Tech Olive

Today we will be reviewing Bionic Commando, Capcom’s attempt to restart the series they created in 1988 on the NES. Apparently, this 2009 title is supposed to be a direct sequel to the original, despite the title not labeling it as such. Call me young, but I feel that 21 years is a bit too long to wait before releasing a sequel.

Having never played the first game in the series, I wondered how well the game would explain itself. Luckily, Capcom understands that a two-decade gap between titles in a series is a bit extreme. As such, Bionic Commando has enough back story and information to get you well set, even without playing the first game.

The world in Bionic Commando is both pretty and interesting, despite lacking anti-aliasing. It is your typical city of the future in ruins, but this setting almost never fails to be interesting. Sure, it doesn’t take much to become repetitive and this is a crime BC is guilty of at times. Somehow the game is more entertaining to me than games that are similar like Prototype or Spider-man. Normally, the act of running/jumping/swinging around never really keeps me entertained. The novelty seems to wear off after a few hours of gameplay. Luckily, BC manages to keep your interest for longer than most games of the genre.

Unfortunately, BC also comes with its share of typical weak points. For starters, it relies on a checkpoint saving system, which gets really annoying when you’re moving at such a fast pace, dying can often set you back nearly an hour. Also, and this could just be me, but what was wrong with the Bionic Commando Rearmed main character? His likeness is used in the tutorial levels, but for the rest of the game you seem to play a homosexual Rastafarian man. I found absolutely nothing likable when it came to the game’s protagonist. Unfortunately, this is much the same for most of the characters in the game. It could have something to do with the fact that I never played the original game, so I don’t have that nostalgia that attaches me to the memorable characters.

While the city may seem large and mostly open (despite being quite linear at times), the game employs a “hidden barrier” which takes form as radiation pockets. Some places in the city have radiation levels that are too high for you to pass, thus creating that invisible barrier. What’s interesting though is that in most cases, the radiation takes visual form by making many things blue. Inexplicably, stuff will have patches of blue glow. It can be pretty degrading on the realistic-looking environment at times.

The controls are quite good for a console port but, as expected, a controller is better suited to do the job. In a bit of a call back to BC”s retro roots, the level bosses can be rather hard and annoying, but when it all comes down to it, if you’re looking for a good Bionic Commando remake, go buy Bionic Commando Rearmed instead. It’s a fantastic remake and loads more entertaining than this game.

Scores

- Graphics: 7
The graphics and visual effects are nice for the most part. Unfortunately, there are a handful of shadowing issues topped off with a lack of anti-aliasing.

- Storyline: 5
Once you get over the nostalgia and actually look at the storyline, it’s quite lame and selectively vague. It does, however, serve its purpose and keeps the game flowing.

- Gameplay: 7
Gameplay of BC is, as you would expect, reminiscent of Spider-man or Prototype, with lots of swinging around large cities and pouncing on any enemies you may run across, but I found BC”s gameplay to keep me entertained for longer than other similar games could usually manage.

- Controls: 8
Surprisingly, for a console port, BC”s keyboard/mouse controls serve their purpose quite nicely although they are a bit spread out. And if that’s not enough for you, BC also offers great controller support.

- Lasting Appeal: 4
After beating the game, I doubt it will keep you coming back for more. As it is, playing through it once, levels can start to become quite repetitive.

Overall: 6 Olives