Took a while to get into, but after a while it grew on me.
Pros
* The swing mechanics take some getting used too, but after a bit of practice you'll be flying through the air with the greatest of ease. It's more skill based then the swing mechanics out of say Spiderman.
* Chucking cars at dudes is fun.
* Great visual and a pretty awesome soundtrack.
* Shows a good sense of humor in certain places.
Cons
* It's my opinion that the game takes a good deal of time to get... Good.
* Shooting mechanics aren't so great.
* Pretty much everything that comes out of Spencer's mouth is laced with grumpiness and sarcasm, whether the situation warrants it or not. He's just not very likable, awesome name aside.
In Bionic Commando you play as Nathan 'Rad' Spencer, Commando with Bionics.
A Bionic arm to be exact. A Bionic arm that lets you play Tarzan and swing about all over the place and the swinging is easily the most enjoyable part of the game.
Swinging isn't like Spiderman wherein you pretty much just press the swing button and the direction you want to go in and there you have it.
In Bionic Commando there actually needs to be something to attach your arm too, so misjudge a swing and you could well be plummeting to your death.
The Bionic Arm also comes into play in combat.
Letting you zip to and kick dudes.
Letting you pick up and throw pretty much everything that's not nailed down.
In some cases if it IS nailed down you can use the arm to rip it out of the ground.
Unfortunately a lot of these abilities unlock as you progress, I think you start with the zip kick and that's about it. Of course theres your trusty firearm, but it does jack all damage really.
You pick up grenades and secondary weapons like shotguns, grenade launchers and sniper rifles along the way but their ammo isn't as abundant as one might like.
Fortunately once you unlock more abilities for your arm you seldom really have to rely on your pistol. You just pick up stuff and throw them at dudes. If theres no stuff to throw at dudes you throw dudes at dudes. It works A LOT better then the pistol.
The game really is at it's best when you're just swinging around.
The games environments are built well for it.
Whether you're swinging about the remains of the city or underground in the cave, exploring these environments with your arm is a blast thanks to the great visuals and awesome soundtrack.
The game does prohibit exploration somewhat.
You die if you stay in water for more then a couple of seconds and most places you're not meant to go are walled off by radiation which also kills you in a matter of seconds, but theres enough to explore within the confines that it isn't a big issue.
The multi player I don't really enjoy.
It puts too much focus on the shooting and as I've said the shooting is just not at all fun.
The game makes a perfect rental.
You'll want to check it out for it's swing mechanics which are a blast.
As a shooter though it's quite mediocre and really lets down what is otherwise a pretty good game.
