Damn hard but satisfying

by Lazare Gvimradze

Fun factor: Fun

Worth to: Buy/Rent

A worthy revival and sequel that shines when mastered, but the drastic gameplay changes may push away old fans of the game.

Remembering past times is always entertaining, and true to that axiom developers around the globe had somewhat taken off in re-making famous titles into next-gen monsters. Keyword: famous. Because there are probably only a few people left remembering one of the most iconic, but audience-lacking videogames for NES, called Bionic Commando. The simple 2D platforming gameplay was reinforced with the silly mechanic of a bionic arm which extended like a rope, and the fact that the main character could not jump. These intricate innovations differentiated the game from any other, and made it into a truly unique experience at its time.



But Capcom remembered. After understanding the re-incarnating potential of the franchise, they charged a famous studio known as Grin to develop a full-scale sequel complete with all the advantages of next-generation games, like a more serious setting, top-notch presentation and a gameplay ready to innovate once again. But before the construction of such a colossus would be completed, a 3D side-scroller remake by the name of Bionic Commando: Rearmed was released as a smooth welcome to the epic revival. The sequel itself was revealed at times of early production, but already looked promising and managed to collect a formidable fanbase prior to its release. Which was retained mostly after it, too.

Spencer is back with a ruthless attitude

Nathan Spencer is back, this time living a life free of heroics but filled with plenty of treachery and despair. After the Bionics were officially declared an unlucky experiment and thrown to jail, backroom politics started counting the last days of every single Commando. More and more of them were executed until genocide of the Bionics became common -- something of a trend. After going through a much unpleasant phase in his life, involving a divorce with his wife and confiscation of his bionic arm, Spencer is imprisoned and awaits the inevitable. When the day of execution comes, however, he is pulled out by his former ally and friend, Super Joe. Fans might remember him as the person Spencer saved at the end of the original game.

The reason: a massive nuclear attack has been launched upon Ascension City, and the likely suspects are a terrorist organization named Bioreign, a community of Bionics who refused to give up their mechanical limbs and go to prison. As a counter attack to their rebellious act, the government returns Spencer’s arm, with the condition that he’ll help them stop the mayhem. No other profitable choice turns up, so Nathan is forced to go against his former teammates.



While retaining some amount of the original’s atmosphere, the storyline is definitely modernized and darkened. Nothing is black and white anymore, and there are some notable difficulties with characters as some reunions occur and discoveries are made. Spencer has become a ruthless, hot-headed anti-hero, dispatching enemies without a thought and crowning his brutal kills with high-pitched yells like “Nailed Ya!” Some former characters will be re-introduced, and the story will leave the impression of a definitely darker tone at the end. Nonetheless, the adventures of a double-crossed daredevil with a mechanical arm may still seem as a stupid explanation of the gameplay to most, while nostalgic fans will be pleased with a modern continuation of the classic story.

A reincarnation of old mechanics

Speaking of which, gameplay has been obviously re-worked from scratch. Bionic Commando was no easier to move to 3D than, for example, Mario, and considering the bionic arm mechanics, may have been even harder. There was tons of re-thinking to be made, and while story-wise everything turned out more or less true to the original, everything else became a traditional next-gen reincarnation of the old mechanics. Not exactly as great as it sounds, but the eerie uniqueness of the process is retained.

As any other third-person shooter, the core mechanics are basic: you move around, jump, hit, shoot, and do so with 2 different types weapons you carry (a pistol and a heavy weapon of your choice), or a few handy grenades. Primary goals are almost always the elimination of some poor living being or another, hacking information relays (which, by the way, can be hacked ONLY by killing everyone in the immediate vicinity) and defeating climatic bosses. The straightforward gameplay makes the tasks easy enough to understand and accomplish. However, after rummaging through Ascension City’s destroyed skyscrapers and finally finding his arm, Spencer makes a face with an unmistakable nonverbal message written across it: Now the fun begins.



Fun part only starts after you’ve at least half-nailed the bionic arm mechanic, which is a feat almost impossible to accomplish. See, it’s wrong to associate the gameplay to any of the Spiderman games: there’s no “auto-aiming” to the hook; you’ll have to precisely catch the moment when your arm’s crosshair (did I mention you have separate crosshairs for the weapon and the arm, with the latter constantly jumping aside from the center to show you possible interactive objects?) crosses the pole, tree or a crumbled highway segment you need to attach to. And even if you manage to grab on and swing, you’ll need to release the swing trigger in perfect timing to retain the momentum and reach the next grappling solution. It’s a deep mechanic built on an unavoidable series of events known as trial and error.

Jaw-dropping moments

It’s as hard as it sounds, but after getting used to the unusual transportation method the gameplay becomes fluid and easy. There’s no place or even enemy you can’t reach with your marvelous arm, and after doing so dispatch of him. Incorporating a Gears of War-style health bar and basic AI, even the mighty biomechs and polycraft aren’t much of a problem if you happen to have a couple of grenades, or even better, a rocket launcher by your side. The boss battles are few but none of them have a similar structure, and there are some gameplay moments which leave you open-mouthed in amazement, like the pursuit of several Buraq helicopters, including Spencer hacking and controlling one of them, reaching the second, grappling to it, getting aboard and shooting off pursuing polycraft at the same time.

As a result, we get a crazy mix of straightforward platforming with quality TPS and impressive boss battles, all of them taking advantage of the bionic arm mechanic. These game ideas get are fully represented in the multiplayer as well, where multiple Commandos go head-to-head in classic modes, utilizing extreme platforming and using the arm however they can, even for picking up bonuses and “capturing” flags. At least a few uniquely fun matches are a guaranteed hit from Bionic Commando. All in all, it can be said that a successful gameplay rehash had been done, but the steep learning curve completely contradicts with the intuitive feel of the original.



Fortunately the problems with difficulty can be forgotten for some minutes when you just stand and gaze at the detailed environments blooming with a rich art design and impressive visuals. After delivering somewhat decent graphics with Terminator: Salvation and Wanted: Weapons of Fate, Grin’s Diesel Engine (NOT the MT Framework 2.0 from Capcom, which many people mistakenly associate game with) shines with pride as you literally stare at one of the most beautiful third-person games to date. The engine’s trademark strengths, like amazing post-processing, depth of field and astounding HDR, are multiplied in Bionic Commando, reinforced with a true tribute to Capcom’s state-of-the art animations, both in cutscenes and during gameplay.

Post-apocalyptic goodness

The art direction is dripping with atmosphere of a true post-apocalypse: a destroyed city filled with ruined skyscrapers, bent tracks and crumbled highways simply call for exploration (but restrict it as well, using radioactive fields and un-traversable waters), while the Ascension City Park offers incredible forest environments, complete with some wide, magnificent views of waterfalls and clearings.

However, the engine’s weaknesses are noticeable, as well. Weak shadow maps, for instance, tend to look pixelated even on maximum settings. The porting quality, while featuring enhanced graphics, completely lacks any sort of motivation towards the mouse and keyboard layout, retaining the visual tips from an Xbox 360 version. But the LB/M support is present, and if anything makes playing a bit easier.

Continuing the list is a somewhat weird issue: I’ll start with a question. Do gunshot sounds differ from engine to engine? The answer is obvious: it depends on the developer; what do engines have to do with that? But after remembering the two prior games released by the same developer on the same engine, every weapon had unnaturally dull gunshot sounds that ruined the atmosphere with monotone clatter. Unfortunately Bionic Commando on PC inherited this strange flaw, and even shotguns explode with boring thumps that spoil the otherwise great experience. So either the engine has some issues with porting audio, or the developers use the same library for gunshot sounds in every game. Either way, it’s a minus.



Speaking of sounds, gunshots aside, the audio design is as great as the visual presentation. The music is a magnificent remix of the original score, and will really strike the right mood for nostalgic players. Actors sound and act believable. Spencer is worth special mention: he sounds and feels like an absolutely negative person nobody would tend to like. Fortunately, that’s exactly the type of characters gamers are attracted to. The secondary noises and the mainly unneeded personal chatter of the terrorists are a nice touch, and really underline the effort put in the game. The background sounds, especially in the forest levels, are masterfully recorded.

Summary

While describing the game is hard, it’s even harder to state a final verdict. It is a 100 percent worthy revival and sequel, but the drastic gameplay changes may push away old fans of the game. It will be equally as hard to play it for newcomers to the series as well, as the learning curve alone is enough to bore out even the most hardcore players. Suffice it to say, the game is specifically crafted for old-school players who have successfully moved to the next-gen era, and are secretly wishing for their childhood games to get a worthy representation in the modern industry. Does this description sound familiar to yours? Then this is your game. And if it doesn’t, don’t waste your nerves.