In 1987, Capcom released Bionic Commando into arcades everywhere. You played a man with a bionic arm who had to infiltrate the enemies base and prevent them from launching missiles. Since the release of it?s sequel in 1988 on the NES, there weren?t many attempts at reviving the series. However, Capcom has laid the revival of Bionic Commando in the hands of Grin.
Bionic Commando, is a direct sequel to Grin?s remake, Bionic Commando: Rearmed and takes place five years after the incidents that occurred in Rearmed. You play as Nathan Spencer once again, this time however, you discover that Spencer was stripped of his bionics and placed on death row. You see, after the imperials were defeated, people feared those with bionics and bionics were outlawed. Soldiers with bionics were arrested, killed or just ran. After a bomb destroys all of Ascension City, Spencer is released from prison and sent into the city to take down those responsible. Spencer takes orders from Joe Gibson(aka Super Joe, voiced by Steve Blum), and they might tell Spencer information about his wife, whom they rarely mention throughout the course of the game? In all honesty though, the plot is pretty weak with a weak twist at the end.
The environments on which you?ll be traversing all look very good. The areas you?ll visit are all very detailed, and accompanied with a great soundtrack. When large battles occur, an epic musical score will start to play that sets the mood for the action that?s about to take place. Mike Patton does an excellent job voicing an angry special forces soldier, who was sold down the river for protecting his country.
Spencer?s bionic arm is the life force of the game. You?ll need it to traverse the ruins of Ascension by swinging over the flooded, burning streets and radiated areas. Swinging around is frustrating at first but, once you get it down, you?ll be swinging through the city like an urban Tarzan. The arm also presents an interesting opportunity for exploration. It?s too bad that there?s deadly radiation everywhere and the arm prevents Spencer from being able to swim. Players will quickly discover that radiation is placed in the oddest places. As I swung to the end of a level, I landed just above the exit. It just so happened that spot was bathed in radiation. The arm isn?t just used for swinging though. As players progress through the game, they?ll unlock abilities to grapple onto large objects and throw them at enemies, players can grapple onto enemies and zip-kick them, or release a devastating shockwave when landing on the ground after a long fall. Upon gaining the ability to use your adrenaline, Spencer can rip pilots from their polycraft?s or biomechs, as well as killing a group of enemies that may be surrounding him.
The shooting mechanics are weak and you?ll often find yourself using your pistol, more than the other weapons that are given to you throughout the game. Spencer can only carry three guns, two of which are his pistol and grenades. The other slot is for a specific weapon that is provided to him in the field. These weapons don?t really last long and only a few are more effective than the pistol. Those of you who found the prototype rifle in Rearmed will be pleased to discover that it makes an appearance in the game as well.
There are a plethora of challenges for players to complete and collectibles for players to find. When you complete a challenge, you may gain and upgrade, one of the games many achievements, and another challenge. All of the achievements in the game are unlocked in the single player campaign, so completionists may want to pay extra attention as they swing around Ascension.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is especially weak. The combat is less appealing than just swinging around the maps and trying to get to certain objects within the map. The game doesn?t have a large community either. Some of the maps feel too big, even for a full room of players. Other maps, are done especially well, it?s just too bad no one is really around to actually play those maps with.
At first, Bionic Commando will be really hard to get into. Swinging around takes some practice. The game looks good and those of you who want to get all the achievements will find yourselves scouring areas for all the collectibles and trying to complete all the challenges . Others may see the wasted potential in exploration. Don?t let the first few hours of the game steer you away though. The game begins to pick itself up as you unlock abilities. If you?re looking for something to distract you while you wait for the bigger titles to hit later this year, this definitely worth trying out.
Bionic Commando gets 7.5 bionic limbs out of 10
Bionic Commando, is a direct sequel to Grin?s remake, Bionic Commando: Rearmed and takes place five years after the incidents that occurred in Rearmed. You play as Nathan Spencer once again, this time however, you discover that Spencer was stripped of his bionics and placed on death row. You see, after the imperials were defeated, people feared those with bionics and bionics were outlawed. Soldiers with bionics were arrested, killed or just ran. After a bomb destroys all of Ascension City, Spencer is released from prison and sent into the city to take down those responsible. Spencer takes orders from Joe Gibson(aka Super Joe, voiced by Steve Blum), and they might tell Spencer information about his wife, whom they rarely mention throughout the course of the game? In all honesty though, the plot is pretty weak with a weak twist at the end.
The environments on which you?ll be traversing all look very good. The areas you?ll visit are all very detailed, and accompanied with a great soundtrack. When large battles occur, an epic musical score will start to play that sets the mood for the action that?s about to take place. Mike Patton does an excellent job voicing an angry special forces soldier, who was sold down the river for protecting his country.
Spencer?s bionic arm is the life force of the game. You?ll need it to traverse the ruins of Ascension by swinging over the flooded, burning streets and radiated areas. Swinging around is frustrating at first but, once you get it down, you?ll be swinging through the city like an urban Tarzan. The arm also presents an interesting opportunity for exploration. It?s too bad that there?s deadly radiation everywhere and the arm prevents Spencer from being able to swim. Players will quickly discover that radiation is placed in the oddest places. As I swung to the end of a level, I landed just above the exit. It just so happened that spot was bathed in radiation. The arm isn?t just used for swinging though. As players progress through the game, they?ll unlock abilities to grapple onto large objects and throw them at enemies, players can grapple onto enemies and zip-kick them, or release a devastating shockwave when landing on the ground after a long fall. Upon gaining the ability to use your adrenaline, Spencer can rip pilots from their polycraft?s or biomechs, as well as killing a group of enemies that may be surrounding him.
The shooting mechanics are weak and you?ll often find yourself using your pistol, more than the other weapons that are given to you throughout the game. Spencer can only carry three guns, two of which are his pistol and grenades. The other slot is for a specific weapon that is provided to him in the field. These weapons don?t really last long and only a few are more effective than the pistol. Those of you who found the prototype rifle in Rearmed will be pleased to discover that it makes an appearance in the game as well.
There are a plethora of challenges for players to complete and collectibles for players to find. When you complete a challenge, you may gain and upgrade, one of the games many achievements, and another challenge. All of the achievements in the game are unlocked in the single player campaign, so completionists may want to pay extra attention as they swing around Ascension.
The multiplayer aspect of the game is especially weak. The combat is less appealing than just swinging around the maps and trying to get to certain objects within the map. The game doesn?t have a large community either. Some of the maps feel too big, even for a full room of players. Other maps, are done especially well, it?s just too bad no one is really around to actually play those maps with.
At first, Bionic Commando will be really hard to get into. Swinging around takes some practice. The game looks good and those of you who want to get all the achievements will find yourselves scouring areas for all the collectibles and trying to complete all the challenges . Others may see the wasted potential in exploration. Don?t let the first few hours of the game steer you away though. The game begins to pick itself up as you unlock abilities. If you?re looking for something to distract you while you wait for the bigger titles to hit later this year, this definitely worth trying out.
Bionic Commando gets 7.5 bionic limbs out of 10