by Robert Workman on Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Bionic Commando Rearmed is a remixed version of the classic 20-year-old NES adventure as a lone hero who takes on a faction of evil soldiers. Although he has some help, he relies on three things over the course of each mission – his wits, his weapons and a bionic arm.
Nathan "Radd" Spencer, the hero of Rearmed, rides with a co-pilot from section to section, broken out into a numbered grid. Some of these sections are in the hands of friendly forces, which you can visit to get weapon upgrades and other vital tools. Others are enemy controlled, with soldiers roaming around and security measures, such as laser grids and cannons, put in place. It's Spencer's job to sneak in, take out these forces and bring down the enemy leader while attempting to locate his mentor, Super Joe.
The first thing you'll notice is Spencer's inability to jump. In order to get around, he uses his bionic arm to swing across ledges and grab boxes to slide underneath obstacles. This will frustrate gamers who want to get to the next section of a level without getting blasted in the face by a rocket launcher. We prefer the controls the way they are, however. Learning the basics of your bionic arm gets you more involved with your character, rather than simply leaping out of harm's way. He also has a few weapons available, including a gun with modifiable firepower, grenades and the ability to grab objects, such as barrels.
Most of the levels are side scrolling, but on occasion Spencer drops into a top-down level where he needs to take out an enemy station. These stages are nice and quick, letting you shoot a few enemies while snagging precious one-ups.
Overall, the game looks fabulous, with well-designed 2.5D levels taken straight from the NES classic but with improved graphics. The animation and lighting effects are both solid, with a lot of attention to detail, particularly on the bosses. Bionic Commando's background music contains a classic remix of old-school themes, and it rocks. More voice effects would've been nice, but we won't nitpick.
Along with the challenging gameplay in the Mission mode, there are several extras. The game's puzzle stages are interesting, as they require you to drop a ball onto blocks in order to decode enemy transmissions. There are also 50 plus unlockable Challenge Rooms. These rooms are virtual simulations built to test Spencer's skills within a time limit. They really test a player's dexterity, and the online leaderboards offer no shortage of bloodthirsty competition.
Multiplayer is also a big part of Rearmed. You can work with a friend locally through the main story mode, adding a dose of challenge to an already complex game. There are also three multiplayer melee modes for up to four players, such as Last Man Standing, Deathmatch and the modestly entertaining Don't Touch the Floor. (Guess what you have to do in that one.) Generally, they're a lot of fun, but they're offline only.
Despite its difficulty, Bionic Commando Rearmed is a terrific platform game. The presentation is great, the gameplay is fun and the extras more than validate the cheap $10 (or 800 point) price tag. Make sure to keep it well within your reach.
Bionic Commando Rearmed Xbox 360 Game Guide
Bionic Commando Rearmed PlayStation 3 Game Guide
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