Bionic Commando

[drewloc]

So has anyone had a chance to play this yet? I've been curious, as I was a huge fan when I was younger, but have been reading mixed reviews on it. Not sure if I should pick it up or not? Any thoughts or opinions?

[Shazam!]

Too many mixed reviews for me to warrant a new purchase. I'll wait until I find it used with a significant price drop. I don't like that they didn't include the original or maybe Rearmed on the disc. I think when they remake a title like that from the old days, they should include the original with it.

[Shazam!]

I just picked it up at Gamestop on sale for $20 new (8.2 @ IGN 360).

Because it is clearance priced and so cheap, it makes me think the game is glitchy or what have you. But for that price, WTF.

I also picked up Prince of Persia for $17 used (9.3 @ IGN 360) too, supposedly a top-notch title.

They have some good prices now, I guess they're clearing stock out.

[Shazam!]

Bionic Commando is a revisioning of the classic Capcom franchise.

You are Nathan Spencer, a former war hero. You are sentanced to death as the military and citizens have turned on bionic enhanced super soldiers. You are released and recommissioned to fight when a rogue group of bionic soldiers, the Imperials, unleash a nuke on Ascension City.

You obtain all kinds of moves with your bionic arm, but most are not learned until later on in the game. You move around the city by swinging with your grapple ability in your arm. The contol is awkward at first but in no time you can be swinging arond like a lesser version of Spiderman. There is a limited distance with the grappling, so you have to be already high up to go from certain higher areas like that.

You have a variety of weapons at your disposal but ammo is limited. There are the usual type of arms made available, but the guns lack any sort of oomph and they sound like bb guns. The aiming is awkward and imprecise. I know the emphasis is on your bionic arm, but the shooting could've been better to balance it out.

There are several enemy types, but the AI is dumb as bricks, even on higher difficulty.

The game is supposed to be an open world setting, but it technically isn't. Because of the radiation after the nuclear attack, you can only access certain areas, as the radiation will kill you if you come in contact so your movement is restricted. Some areas you can't reach even with your bionic arm. If you fall in water you drop like a stone, because of the weight of your arm. It sounds logical, but it feels like tacked on difficulty, especially in the later levels. So while it is supposed to be an open world, it just funnels you from checkpoint to checkpoint, location to location. It feels cheap and even some of the most basic on rails shooters seem to allow as just much exploration.

Some of the graphics are excellent, but too many of the enemies look the same. The framerate is good, but when you swing around there is sometimes this blur effect that is not easy on the eyes. Speaking of not easy on the eyes, the light blue menu behind the light white script and at certain points you have to read is a pain.

The main character is a grating gruff soldier, and his exchanges with Super Joe (your commander) feel lazy and contrived. The story does little to hold this title together either. There is nothing to keep you driving on through the game.

Bionic Commando could have been so much more. There are a lot of good ideas here but many failed. It seems like they were on the right track but it is essentially an unfinished rushed product. It pays homage to the original classic in some ways (dialogue references, sound, etc.) but it falls flat.

What they should have done was release this with the original and the quasi-remake Bionic Commando Rearmed. That would've been a package with a lot of content that people would've paid for. It is not a surprise to me this game was practically a failure. There are many, many more action games that are much, much better than this franchise cash in.

5/10

Rated M for Mature-Blood, Violence, Language

[jrelway]

i rented the game and didnt like it much. too different from the original. i'll tell you whats bad ass though, the remake you can download in xbox live. bionic commando :rearmed..itll bring back good memories.

[Shazam!]

What's sad is that Rearmed is a much better game.

They strayed too far from the formula with this mediocre retail release.

Should have made a bundle and it would've saved it from failure. This game bombed, big time.