It is like playing the original Spiderman game, ‘cept a lot cooler.

by Betho:

©2009 Beth Sasagi:

I love games where I can pretty much destroy the scenery by either jumping on it or punching it to pieces (anyone who has teamed up with me in Fable II knows what I mean).

Bionic Commando has delivered a game that not only allows you to ‘wreck up the place’ but it also allows you to shift certain parts of the map if you just don’t feel like hunting after bad guys.

Bionic Commando gives you the feeling that you are playing an open sandbox game and a first person shooter (with a twist of giant gorilla-like Biomechs). It is like playing the original Spiderman game, but with the major difference that it is a lot cooler.

It’s been 20 years since we last saw Nathan ‘Rad’ Spencer and his bionic arm, swinging away on our consoles, but now, he is back and better than ever. The release of Bionic Commando this year has introduced a new twist on 3D with the ability to go, truly, in three dimensions.

Gaming heavy weight, Capcom, and Swedish developer, Grin, have come together to bring fans of the original and newcomers alike a truly entertaining gaming experience.

The first images you seen in the game are ones of a city being completely and utterly annihilated with a rather large explosion tearing buildings apart. It’s after this that the story kicks off with our hero, Nathan Spencer (voiced by the brilliant Mike Patton), locked up in the Ascension City prison, awaiting execution.

This is certainly not where you would expect the hero of the war against the Imperials to be, especially without his trademark bionic arm. It’s here that you first get a glimpse of the in-game graphics as a Spencer is taken away by armed guards as a voice over explains what has happened in the gap between the 1988 NES title and the current version game.

With friends like these…

To sum it up, Spencer was sent on a mission to kill someone and was locked up for the ‘murder’ of the person he was sent to destroy (isn’t that always how it happens?).

It’s at this point that his ex-superior, Joseph ‘Super Joe’ Gibson informs him of Ascension city’s destruction and informs Spencer that he is being sent in to investigate. It’s obvious that Spencer didn’t seem too pleased, but then, you spend five years in prison, and then get sent into a war zone…

It’s not long after that you get launched into the game and get to grips with the controls, without your bionic arm might I add. You learn to shoot, run and jump, some of which you need to do all at once, whilst searching for your arm which landed near you (you thought I was speaking figuratively when I said ‘launched’ didn’t you…).

The gameplay from the point you get your arm increases significantly, with a brief tutorial introduced mid-game (masked by Spencer blacking out after attaching his arm).

Whilst early on you cannot use all of the abilities you learn, it is still fairly entertaining to use your arm after you jump out of a building and at the last minute, attach to another building or street light as Spencer howls loudly (after a while, I found myself doing that, you can get really caught up in this game).

Grunts, Biomechs and Polycraft, oh my!

The enemies in this game, whilst not huge in variety, are certainly a challenge to deal with due to the constant change in terrain. The first enemies you encounter are the grunts, the basic foot soldiers of BioReign, all of whom are equipped with machine guns and stun batons (for when you latch onto them, or when you get too close).

Whilst they aren’t particularly powerful, they always come in large group (most of whom have the uncanny ability to spot you before you spot them).

A step up from the BioReign grunts is the Biomech; big, tough and very fast, they are a massive challenge the first time you meet them. They can charge, shoot and punch, exactly what you don’t want in an enemy, especially one that protects its weak points so well.

Like their big brothers, the Air Force Biomechs, they have a weakness on their backs, one you have to both attach to and kick-off.

Air Force Biomechs are slower than the standard ones, but they are tougher and have a large shield that is pretty tough to get around.

Polycraft are probably the toughest of the common enemies, they fly and are very tough, leaving you little options with which you can combat them as they fly around you and launch explosives at you with deadly precision. This is the point in the game where the real firepower arrives in the form of the ‘Bulldog’ and the ‘Tarantula’ both of which are devastating against any enemy.

Weapons of mass, really, really big destruction

To say that throughout the game the weapons are big is quite an understatement; they are pretty massive, and, whilst they may look chunky, they do not hinder the aiming at all. The firepower in the game is varied and often very impressive as it becomes obvious throughout how much thought has been put into the design.

The lowest on the scale and the first weapon you get is the Steinmech M3-BC or ‘Tungsten pistol’ which is quick and useful for dispatching any grunts. The next up is the powerful, but slow AA-9 Hiker, which delivers huge rounds that take out infantry quickly and do a good amount of damage to larger enemies.

The biggest weapon you can get your hands on (aside from your bionic arm) is the Flazhe AM-10 or, the ‘Tarantula’ as it is lovingly referred to in-game.

Whilst it doesn’t slice and dice, it certainly destroys and annihilates without prejudice and with a well developed targeting system that makes it so even a monkey could hit something. (Provided said monkey had access to secret military hardware and had its own bionic arm to take up the 30+ kilogram weight of this monster gun).

Worthy additions to the game include the Drayton AC-09 or ‘Bulldog’ grenade launcher and the Frag grenades/proximity mines (which aren’t actually used in the Bulldog).

Whilst not the last weapon you encounter, it is in no way least, the Hessler SJMG, is a machine gun which, for lack of a better word, can simply be described as ‘fun’. The SJMG in its name in fact stands for ‘Super Joes Machine Gun’ which, obviously indicates the fact that our superior, Joe, once carried a gun like this, albeit, a less modern version.

It’s all fun and games until you turn off the Xbox and go to bed

Bionic Commando is not only a great game to play in terms of missions and general open world adventure, it is also a very good looking game (I would say pretty, but I just get the feeling my Xbox would attack me for saying that).

This is certainly a game that has been thought through with the control layout and weapons selection easy to master, especially when you are flying through the air and are in need of a quick change.

The HUD is basically non-existent and the only thing that is not part of you or the environment on the screen is the mini-radar and the waypoints that guide, which, in all honesty, really are necessary due the size of each level.

The level environments are brilliant. Whilst some sections do look similar, it is quite understandable as this is a city, not a whole planet. That being said, the variety is amazing, from radiation soaked industrial areas to a downtown area almost completely flooded as the tops of skyscrapers stick out of the realistic water.

The simple fact that you can attach to nearly any surface makes this game an immensely enjoyable game and the ability to swing, re-attach and zip up the sides of buildings only makes it better.

Last but not least, the playability and re-playability of this game is HUGE. I had put in at least 10-15 hours of play, and realized when I turned on ‘Snape’ (yes, I named my Xbox after a Harry Potter character, don’t judge me) I had only reached 50% completion.

So I can say, quite confidently, this game will give you 20+ hours of play (although, if you rush through it without getting any extras, I would still say 15). The desire to play it again has already set me up to try and finish this monster of a game in the hard, or, ‘commando’ mode.

Overall, a true asset to any gamer’s collection and a game I recommend you either buy, or steal from your friends (officially I don’t condone stealing). No matter the way, get your hands on this game quickly, it’s a great play.

“9.5/10

©2009 Beth Sasagi:

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Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Game Impressions, New Xbox 360 Games, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Reviews, Xbox 360 News Tagged: | AA-9 Hiker, Air Force Biomechs, Ascension City, Biomechs, bionic arm, Bionic Commando, Bionic Commando review, BioReign, Capcom, Fable II, Flazhe AM-10, Grin, Hessler SJMG, Joseph ‘Super Joe’ Gibson, M3-BC, Mike Patton, Nathan “Rad” Spencer, Nathan Spencer, Polycraft, Steinmech M3-BC, Tarantula’, Tungsten pistol