Bionic Commando Rearmed Review
Being that developer GRIN did such an excellent job of recreating the original Bionic Commando with its Rearmed remake, the game retains its excellent qualities, as well as the baggage of bad that accompanied it 20 years ago. While the still-original gameplay is both fast and fun, it is also difficult to the point of violent lashings-out at your controller.
Platforms are meticulously placed so you’ll miss them without a perfect jump; enemies are placed in positions that exclusively exist to screw you, and failing to be the best damned Bionic Commando you can often results in frustrating restarts — for example, the amount of effort expended in 15 quick-paced minutes of the final stage is agonizingly lost and must be redone should you die on the boss… and getting to him isn’t an easy task.
In spite of its hateful difficulty, Bionic Commando Rearmed is a breath of fresh air that’s 20 years old.
The lack of an ability to jump in the platformer is replaced with a mechanical arm that allows you to swing your weapon-wielding soldier to victory across 20 or so stages, and it feels as new as it is awesome. On top of the single player campaign, players can unlock and access Challenge Rooms. These simulation rooms require speedy gameplay, as the focus is to earn the quickest possible time and star rating by swinging from the entrance to an elaborately placed exit. There’s plenty of them to enjoy, and it’s a great and addicting addition to an already awesome game.
But the heart and soul is in the campaign, which can now be doubled in fun with a local co-op partner. The lack of an online component is criminal, but forgivable since everything else that’s present — hi-res visuals, tons of weapons and character upgrades as well as a few twists you’ll have to see for yourself — is absolutely awesome. Even the outrageously hard platforming is fun, as figuring out the best way to swing from one end of the stage to the other is an exhilarating experience.
You won’t hear complaints from me about smack talking robo-bosses (new additions, all of which freakin’ rock) and gory climactic finales in a game where you use a mechanical arm to propel yourself under, above and around platforms instead of jumping between them. The fresh feeling of the great looking, excellent to play remake warrants another one in 20 years. Our only real gripe is the insane difficulty, which is also something we’re huge fans of.
It wouldn’t be Bionic Commando without it.
