Bionic Commando

There are few better ways of representing what a pure ‘videogame’ really is than the original Bionic Commando. Its traditional visual style, depthless plot and awesome 8-bit music are all hallmarks of a great game from the late 1980s. It was a big hit, which is why the arcade and NES platformer classic saw a successful re-imagining last year on XBLA and PSN with Bionic Commando Re-Armed. The original’s hook was the ability to swing around the environment as bionic soldier Nathan “Rad” Spencer, a movement-based mechanic that the latest modern update in the series continues.

It’s fair to say that designing a newer version of a revered classic for a different age is likely to come with its potential pitfalls, especially when dealing with a property over twenty years old. The ‘Bionic Commando’ title alone instantly sounds like a 1980s-era throwback to the ten a penny tough-guy Schwarzeneggar flicks designed to spur on a multitude of “That’s so cool!” moments that defined the childhoods of impressionable teenage boys everywhere.

Nowadays, the current generation of sugary youths posses the liberty to blow the heads off incoming Locust swarms and violently run over rival gangs – surely one man and his bionic arm is not enough to satisfy the insatiable kids of today?

Well, ironically, herein lies one of Bionic Commando’s greatest miscalculations: it’s been created with a new “perspective” on who its target audience really is. GRIN and Capcom decided that focusing on the trials and tribulations of a gruff protagonist supported by a cast of overly-aggressive macho stereotypes was the best way to approach a new look for the franchise. Mistakenly so.

Of course, narrative was never the original game’s strongest aspect, and to aim for a style passively related to something like Gears of War may make sense on paper, but the problem lies in how needless of an approach that is for Bionic Commando. As soon as the game begins, an unnecessary torrent of bad B-movie conventions crop up and it just feels out of place.

It also feels as if the gameplay itself suffers from a similar case of identity crisis, but perhaps for different reasons. Spencer’s big ol’ bionic arm means his swinging is a lot more sluggish than what you’re probably used to. Despite these kind of heavy movement deficits being physically correct, shaking the lack of inertia that the Spider-Man games have delivered in recent years is a little tricky. As a result, a slower pace becomes Bionic Commando’s sticking point, which doesn’t always work to your advantage when the enemy’s crosshairs become inescapable thanks to the handicap of plodding around looking for the best place to retreat to.

That said, the general swinging itself isn’t always cumbersome per se; in fact, when it works, it works well. Latching onto buildings and cueing up lines throughout the environment can be fun. Again however, the linearity of every level is compounded by restrictive ‘radiation’ barriers that surround the world’s parameters, killing you almost instantly if you accidentally or even voluntarily venture into its harmful, fumigated area. A punishing result of this is that hunting for hidden secrets and collectibles devolves into a chore that ends up being a distraction not worth pursuing and kills any hint of exploration that initially seems winked and nudged towards.

When this distinction is applied to progression within the game, life becomes considerably more difficult to bear when dealing with larger enemies that call for a little more universal use of the world around you. When I’m somewhat enjoying the moment-to-moment experience of traversing around the world and fighting off enemies only to be thwarted by the bullshit barriers around me instead of my actual presented threats, four particular words come to my mind: test your game more.

Combat is also rather hit-and-miss: the flower-spouting power of the pistol simply feels out of place in a game where feeling like a badass is a high priority and standard third-person shooter weaponry such as the obligatory rocket launcher usually only prove vital to equip during boss encounters.

Although generally satisfying to use in combat, the arm itself also feels like a bit of a crutch, relegated to a ‘quick and dirty’ role of dispensing large waves of enemies at hectic points without the need for too much input, which sort of feels like a cop-out. Despite these flaws, the aiming model is still decent enough that the sections heavy on shooting don’t cause any severe headaches when trying to at least land a shot.

Zip-kicking and shooting above the surface is juxtaposed with swan-diving down narrow underground tunnels, making for some diverse and good-looking locations to fight through. Broadly speaking, Bionic Commando doesn’t especially look spectacular, but it does do the job to an acceptable standard. Spencer’s makeover does look a little weird however; I’m not sure I entirely approve of floppy dreadlocks in my action heroes, but that’s just me.

A fairly throw-away multiplayer component for 16 players also comes packaged along with the 10-12 hour-long campaign, including all your favourite generic multiplayer modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Maps are built with a strong presence of verticality, meaning that a mix of ascension and decsension is required to stay on top. Alongside a valuable matchmaking system, the basic foundation of the main game is what separates Bionic Commando’s online offerings from most other disposable multiplayer portions. So if the draw of the main game’s swinging mechanics in a competitive online space appeals to you, then you’ll probably dig the multiplayer action on some level.

On the whole, Bionic Commando is a game with one too many dysfunctions going on at once. The nostalgia so closely associated with the original platformer has seen a total 180; and while the absence of a head-exploding Hitler is understandable, the balls-out ‘hardcore’ mentality just doesn’t contrast well next to the largely tepid form of action that ferrying a bionic arm brings about. While Bionic Commando isn’t a truly terrible game, its overall characteristics are far too muddled to stand out in today’s market and equally becomes lost in the shuffle of everything else that has been released within its twenty year gestation period.