Bionic Commando
Developer : GRIN
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Action / Platformer
Release: Spring 2009
The Original Bionic Commando was released in the late 80’s and is widely regarded as one of the best platformers from that era. It brought a twist to the side scrolling genre by adding a grappling hook mechanic which differentiated the platforming and combat elements in genre that was slowly degenerating into repetitive games with different backgrounds.
The announcement of a sequel after so many years was a surprise for everyone. While the nomination of developers GRIN whose only notable achievement has been porting of Ghost Recon to PC did not inspire much confidence, Capcom quickly allayed any fears by announcing the complete team for the project which includes GRIN and Capcom employees from Japan and the US.
The new game remains faithful to its predecessor with ample use of the grappling hook. As expected. Graphics and the art style has evolved from the 8 bit days, the game takes place in a crumbling fictional city which is conveniently suited to grappling hook shenanigans.
The platforming portions will remind you of the Spider Man games but the mechanics here are much more satisfy and require precise timing. The better your timing, the more distance you traverse. The combat is a bit of a let down though, as is the case with action platformers. Pointing the general direction of the enemy nets you a hit and same is the case with melee.
Although the singleplayer levels give off the illusion that there’s an open world to explore, most of it is barricaded and you only have linear path through the level which is a bit of a bummer.
The multiplayer portion of the game also warrants attention. The matches usually turn into mayhem due to the small arenas and array of weapons as disposals. Bunny hopping is replaced with grappling and sometimes results in hilarious airborne deaths.
Overall, Bionic Commando looks to be a weak effort compared to the two hits released by Capcom so far this year, Street Fighter 4 and Resident Evil 5. Bionic Commando enters a crowed genre and does not have enough to stand out from the crowd. We would suggest a wait and see stance on this one.
By radd
Faisal Tahir – Pakgamers.com
Developer : GRIN
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Action / Platformer
Release: Spring 2009
The Original Bionic Commando was released in the late 80’s and is widely regarded as one of the best platformers from that era. It brought a twist to the side scrolling genre by adding a grappling hook mechanic which differentiated the platforming and combat elements in genre that was slowly degenerating into repetitive games with different backgrounds.
The announcement of a sequel after so many years was a surprise for everyone. While the nomination of developers GRIN whose only notable achievement has been porting of Ghost Recon to PC did not inspire much confidence, Capcom quickly allayed any fears by announcing the complete team for the project which includes GRIN and Capcom employees from Japan and the US.
The new game remains faithful to its predecessor with ample use of the grappling hook. As expected. Graphics and the art style has evolved from the 8 bit days, the game takes place in a crumbling fictional city which is conveniently suited to grappling hook shenanigans.
The platforming portions will remind you of the Spider Man games but the mechanics here are much more satisfy and require precise timing. The better your timing, the more distance you traverse. The combat is a bit of a let down though, as is the case with action platformers. Pointing the general direction of the enemy nets you a hit and same is the case with melee.
Although the singleplayer levels give off the illusion that there’s an open world to explore, most of it is barricaded and you only have linear path through the level which is a bit of a bummer.
The multiplayer portion of the game also warrants attention. The matches usually turn into mayhem due to the small arenas and array of weapons as disposals. Bunny hopping is replaced with grappling and sometimes results in hilarious airborne deaths.
Overall, Bionic Commando looks to be a weak effort compared to the two hits released by Capcom so far this year, Street Fighter 4 and Resident Evil 5. Bionic Commando enters a crowed genre and does not have enough to stand out from the crowd. We would suggest a wait and see stance on this one.
By radd
Faisal Tahir – Pakgamers.com
