A bunch of psycho military androids are on the loose, and you are mankind's only hope. Or something like that. Plots for shooting games are never realistic. Why not send hordes of soldiers to deal with the threat instead of two guys? But then again that doesn't really matter because who really needs an excuse to run around shooting up rampaging androids and monsters anyway?
Cyber Lip lets players do just that, attempting to be the Contra game of the Neo Geo. The background graphics consist of scrolling 2D bitmaps. Players must run through the stages blasting anything that moves until it no longer moves. Along the way there are ledges to jump on and pipes that players can grab and hang on to.
Defeated enemies may leave a variety of special weapons that players can collect. In a departure from Contra, players can collect and save up multiple types of special weapons, switching to the most appropriate weapon for the situation. Special weapons have a limited amount of ammunition, while the default gun has unlimited. The special weapon ammunition can be reloaded, however, in the ammo storerooms around the levels.
When an enemy unit or bullet strikes the character, he dies. Then he comes back on a machine-gun equipped hoversled that can be used for a limited amount of time before it disappears. Players must contend with boss characters at the end of every level before viewing the cut-scenes that advance the game's storyline.