If you have ever fantasized about swinging through a vast open city using ropes that extend from your arms, then Bionic Commando is probably what you’ve been waiting for. Not since the likes of Spiderman and Castlevania has there been anything that delivered so much fun by simply providing this alternative and unique method of transport.

Instead of running or flying in the traditional sense, you can now traverse the entire city miles above the ruined streets below using your grappling hook to swing from building to building, and you get to do it with an arsenal of oversized weapons strapped to your back.

Although the story is incredibly clichéd, the fast paced action and smooth flow of the gameplay makes up for the cheesy dialogue and sub-par plot outline. The story is rather basic in its entity and is mostly centered around the primary protagonist (that’s you) wanting to find out what happened to his wife.

However, if you forget about the badly scripted story and focus on where the real fun in Bionic Commando lies, like throwing a tank at a jump trooper, then it’s not easy to put this game down.

Simply by pressing the L2 button, players are able to attach to literally anything using their grappling hook.

Controlling the robotic arm becomes second nature once players have got the hang of the control scheme. It’s almost too easy, and most times you’ll find yourself using the plethora of actions that your grappling arm is able to deliver to dispatch of your enemies instead of the vast array of weapons at your disposal.

Between tossing giant objects around like silly putty and throwing soldiers into the air only to pump them full of lead while they float helplessly like a piñata, the game doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Bionic Commando is an objective driven game and players will spend most of their time swinging from one point to another, killing as many enemies as they can muster in between objectives, before aptly swinging away to their next objective which is usually something rather mediocre like hacking a relay point or deactivating a minefield.

Capcom did however pull an ace card out of it’s sleeve which goes a long way to to making up for the game’s faults. The ace lies in the game’s beautifully robust visuals and vastly detailed open-world design.

Individual rays of light shine through the lush foliage in the jungle levels and the slow sway of post apocalyptic dust as in floats through empty streets make for a visually spectacular gaming experience.

Tie it together with a simple and intuitive control scheme and throw in enough weapons to sink an oil carrier, and you have a winning design that is likely to draw you back for more.

Underneath the horrible story, repetitive objectives and viciously long and frequent loading screens there lies a game which fulfills all your childhood fantasies in so many ways that it actually feels wrong to be having this much fun alone.

Fun Factor

Even though the game does get rather repetitive at times, especially considering the fact that your combat tactics are rather limited, it still makes for an enjoyable experience. Jumping off a skyscraper to fall hundreds of stories before slamming into the sidewalk is simply enthralling.

The fluidity with which Nathan navigates the city does a lot to add to the game’s enjoyment factor, and actually becomes addictive in its self. Players will find themselves wanting to continue swinging for hours on end without any real objective; much like Assassin’s Creed had you running over roofs and scaling buildings often without ever having a goal or a destination in mind.

Visuals

The game truly does feature some gorgeous visuals. The definition in Nathan’s ridiculously big muscles and the massive and detailed explosions among other details make Bionic Commando a truly exceptional looking game.

Story

The story does contain a multitude of hernia inducing plot points that give way to more cheese than a nacho stand. While the boss characters are intriguing and lots of fun to battle, they don’t make up for a train smash of clichéd storyline mechanisms.

If you enjoy feeling gripped by the sheer brilliance of a story, then Bionic Commando will fall dramatically short of your expectations.

However, if you enjoy Steven Seagull movies and have a signed copy of Chuck Norris’s autobiography, then this game will probably contain the best storyline you have ever seen.

Sound

This is one of the very strong points of Bionic Commando, minus the horribly cheap voice acting of course. The soundtrack is riveting, featuring a range of orchestra numbers, which result in the game having some pivotal moments that combine beautifully with the rising crescendo of the classical score.

The sound of your arm rappelling forth, the crack of gunfire, ear deafening explosions and the soul shuddering sound of a car getting slammed into the chest of an enemy; it all comes together perfectly.

Originality

Even though the game is actually a remake of an earlier NES title, it is still one damn good remake. It does maintain some of the control schematics and gameplay elements seen in Spiderman: Web of Shadows, but in no way does it follow in the disappointing footsteps of the WebCrawler’s franchise.

Capcom has outdone itself and resurrected Bionic Commando in the best way possible…with High Def graphics and a fluid swinging system.

Longevity

Despite the constant dying and irritating reappearance of the loading screen, Bionic Commando still gives a good 8 hours or so of gameplay. Then of course there are the 8 player online battles which we were unable to test due to there being no servers operating at the time of writing.

Bottom line

If you fear that you do not possess the patience required to sit through the horribly scripted story, numerous loading screens and multiple frustrating attempts at completing various repetitive objectives , then you may want to steer clear of Bionic Commando.

However, if you’ve been lusting for a game much like Spiderman, except with a smorgasbord of giant weapons and the ability to slam people into walls, then you’ve just found what you’ve been waiting for.

We have become completely addicted to Bionic Commando, ignoring the pungently bad storyline as we swing through ruined streets and tropical jungles for the second time around.

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