Bionic Commando Dev Almost Messed With Strider, Too

vansau

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May 25, 2010
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Bionic Commando Dev Almost Messed With Strider, Too

[vimeo=6264583]​

When developer Grin went belly-up back in 2009, it surprised a lot of people. The closure was so sudden that it raised a lot of eyebrows, even though the studios' past few games hadn't exactly been hits:Bionic Commando wasn't nearly as good as so many people had hoped it would be (especially after the excellent Bionic Commando Rearmed), Wanted: Weapons of Fate was considered mediocre by most, and Terminator Salvation <a href=http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/terminator-salvation>was widely-panned by just about everyone for its weak gameplay and nonexistent length. Later on, word got out that the company had been working on Fortress for Square Enix, but <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110474-GRIN-Alleges-Square-Enix-Forced-It-Out-of-Business>the publisher yanked the project because of quality concerns (and reportedly didn't pay Grin for its work), but now it's come to light that the company was also developing new versions of Capcom's Strider and Streets of Rage games.

According to Anait Games, Grin Barcelona's Strider update had 3D models and concept artwork completed, as well as a teaser video (which you can watch here). Capcom wound up killing the project (though it's not revealed why), but the developer decided to keep on working on it in the hopes that the IP could be swapped out for ... something else, though who knows what, exactly. When talks with Ubisoft to pick up the game fell through, Grin Barcelona apparently moved on to working on a new Streets of Rage, but there's no artwork or assets to be seen.

OK, confession time: I played the Hell out of Strider and Streets of Rage and would've loved to see updates to both series. That said, it's probably for the best that Grin never put out these titles. The company's track record seemed to be on an increasing downslide when it came to quality, and there would have been a lot of very angry gamers out there if either of those franchises had been squandered.

Source: Joystiq

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Mar 26, 2008
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Streets Of Rage 2 is my favorite game of all time and I've been dying for a new one; but not like this, not like this!

I also love Strider so I consider this a bullet dodged.
 

vansau

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May 25, 2010
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Z of the Na said:
...what was so bad about Bionic Commando?

I rather enjoyed it.
The main problem was that a) it was trying to resurrect a beloved classic game series and b) the re-mastered version of the original by the same developer was so well received. By comparison, 2008's Bionic Commando was (from what I heard, it was the one Grin game that I didn't review out of that final trilogy) mediocre to "alright". I've got a number of friends who really loathed it, and reviews are all over the place.

Out of those three games I listed, it was the least bad, but it was by no means great, and many would argue that it wasn't good.

Also, it sold really poorly. I'm pretty sure that Terminator Salvation wound up selling more copies in its first month out in stores.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Z of the Na said:
...what was so bad about Bionic Commando?

I rather enjoyed it.
Me too but they're talking about the new 3D Bionic Commando game that came out a couple of years ago not the original NES game or the 2d reboot of that.

Good thing someone stopped them but part of me wishes they soiled Strider first. I liked Strider but not as much as Bionic Commando.
 

TsunamiWombat

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Sep 6, 2008
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On the one hand, crappy games dodged, on the other this means those projects will probably be reshelved for eternity.