Cyberzoic is Creative Beast Studio’s latest endeavour, an intriguing blend of paleontology, science fiction, and fantasy in which advanced human tribes on another planet in the distant future are waging war on one another with alien dragons and high tech armoured beasts from prehistory! The Kickstarter officially launched as of today and you can find all the relevant information on the website. Here is a summation of the storyline behind Cyberzoic, which David Silva originally dreamed up back when he was but a lad at college:
2170 AD. AI and synthetic ecosystems have solved the problems of overpopulation and hunger. Humanity has now turned its entire focus to exploring the cosmos. Soon manned space flights discover an Earth-like planet capable of sustaining life, which they name Gaea 2. The planet is home to a variety of alien wildlife — including highly-intelligent ‘dragons.’ As humanity studies and colonizes the planet, the dragons fight back, pushing these peaceful visitors to the brink of extinction.
But all is not well on Earth either. One day, all communication with Gaea 2 stops. There are no more supply shipments and contact with their home planet is completely lost. Soon, the people of Earth are presumed dead except for Gaea 2’s scientific and military residents. But the humans won’t go down so easily. Using the research technology they brought with them, they create biological weapons of their own: genetically-engineered embryos that “birth” Earth’s mightiest prehistoric creatures. Programmed to obey their masters and outfitted in protective armor, these terrifying beasts help the humans push back against the dragon attacks while they terraform Gaea 2. This saves the human species, but destroys the world’s natural habitats.
With the threat of human extinction seemingly resolved, the colonizers split into factions. Each clan champions its own philosophy about ensuring the long-term survival of humanity. Bitter conflicts erupt, leading to power struggles, uneasy alliances, and devastating new technology.
Who will win the war for Gaea 2? Or will humanity eradicate itself?
The initial three Cyberzoic beasts are Allosaurus, Smilodon, and the Arctic Dragon, with Achillobator as the first stretch goal.
By itself, the Allosaurus looks fabulous, especially with those frightful claws on its hands!
And once the Tech Clan armour is attached, you basically have a reimagining of Dino-Riders with a dash of Zoids tossed in for good measure. The armour can be reconfigured into a one person hover tank to fight alongside the Allosaurus. Click here for gallery.
The Smilodon will come with an alternate head with the jaws shut and paws with the claws unsheathed. It really is refreshing to finally see a rendition of the iconic sabre-toothed cat that actually has the proper proportions!
As you can see in this artwork by Raph Lomotan, each clan has its own unique design philosophy when it comes to battle armour. The Smilodon belongs to the Dragon Clan, in case it wasn’t already apparent from its companion in the background. Click here for gallery.
Kuraokami the Arctic Dragon has a cool (no pun intended) design that makes them stand out from more traditional dragons. Click here for gallery.
Achillobator is a very large Asian dromaeosaur that barely receives any publicity, so its inclusion in Cyberzoic is most exciting! Makes the raptors from the first Beasts of the Mesozoic series look like a flock of poultry!
And here it is is equipped with its Fire Clan armour, which can convert into a robotic hound as seen in the very first image of this post.
Once this stretch goal is unlocked, others will be Carnotaurus (Fire), Deinonychus (Desert), Dilophosaurus (Fire), Dryptosaurus (Fire), Utahraptor (Tech), Yutyrannus (Tech), and the Lizard Dragon (Dragon, of course), although the exact order of them is presently unknown.
If this first Kickstarter succeeds fully by November 2 (I am confident it will), then future ones will include the likes of Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Andrewsarchus, and much, much more! And don’t forget: if sci-fi/fantasy isn’t your bag, you still have the option of getting the prehistoric beasts without any armour as part of the standard Beasts of the Mesozoic/Cenozoic series!
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Terrific stuff, but our ‘fly in the ointment’, the one star vote character has struck again! Imagine, voting one star for potential releases of this quality. I partially counterbalanced that by giving these a five, which they deserve, IMO.