Fox's Revew: Bionic Commando: ReArmed (PS3, 360, PC)

[Fusion]

So this is the glorious Powered Up-esque remake of Bionic Commando on the NES, a franchise that Capcom has pretty much otherwise been ignoring for about 20 or so years now, if you don't count the 2 game boy games.  Nathan "RAD" Spencer is sent to find the FSA's greatest soldier, named Joseph "Super Joe" Gibson.  The Imperials, commanded by Generalissimo Killt (as opposed to Generalissimo Weizmann) keep Super Joe in custody while they plan something big.  The silent resurrection of a man only called... "The Leader".

(Graphics: 10/10)
I have to say, this is probably the only game on those three major consoles that I'll give a great rating in the graphics department.  As stated in a Making Of interview, the development team was originally going to focus on the detail of the characters, but since they were so small and the details were insignificant, they chose to instead make the colors stand out more.  This is a good thing because color in games today is practically extinct, and the pink-ish hair of the protagonist isn't going to be seen as a 'gay' color, it's actually a bit badass considering Spencer himself looks like an 80's version of Duke Nukem, with an attitude to match.  Though Killt's appearance is that of... M. Bison from Street Fighter.  It at least looks good, and their designs are apart enough that you could say Bison (Or VEGA if you wanna be a japansy) was cosplaying.  Add to that the visage of a certain leader has been kept intact.

The imperials also carry over their color schemes from the NES game, though with a few added details.  Their primary standout color is still Pink, and that's for the early enemies.  The new and old bosses alike look pretty good even in artwork, where, if you didn't know, Grin managed to get one of Capcom's major artists' backing.  The game just plain looks great, even the new weapons.  Though I do have to say that Spencer's default hand position might not work for the Rocket Launcher if you're facing a certain direction.

The flags of the Imperial nation also retain their altered symbols, even though this time around the flags' designs have been augmented a little bit.  They still have the Nazi-esque appearance, but the symbol on them is stretched a bit.  It looks a lot better, to be honest.


(Sound: 10/10)
Another perfect rating?  What's gotten into Fox?

The game's soundtrack was given a complete and total revamp, with new sound effects as well.  There is little from the original game aside from sound bits, though I do still love the soundtrack.  There's minor voice acting to give you an idea of what goes on, and in certain areas, the music kind of fades out into being a faded kind of background music until you reach where you should be.  This can make some of the areas a bit easier to navigate by sound.

There's slight bits of voice acting to help you get an idea of what the characters sounded like, and they're not intrusive in the slightest.  They're pretty good, and you won't have time to repeatedly listen to them.


(Gameplay 9/10)
It's flawed!  Somehow, it's flawed!

If you've played the NES original, then I have to say that the Bionic Arm has not changed much, the only incredibly super new thing being that it's useful for most bosses.  Pulling a barrel that soldiers used for cover over to you, then using that barrel against them is reward enough, and makes a no-shots run that much easier.  Later in the game, you'll be able to pull enemies to you using the Bionic Arm and use them as shields.

Improved over the original are the weapons and communicator chips.  While the communicators have colors instead of symbols now, the weapons are swappable mid-game, and are also all revamped in some way.  The Revolver, your standard weapon, is just the standard weapon.  There's a new weapon called the Pulse Rifle which works well against mechanized enemies, the 3-Way Cannon was replaced with the Shotgun, which works only close range, the Bazooka isn't the end-all substitute to every weapon in the game, Super Joe's Machine Gun is actually useful because it will damage every single thing in the game, but has enough knockback to bring you to a dead stop while you're running.  There's also a weapon called the "Vector cannon" which is unique but also useless because it only really has so few areas it can be used in, and the only boss you'd think it'd be useful for, in fact, isn't affected by it at all.

One of the disappointments in the game is that while the peace zones retain the same general idea, none of the Imperials' men are present there, they're now FSA games and it doesn't make a difference whether you open fire or not because you won't call in an endless storm of white-clothed soldiers by doing so.  I learned that by accidentally opening fire and being disappointed to see that no one raised a gun at me.  That's a minor thing, but restraint was a part of the original.  Though they did make up for it in some way with a kind of interrogation where you all need to do is just hit the guy with the Bionic Arm repeatedly until he talks.

The top-down sections are back, and haven't changed all that much aside from the fact there's a little more to blow up.  Spencer will sometimes auto-aim towards enemies, so killing them is a bit easier than it was before.  The claw's spinning defense, though, was changed a bit so you can't just spin endlessly and have an invulnerability shield because of it.

There's also a new gameplay feature added: Grenades.  By pressing one button, you can lob a grenade either ahead of you adding your momentum to it's own, just plain ahead of you, or send it to the floor below you to detonate some poor chap.  I've found use for these grenades, and in fact, one of the bosses you'll fight twice in the game is beaten BY using Grenaes.  They're also unlimited in supply, so you don't need to worry about running out.


(Overall 9.5/10)

Do you now know why it's sold over 100,000 copies in it's first week alone?  I'm personally hoping that this sends a message to developers.  We're tired of the games of old days just getting mangled and ripped apart and treated with no respect, what we want is for them to have the proper respect with new ideas and new concepts while still staying true to the old design.  Bionic Commando: ReArmed is a perfect example of what a remake should be.  Not just a retread with little to no change, but a overhaul in every sense of the word with additional features that aren't limited to just story and characters.

Also, the demo's pretty funny as well with it's script writing.

[K.O.D]

Played it on PC, awesome game.

The only thing that bugs me is the rebounding off walls when using the Bionic arm (going into a wall while swinging), it is more frustrating than being a challenge.