Bionic Commando returns after a 20
year hiatus. The original game for
the NES console was a ton of fun. It
changed the way people play games
basically just by adding a grappling
hook/bionic arm instead
of a jump button. It was hard to get
used to, but once you did get used
to it- the game was a lot of fun.
That’s probably the strongest
parallel between the 1988 version of
the game and the 2009 version of the
game.
With the new version of the game-
the 3D element is really hard to get
used to. If you thought the original
Nintendo version was hard to do- try
attaching to something while
managing a camera angle. It’s not
the most difficult thing to do, but
it takes forever to get used to. As
you progress in the game the tactic
gets easier to accomplish and you
learn new moves and abilities
throughout advancing in the game
too. Most of these moves are fun and
the gameplay is what makes Bionic
Commando a great game. It’s cool to
manually have to swing from object
to object while defending Ascension
City.
Ascension City is the home of Rad
Spencer. And Bionic Commando takes
place 10 years after the original
game took place. This is really
where the storyline suffers. Grin/Capcom
made this story of this game too
complex from what it needed to be.
Ten years after he saved the city
and saved a ton of lives, Spencer
is in prison and Ascension’s only
hope again. Why did he go to prison?
Bits an pieces are thrown together
about how he was held responsible
for something he didn’t do that
caused the entire normal/human
population to be incredibly pissed
at people with Bionic limbs and
parts. Confused? You should be. It’s
dumb. Here’s a better thought for
the developers- just use the story
with the original game and then
elaborate on it slightly instead of
coming up with a terrible script.
The script isn’t the only part of
the game’s character that is flawed.
The voice acting is terrible. Rad is
played by Faith No More’s Mike
Patton. Really they should have just
hired a guy off the street to do the
voiceovers and saved the money.
Have you ever seen a movie where you
know the people are acting and just
mailing in performances? Every cut
scene and every voice snip isn’t
buyable at all. On the positive
side, it’s so bad it’s humorous and
while the serious tone of the game
is lost with the terrible storyline
features, the laughs add up.
Bionic Commando is a game that’s
long overdue, the gameplay is
legitimately fun. You’ll want to
play through this game at least
twice, it’s a fun game that’s vastly
different than everything else
that’s out right now… kind of like
the original.
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