Bionic Commando Review

There has been a rising trend in today's video game industry of resurrecting and re-releasing classic franchises to introduce them to new and old fans alike. Capcom has been leading this trend, with such releases as Mega Man 9, Street Fighter II HD Remix, and many compilations. Now, with the help of GRIN studios, Capcom has released Bionic Commando for its 20th year anniversary. Keiji Inafune, head of Capcom's R&D and the creator of Mega Man, lends his help on Bionic Commando and for its 20th anniversary as the game's executive producer, leaving the game in the hands of GRIN Studios. GRIN Studios sought to bring the fans a great game while retaining all the elements that made the first one fun, all the while adding some new elements and a bit more back story.

Bionic Commando's story takes place ten years after the events of the first game. The Federal States of America (FSA) calls for the immediate removal and dismantle of all soldiers with bionic enhancements, which became known as "The Purge". Nathan "RAD" Spencer was betrayed by the government after his last mission and is falsely imprisoned. Before his execution, an experimental bomb is detonated in Ascension City by a bionic terrorist group called BioReign. Spencer is approached by his former CO and friend Joseph "Super Joe" Gibson, the head of the Tactical Arms and Security Committee (T.A.S.C). Gibson wants Spencer to infiltrate Ascension City, see what BioReign is planning and to put a stop their plans. At first Spencer refuses, but Gibson explains that if he does what he is told that the FSA will pardon him and Gibson will give him information about Spencer's wife. Spencer reluctantly agrees and is re outfitted with his bionic arm and is inserted by remote jetpod into Ascension City. The city is deserted and is filled with radioactive cloud barriers which make some parts of the city only accessible with his bionic arm.

The gameplay of Bionic Commando is just like any other third person shooter/action game, shoot the enemy and make it to the final boss. Each of the areas in Bionic Commando is separate by sections, so once you move on to the next area you can't back track. What separates Bionic Commando from the rest of the games in the genre is Spencer's use of his bionic arm to traverse around the various areas. When Spencer first retrieves his arm after landing in Ascension City, a series of in game tutorials explain how to use the bionic arm, and the various actions that can be learned through the game. From swinging and zipping around to grabbing your enemy and using them as projectiles or slamming them into others, the bionic arm is very versatile. As Spencer travels through Ascension City, he will only have his main gun, but he can equip other firearms Gibson will send in additional equipment for him to use against the enemy. Spencer can utilize from a range of fire arms, from shotguns and sniper rifles to missile launchers and grenades. Now like most current games, Bionic Commando does not have any type of life bar or indicator other than the screen turning red. As it starts to turn red, Spencer will have to avoid the enemy fire long enough to regain life and to have the screen turn back to normal.

Now with all the action that's going on in the game, GRIN studios did not skip out on the graphics and tons of fan service that is added in. Buildings are destroyed or are falling apart. The streets are full of debris, smashed cars, cars on fire, the ground broken and shattered. Never has so much destruction looks so good on screen. Look up at the buildings and there are many billboard ads. Now look closer to some of them and they turn out to be in game ads for other Capcom games. For example there's a TriCell pharmaceutical ad from Resident Evil 5, a Server-bot from Capcom-Unity.com and many others. What brought back my memories of the first game the most was the soundtrack. What was done is that they took the original theme for the NES Bionic Commando and remixed. In the main menu, its being played on a classical piano, though out the game it's done by a symphony, and when the action starts to heat up, its playing again but as a rock and roll remix. As for the voice acting, it was decent being that Bionic Commando is an action game; it went along the lines of an action movie. What's really standout was that Mike Patton, lead singer for Faith No More, did the voice work for Spencer, and I have to say that he did a good job.

There isn't much replay value in Bionic Commando, other than trying to complete all of the in game achievements that the game offers. They range for swing a certain distance to killing an amount of enemies. There are also many little 8-bit icons from the original game that can be collected, but are tough to get, being that they are either well hidden or in a high spot. There is a multiplayer where up to ten players can play deathmatch and capture the flag. Other than that there is not really much to encourage you to pick it up and make another play through.

Overall Bionic Commando is a walk down memory lane. A brief, short walk, due to it only being a few hours long, but an enjoyable one. It took me 10 hours to beat but that is because I didn't spend the time to find the icons. Due to its lack of extra incentive to make me play the game again, I suggest give it a rental. I do see, or I at least hope that a sequel to Bionic Commando is in the works, because the ending sequence screams sequel.

- Mike V.

article id: 703 | poster: OG