Bionic Commando - Not Enough Swing In Your Thing There Soldier

Perhaps the headline comes off more harsh than I intended. Let me get this out of the way now: Bionic Commando (the newly released current generation version) is a really fun game. The swinging method of traveling is just as invigorating and fun as I was hoping it would be. It's a relatively short game, broken (loading...) up by (loading...) many (loading...) load (loading…) ing times (loading…).

I've seen it mentioned in many reviews that Bionic Commando is actually, to tweak a well known phrase, too small for its britches. I could guess at their meaning, but having finished my first playthrough on Friday (yes I intend to play it again!) I see exactly what they're talking about. The new Bionic Commando game has a lot going for it: a rarely seen travel mechanic in the bionic arm swing, character upgrades, in-game miniature challenges tied to Xbox 360 achievements, beautiful graphics, a Hollywood summer blockbuster orchestrated score, semi-unimaginitive weapons that nevertheless complement the bionic arm actions well.

I think this game's biggest problem is that it shows you this wonderfully realized disaster area that's just begging to be explored and have epic conflicts in... and then the gameplay fails to take advantage of that. First is the fact that you're boxed in from exploring too much by radioactive fallout from the recently dropped bomb that ruins Ascension City. One notable instance of this missed potential is the lead-up to your first boss-fight. Spencer is tasked with getting to a skyscraper in the middle of the city in order to transmit valuable data from an elevated position. There are very entertaining points of conflict on the street leading up to the skyscraper: fodder soldiers, a couple snipers, biomechs, street lamps, rocket launchers, debris to throw at them, all the good ingredients for great gameplay in this particular game. After dispatching this horde you reach the skyscraper (loading…)

Spencer starts transmitting the data at the top of the skyscraper and is assaulted by a attack helicopter

Wait… HUH?

So let me get this straight... In a game that's all about swinging from point A to point B, you ask me to climb a skyscraper... and then you completely disregard a potentially interesting and challenging setpiece without even a cutscene to show our hero climbing the building. Your commanding officer Super Joe EVEN SAYS "We didn't give you that arm to scratch your ass with" right as Spencer reaches the entrance of the building.

On the slightly brighter side of life, at least the boss fight against the attack helicopter is a very fun cat & mouse arena battle where you can swing from various girders while trying to attain a lock-on for your rocket launcher to bring the chopper down.

The other notable instance that comes to mind is the boss fight against Groeder. This was a very fun boss fight in the remake of the first Bionic Commando game because Groeder can do everything that you can do with his own bionic arm. So it was an interesting fight between two mechanical Tarzans with high-tech weaponry. In this game you wait for him to rush you… then you kick him in the back. Not quite the payoff in gameplay you would hope for after seeing Groeder's return from the remake. What I don't understand is that the game should be capable of another climatic showdown between Spencer and Groeder due to the fact that there is a multiplayer mode in this game. So there is a frame of reference for fighting other bioncally enhanced warriors that makes this boss fight even more pathetic. At least the cutscene afterwards is a hilarious nod to Hitler's gruesome death in the first game.

Granted, there ARE instances where the scale of level and enemy encounters really do come together to create the experience you're expecting. One early example is the area where (if I remember correctly) you first obtain the shotgun. There is a building in the center with flagpoles that let you climb up, enemies on the perimeter, and ruined highways all around you; a bionic's playground. I think the game fires on all cylinders of its (current) potential in the oil refinery->journey to the oil rig set of levels. You have all your bionic upgrades at that point, lots of pipelines to swing from, biomechs patrolling, snipers on lookout, floating mines to swing from over deadly radioactive clouds, etc.

Which I guess leads me to another point: This game is also very much like a summer blockbuster in that there are no surprises (other than a very strange and semi-compelling plot twist near the end of the game). If you've seen any release trailers of the game, you've seen everything that the game is going to show you. The fun and heart of the game lies in the execution of the mechanics.

I think Capcom & GRIN did a really great job of updating the Bionic Commando formula from a 1988 NES sidescrolling platform game to this 3D Action Adventure game. They've built a really solid base to build off of, now they just need to take it further. I would like to see a more open world that rewards players for exploring off the beaten path, more interesting setpieces and bosses that are consistent with the design philosophy of the game and work off of Spencer's abilities, a more finely tuned approach to how weapons should work in tandem with the game's flow, and challenge levels akin to the exercises in GRIN's Bionic Commando: Rearmed. Those improvements should turn this game/franchise from a notable summer blockbuster into a AAA game worthy of all the accolades of other legendary game franchises.