Bionic Commando becomes the latest Capcom series to reappear after years in the wilderness as the next gen version gets set to hit our shelves, but does this title which is the true sequel to the original, capture what was great about the first game?

 

This latest version of the game takes place around 10 years in the future from where the original story ended, as explained at the beginning Spencer, who is the hero of the title has been cast aside by a society that once relied on his skills, therefore when we join him its in death row. Fortunately for Spencer a group of terrorists detonate a bomb just as he is about to be executed and instead of meeting his end suddenly he is called upon to venture into the city to investigate the attack.

 

 

When you get into the action you find yourself in a large building minus your Bionic Arm, this level will give you a chance to get used to armed combat (or should that be unarmed ha ha) teaching you how to aim and use your gun, this is all fairly simple stuff to get used to though. Once you manage to find the Bionic Arm this is when the action really hot’s up. The arm allows you to get around the scenery with easy, using the reticule you can grapple onto any surface that is lit blue by the onscreen icon, this will then allow you to swing and leap around from surface to surface until your hearts content. It has to be said that at first it is not very easy to control the reticule and therefore you will probably find yourself dropping from ledges to your doom rather than performing expect swings like Tarzan, however thanks to the small tutorial and the user friendly controls it won’t be long before you get into the swing of things (sorry).

 

As well as being able to swing around the city Spencer can also use his arm in other more devastating ways. These of course come in the form of punching and a rather nifty Zip attack. Punching is fairly straight forward with the light and heavy punch both being assigned to their own buttons. The Zip Attack meanwhile is a more specialised move allowing you to lock onto an enemy, attach to them using your reticule and zip from your current standpoint straight into their chest. Other abilities allow you to rip objects such as trains and throw them around, which is handy when you need to gain access to an otherwise dead end. These are just a few of the devastating moves that Spencer can perform and others are picked up as he gets used to his powers and progresses through the game.

 

As well as progressing through the story the game will also set you challenges to complete at certain parts, these are not compulsory to complete, however if you are after a bit more of a challenge you should certainly give these a try. Challenges can include things like killing a set amount of soldiers or finding certain objects. Be warned though that some of the challenges are weapon specific therefore you will need to make sure that you have the right equipment to complete the job. This becomes even more important when you realise that you cannot track back through the levels, therefore miss your chance the first time and you will not be able to try again without replaying. This is quite a strange option for the developers to have chosen, perhaps they just wanted to keep the action moving.

 

This latest version of Bionic Commando also includes a Multiplayer game. This allows up to eight people to take part in your usual Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes. There are sixteen maps included in the multiplayer section which in itself is pretty decent. The multiplayer modes are fun enough so there is no doubt you will get your moneys worth here should multiplayer be your thing.

 

 

Graphically Bionic Commando is certainly not disappointing. The detail is around for everyone to see, the environments are interactive to some degree allowing you to rip things from the ground and throw them around and there are certainly plenty of hazards for you to avoid, which is why it’s good that there are also plenty of things for you to grapple on to. Spencer himself is also well animated and seems to swing through the environments with practically no slowdown.

 

The sound is also fairly impressive, Spencer’s voice work is both well acted and at times quite humorous while the music seems to fit in well with the on screen action. There are also plenty of other effects going on in the background such as explosions in the distance and gunfire, which all help to add to the games atmosphere.

 

Overall Bionic Commando isn’t without its issues, however that being said it is a solid action game which should keep fans of the original and newcomers happy.