Bionic Commando Rearmed Review - PC

8

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Audio: 9
Multiplayer: 8
Innovation: 5

Introduction

Whenever people talk about great games that never got the sequels they deserve, Bionic Commando is at the top of the list. It's unique take on the platform game, by removing the jump button and replacing it with a retractable bionic arm, was enjoyed by everyone who could understand what the hell was going on.

Developer Grin have been chosen by Capcom to update the franchise with the sequel it deserved. This is not that game. Bionic Commando Rearmed is a remake of the NES original, available through digital distribution for three platforms, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. As such, it holds many of the original game's features and flaws. It also retains the ridiculous plot.

Super Joe, hero of the FSA army, has been kidnapped by Imperial forces and is being held in a POW camp. It is your job, as Nathan “Rad” Spencer (hard to tell he was named in the eighties, isn't it?), to use your retractable bionic arm to swing in and rescue Super Joe from behind enemy lines.

The plot is laughable and the dialogue is funny as well. Eavesdropping by hacking the communications network and listening in on enemy conversations to uncover secrets and weak points is a key part of the game. That fact that the conversations are often stupid and funny is simply the icing on the cake. The boss battles have particularly amusing dialogue. The B grade story might be delivered with a nod, a wink and a whole lot of nudging, but how does the gameplay stand up?

Gameplay

Bionic Commando is simple enough to play, in theory. You have a shoot button that fires straight ahead, and only straight ahead. You have a grenade button that will only work when you find some grenades, and you have the button to use the bionic arm. The arm can fire in five directions. There is no jump button, so hopping over gaps and small obstacles will require you to use the arm to swing from objects overhead. While this may appear to be an oversight in the game's design, removing the jump button from a 2D action platformer is the very thing that makes Bionic Commando so much fun.

The swing mechanic isn't flawless, and does take some getting used to. You can latch on to objects and swing from them, or you can pull yourself up and climb to the level above you. The mechanics are basic, at first, but the level of depth required in later levels, and the Challenge Mode in particular, will test your skills to the limit. It is the bionic arm that makes BCR what it is, and what it is is a joy to play. (continued next page)