Fatshark, one of the many studios that has risen up out of now-defunct GRIN (which developed the previous game) is handling development duties this time around, and from the two-level demo I took in, the new team appears to be picking up right where the old one left off. That's goes right down to the music, which is again being handled by Simon Viklund. The soundtrack in the previous game was nothing short of amazing, and the music I heard seems to be right up there with that stuff.
But Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 is about more than just mustaches and music. Spencer will have new moves this time around, the most blasphemous of which is the ability to jump. Yeah, dude can jump. Conceptually, this is a pretty crazy addition to a 2D Bionic Commando game, as the entire franchise has been designed around the idea of using your arm to get around. That's still the case in BCR2, but the developers seem to be using the jump ability to add a bit more variety and challenge to the swinging. Now, you'll occasionally have to take a running jump off of a ledge to reach the next swing point. Also, while you're in the air you can execute a death from above ground pound that sends Rad crashing to the Earth, screaming all the way. When your bionic arm is connected to something, you'll also be able to push back and forth to gain speed and swing, even if you're currently just hanging around. Rad is able to duck into doors and acquire temporary upgrades, like a napalm launcher that brings hot burning death to those that stand in your path or an uppercut that's great for wasting fools that get too close.
One of the two levels I played was a boss fight against a weird piece of machinery that seemed to fit perfectly with all of the crazy contraptions Rad Spencer has taken on in the past. It, too, was armed with a napalm launcher, which made quick work of me time and time again. Capcom reps claimed that the game was currently a bit too difficult and in need of some tuning at some point in the future. That didn't make me feel any better about myself.
Bionic Commando Rearmed is one of the most impressive games that Capcom has released in the last few years, and it's awesome to see it getting a proper sequel, even if the full-fledged Bionic Commando sequel didn't exactly set the world on fire. Less awesome is the fact that it won't be released to any download services until 2011. Maybe that'll give Fatshark some time to build a better bionic facial hair system.
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