Bionic Commando: You Can Go Home Again
Bionic Commando: Rearmed is the redo and update of the classic 8-bit franchise from Capcom that, if you're 'old school' enough, most likely holds a special place in your heart. If not, then this game is a prime introduction to how things used to be in a bygone era. For some the game may ultimately feel archaic and overly difficult, but for those who remember, Rearmed feels a lot like riding a bike. After about a half hour you'll feel like you never stopped playing that old 8-bit copy of the original. Once you finish you'll notice that this game is much less archaic than the original and it looks awesome while you're playing it too.
The storyline is appropriately corny and has a very 80's action hero vibe caked all over it. You play as Nathan "R.A.D." Spencer a new member of the good guy army, "The Federation". His first mission is to save "Super Joe", the Commando from another early Capcom game appropriately titled, "Commando"(!). Super Joe has been captured by the bad guy army, "The Imperials" and it's up to R.A.D. to rescue him. He's a one man army with a special weapon, a bionic arm which ends up replacing the jump mechanic that was/is used in most every other side scrolling platformer of the day and replaces it with a new swing mechanic. The differences between this version's storyline and that of the original are subtle, but significant. The original enemies had much more of a Neo-Nazi vibe to them, with the final boss being named "Master-D", but who obviously had a striking resemblance to the reanimated corpse of Adolf Hitler. The new version tones down this vibe quite a bit as a lot of the the Swastika inspired imagery is almost entirely removed. The final boss is also now called "The Leader", he still has a Hitler-ish look, but they are much less blatant as his face is hidden almost entirely hidden by a breathing mask. This game is also much more tongue-in-cheek and self referential than the original and it doesn't take on a more serious and menacing tone until the very last level.
The gameplay and graphics end up being where the rubber hits the road in Rearmed and they really shine the light on how half hearted a lot of the recent waves of retro redux have been and felt. At its core the game plays and handles almost exactly like the original, but there's a polish to the overall presentation that all game developers need to consider before trying to do the same with something similar. The graphics aren't going to completely blow you out of the water, but when compared to other games within the field of "quick and easy" ports of classics that have been slapped up on XBLA or Wii, Rearmed is an absolute stunner. The visuals take on a very vivid and well lit 2.5D quality and the character models animate nicely with some really nice subtle animation choices. The game takes liberties with a few gameplay tweaks too, giving the player a few more abilities than the original. The ability to grab barrels and enemies with the bionic arm is one, chargeable weapons attacks are another. There's an overhauled menu system that also adds to the overall cleanliness of the product. The audio and sound are also WAY above the norm and Rearmed's soundtrack is actually one of the best soundtracks of any game I've played this year, even going against something like top tiered titles like Gears of War or Metal Gear Solid.
As for extras the game is miles ahead of similar fare. It offers up a plethora of collectible weapons upgrades, armor, little hidden Easter Eggs that unlock the R.A.D. skin in the upcoming sequel, a near infinite amount of "Challenge" rooms (if the regular game is masochistic enough for you), and a full fledged two-player co-op. Again, this is far beyond anything that others have tried to do before, and that helps make Rearmed feel more unique and much more like a labor of love for Capcom and the developers at GRIN. If there's any nits worth picking they're probably so small that one would need Dr. Wily and a microscope to find them. The challenge is much the same as the original, which could chase away people who didn't grow up on "trial and error" gameplay, but once you get the feel of the controls and enemy placements it ends up being a fairly moderate game in the difficulty department. There's also a couple of mild mini games that end up being more of a chore than anything else. One involves being attacked by enemy troops while navigating the game's map, which launches the game into a short overhead shooter. To be honest this was also my least favorite part of the original game, and it doesn't rise above that in this version, but it is a chance to score a few easy 1ups before the next level. The other mini-game involves hacking enemy computers and has the player attempting to roll a ball thru a set of squares until hitting the final square at the end of the maze without sending the ball towards a dead end. It's a novel distraction at first, but becomes lamer and more tedious as the game progresses. Again, very small gripes and none completely wreck the game or cause the game to stall.
When it's all said and done, if there was ever a bar to set when looking for the best way to bring back an old school side scroller, Bionic Commando: Rearmed would be that bar. The amount of love and respect for one of the finer games of the 8-bit era oozes from just about every pour of Rearmed, and the truly updated graphics and lighting help to make the franchise more relevant for a finicky modern gaming culture. It more than helps reboot the franchise for that modern market and helps ease my mind that the upcoming next-gen version of Bionic Commando might actually be worth playing. The Bionic Commando franchise is in good hands and Rearmed is one of the best $10 games you're ever going to play.
+Excellent blend of new and old school game mechanics
+Boatloads of extra content for only $10
+Raises the bar for how to redo a classic for a modern audience
+2 co-op works great
-Learning and difficulty curves are pretty steep
-Mini-games become tedious quickly
