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Bionic Commando
Swinging really is all it's cracked up to be but is Grin's swansong good enough to be remembered?
Written by Andy Griffiths, 24 August 2009
Swinging around is what everyone wants when they buy this title and it never fails to impress. Grin's understanding of momentum leads to the best swinging in any game, pin-point accuracy is needed to maintain not only your speed but also your life as there are plenty of hazards to slow you down
Are they over compensating for something?The story is clichd with the amusingly named Nathan 'Rad' Spencer fresh out of jail and on the hunt for bionically enhanced terrorists who have recently detonated a bomb in a heavily populated metropolis. It's not understated in the least featuring angry voice acting and Rad's wife thrown is also thrown into the mix to adding a personal motivation which leads to Rad working for the authorities which placed him in jail in the first place.
PCGZine Issue 33
For our latest Bionic Commando coverage, click here to download PCGZine Issue 33 for free.Water, radiation and air mines all restrict your movement - it's a system which never fails to frustrate and limits you to singular route when traversing the campaign's large maps. The open world aspect is entirely false when the only routes open to you are linear and pre-determined. Weaponry in the game follows the usual third person arsenal of shotgun, rocket launcher, assault rifle and pistol but when you have the ability to zip line into enemies faces iron boot first, any weapon seems sub par.
Back when Rad was working for the government.As Grin's swansong, there's enough quality here to show that the now closed studio had a lot of talent. The swing dynamic alone is worth the price of admission and really comes into it's own during multiplayer. There are some issues however and the frustration of being constantly reigned in is an almost game breaking annoyance. But once you get past that and try to understand what Grin were doing it all starts to make sense. They are sticking to rules set by the original Bionic Commando and despite how silly that concept seems, in the context of the universe it starts to make sense.
Mr Spencer's good side.Bionic Commando is a blockbuster experience down to it's the core with a stirring soundtrack, hammy voice acting, and ridiculous plot. However there's still some interesting fun to be had here and for a series returning from a 20 year hiatus the results were surprisingly entertaining. Unfortunately we won't get to play what Grin had in mind for the next chapter in the franchise, but hopefully another studio will pick up the mantel and continue the promising steps made in this game.
Bionic Commando coverage available in PCGZine Issue 33 - click here to download it for free!
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