Funny old thing nostalgia, it's the reason we cry for remakes of television shows, the reason we wear Thundercats T - shirts and the reason we buy action figures the moment we have a shred of a disposable income! The only problem with this bubble of nostalgia is that it bursts; painfully at times, all too often reminding us that it wasn't quite as good as we remembered.
The 360's Live Arcade and to a lesser extent the Playstation Store, are graveyards to games that should have never been brought back - Robotron, Speedball, Smash Tv, Paperboy to name a few... Thankfully Campcom's Bionic Commando Rearmed is a gem that is well worth rediscovering!
Capcom well aware of its original fan base tips its hat towards the games retro roots with a great opening musical score, that while reinvented, would sit quite comfortably on the NES. The music brilliantly reflects the in game action as well as its heritage, seamlessly mixing fast bass driven pieces into periods of calm. Sound effects are crisp with enough pop and zing within Gunfire and explosions to allow any gamer of the '20 and over' bracket to proudly proclaim ' This is why gaming is great!"
It would have been easy for Capcom to have made a quick buck on this game, releasing it just before the sequel; but instead Capcom has done anything but this - paying meticulous attention to every last detail of the game. This labour of love for Capcom is shown no less in the graphics.
The levels are vibrant and bright with a good level of variation between levels, whether that be in dense wintry woodland or heavily urbanised areas. The game play, while being very much 2D the in game characters are 3D models textured to give the appearance of sprites and fixed on a 2D plain, in a similar fashion to Capcom's Streetfighter 4. This allows the physics of the models to be fully utilized, with ragdoll physics being in place for the countless deaths of the in game enemy.
The games bosses are typically Capcom, in that they come in 3 varieties big, bigger and biggest, with their demise being brilliantly realised in a kaleidoscope of explosions and fire - brilliantly rewarding the gamers efforts. Graphically the gamer never feels short changed.
The reinvention of Bionic Commando is not wholesale, and rather than an "Out with the old and in with the new!" attitude Capcom has instead opted for evolving the series, and still maintaining the classic feel. This is reflected through the in game dialogue screens and NPC's using speech bubbles.
Bionic Commando Rearmed also changes from side scrolling platformer to a top down shooter at brief moments, and unlike Capcom's previous release Commando:WOTB balances this change, so that the gamer maintains interest, both through the diverse shift in visuals but also through the change in game play.
This balance of old and new is perhaps most pronounced within the game play of Bionic Commando. Capcom have made some changes from the NES original to appeal to a modern gamer such as a health bar replacing the previous system as well as being able to change your weapon mid level, but the game does to some degree ask the modern gamer to change their 'thinking' so that they can get the most from it and rescue 'Super Joe'
Instantly skipping the tutorial and jumping straight in, makes you ask why cant I jump over a barrel? why wont my gun shoot diagonally? and to which Bionic Commando has no response; only that it is and old school game, brought to a new audience.
While this initially throws the gamer - it pales into insignificance due to the beauty of controlling your Commando, and more importantly using his bionic claw. Using the grapple hook claw soon becomes second nature and sees you swinging like King Louis from platform to platform, albeit without the accompaniment of Mowgli!
This is immensely satisfying and the gamer can't help but feel smug when they acrobatically swing behind the enemy to finish them off.
The 'old school' nature of the game hero's maneuverability is game's only real criticism, and while some modern gamers may not be able to accept this, Capcom does its utmost to compensate through the wide breadth of game play modes, such as Co - op, Versus and the brilliant addition of the Challenge rooms.
These challenge rooms (initially shown via a tutorial, then becoming fully unlockable later) allow the gamer to fully grasp the the game mechanics in a relatively safe environment.
The Challenge rooms are anything but 'just a training level' though, and anyone familiar with Metal Gear Solid's VR missions will feel instantly at home. The task is seemingly simple - get to the end goal in the allotted time, however what initially seems a simple task of going from A to B, soon becomes devilishly addictive, taxing the gamer to find the most ingenious pathway so that they can finish top of the leaderboard! With all this variety offered it makes the 800 points (Xbox360) or 6.99 (Playstation 3) price tag excellent value for money.
Bionic Commando to a certain audience will always be a trip down memory lane, and while this air of nostalgia is true, Bionic Commando Rearmed offers enough depth and style to make it more than palatable to a new audience; showing other game developers how true gems of gaming can lovingly be restored and refashioned, so that they shine on the 'Next gen' stage.
The 360's Live Arcade and to a lesser extent the Playstation Store, are graveyards to games that should have never been brought back - Robotron, Speedball, Smash Tv, Paperboy to name a few... Thankfully Campcom's Bionic Commando Rearmed is a gem that is well worth rediscovering!
Capcom well aware of its original fan base tips its hat towards the games retro roots with a great opening musical score, that while reinvented, would sit quite comfortably on the NES. The music brilliantly reflects the in game action as well as its heritage, seamlessly mixing fast bass driven pieces into periods of calm. Sound effects are crisp with enough pop and zing within Gunfire and explosions to allow any gamer of the '20 and over' bracket to proudly proclaim ' This is why gaming is great!"
It would have been easy for Capcom to have made a quick buck on this game, releasing it just before the sequel; but instead Capcom has done anything but this - paying meticulous attention to every last detail of the game. This labour of love for Capcom is shown no less in the graphics.
The levels are vibrant and bright with a good level of variation between levels, whether that be in dense wintry woodland or heavily urbanised areas. The game play, while being very much 2D the in game characters are 3D models textured to give the appearance of sprites and fixed on a 2D plain, in a similar fashion to Capcom's Streetfighter 4. This allows the physics of the models to be fully utilized, with ragdoll physics being in place for the countless deaths of the in game enemy.
The games bosses are typically Capcom, in that they come in 3 varieties big, bigger and biggest, with their demise being brilliantly realised in a kaleidoscope of explosions and fire - brilliantly rewarding the gamers efforts. Graphically the gamer never feels short changed.The reinvention of Bionic Commando is not wholesale, and rather than an "Out with the old and in with the new!" attitude Capcom has instead opted for evolving the series, and still maintaining the classic feel. This is reflected through the in game dialogue screens and NPC's using speech bubbles.
Bionic Commando Rearmed also changes from side scrolling platformer to a top down shooter at brief moments, and unlike Capcom's previous release Commando:WOTB balances this change, so that the gamer maintains interest, both through the diverse shift in visuals but also through the change in game play.
This balance of old and new is perhaps most pronounced within the game play of Bionic Commando. Capcom have made some changes from the NES original to appeal to a modern gamer such as a health bar replacing the previous system as well as being able to change your weapon mid level, but the game does to some degree ask the modern gamer to change their 'thinking' so that they can get the most from it and rescue 'Super Joe'
Instantly skipping the tutorial and jumping straight in, makes you ask why cant I jump over a barrel? why wont my gun shoot diagonally? and to which Bionic Commando has no response; only that it is and old school game, brought to a new audience.
While this initially throws the gamer - it pales into insignificance due to the beauty of controlling your Commando, and more importantly using his bionic claw. Using the grapple hook claw soon becomes second nature and sees you swinging like King Louis from platform to platform, albeit without the accompaniment of Mowgli!
This is immensely satisfying and the gamer can't help but feel smug when they acrobatically swing behind the enemy to finish them off.
The 'old school' nature of the game hero's maneuverability is game's only real criticism, and while some modern gamers may not be able to accept this, Capcom does its utmost to compensate through the wide breadth of game play modes, such as Co - op, Versus and the brilliant addition of the Challenge rooms.
These challenge rooms (initially shown via a tutorial, then becoming fully unlockable later) allow the gamer to fully grasp the the game mechanics in a relatively safe environment.
The Challenge rooms are anything but 'just a training level' though, and anyone familiar with Metal Gear Solid's VR missions will feel instantly at home. The task is seemingly simple - get to the end goal in the allotted time, however what initially seems a simple task of going from A to B, soon becomes devilishly addictive, taxing the gamer to find the most ingenious pathway so that they can finish top of the leaderboard! With all this variety offered it makes the 800 points (Xbox360) or 6.99 (Playstation 3) price tag excellent value for money.
Bionic Commando to a certain audience will always be a trip down memory lane, and while this air of nostalgia is true, Bionic Commando Rearmed offers enough depth and style to make it more than palatable to a new audience; showing other game developers how true gems of gaming can lovingly be restored and refashioned, so that they shine on the 'Next gen' stage.
