levels.
- Use Smart Bombs, Hyperspace, Guard and Ghosto when things get dangerous.
- Enter the HELLGATE for rescues and powerful warp bonuses.
- Survive increasingly dense bullet patterns.
- Fight giant MECHRA mechs every fifth level.

CONTROLS

Q / A — Up / Down
O / P — Thrust left / right
Space / Z — Laser
B / M — Smart Bomb
H — Hyperspace
G — Guard
I / N (hold) — Ghosto

Joystick controls are also supported.

Space or fire starts the game from the title screen.

AMSTRAD CPC EDITION

CYBORG HELLGATE uses the same game, enemies, levels, pickups, scoring and mechanics as the ZX Spectrum Next version, rebuilt for the CPC's 16-colour Mode 0 display. The Next's hardware sprites, Layer 2 and DMA are replaced by software rendering and Z80-optimised routines.

The CPC version is slower than the Next. The tested timing runs show gameplay generally running at around 16–19 frames per second, with some heavier sections dropping further.

This version requires a 128K Amstrad CPC: a CPC 6128, or a 464/664 expanded to 128K.

TESTING

Tested in the NTC test harness and in Caprice32 configured as a CPC 6128. The README states that it has not been run on a real CPC.

GAME INFORMATION

Platform: Amstrad CPC 128K
Language: NTC BASIC
Display: Mode 0, 160 × 200, 16 colours
Players: 1

(c) 2026 Cyborg Unicorn Pty Ltd