Bionic Commando

[Retro_Link]

Gametrailers Preview:

 

[Daft]

Looks worth a rent.

[Shorty]

Why dont any previews ever offer an honest verdict? At least, they're certainly never negative. Admittedly you can't condemn something that's subject to minor changes, but the way they tell you to "steer clear of water" is obviously their way of saying "you can't swim, it's lame".

 

It does look nice to me though. I really loved the classic game so it has a lot to live up to in my eyes!

[Pit-Jr]

Looks pretty fab if you ask me. Hopefully buying it will quell my urge to buy Infamous and Prototype later. The swinging mechanic looks well done but i would like a demo just to make sure

[Daft]

Looks like it would suit the Wii controls perfectly.

[flameboy]

Why dont any previews ever offer an honest verdict? At least, they're certainly never negative. Admittedly you can't condemn something that's subject to minor changes, but the way they tell you to "steer clear of water" is obviously their way of saying "you can't swim, it's lame".

 

It does look nice to me though. I really loved the classic game so it has a lot to live up to in my eyes!

 

Because they aren't reviews? So why should they deliver a verdict?

[Shino]

Something doesn't seems right, it has a weird flow and movements.

[jayseven]

Because they aren't reviews? So why should they deliver a verdict?

 

True, but back in the day, magazine previews (when no coerced by the developers) used to at least inform you of the niggles and discrepancies that they hoped to be 'ironed out by release date' whether they were or not; statements made solely to let the gamer know that the end product will not be the perfect GOTY that the developers want you to think.

 

It's undestandable from the flipside too, though; a developer having spent years on a product doesn't want it to be totally snubbed before it even has a chance to sell its first copy.

 

Makes you wonder what Zero Punctuation would be like if it was done purely with previews.

[Shorty]

Because they aren't reviews? So why should they deliver a verdict?

Because they've played the game? Because people in the industry who get to play games early are the only way we get to see whether the title's going to be good before it hits the shelves? If you look at games that got scores like 4-6/10 and browse back to the previews, they never had a bad word to say about them, it's irritating because you get the impression that games like Spider-Man Web of Shadows might actually be good for the 6 months leading up to its release. Then the same people who said they were looking forward to the game rip it to shreds in a review.

 

To clarify, I'm not saying this will be the case in BC, in fact it looks good

[Cube]

It's because they don't want to be dismissed from the next set of previews.

[MATtheHAT]

Looks pretty fab if you ask me. Hopefully buying it will quell my urge to buy Infamous and Prototype later. The swinging mechanic looks well done but i would like a demo just to make sure

 

I think there is an exclusive Xbox LIVE Multiplayer Demo. Good job I keep my Xbox around for just such occasions.

[MATtheHAT]

Demo is up. Its pretty fun to be honest, once you get used to the swinging mechanic.

[Aimless]

It's a bit lightweight, through, even for a demo; only one gametype, one map, and you can't even set up games with your friends. It says there's 16 multiplayer maps in the full game, so couldn't they have stretched to offering two or three? Oh, and maybe pick one that isn't at night.

 

That aside it seems pretty good. In terms of play style it reminds me quite a bit of Lost Planet which was something of an acquired taste; you shoot people but it isn't really about the shooting. It's hard to get a feel for how games will play when everyone's in full swing, as it were, because people seem to be running and gunning for the most part.

[Hero-of-Time]

I didn't care for it at all, much like Lost Planets multiplayer mode.

[Aimless]

This is only a few days away now so I figured it was time for a bump.

 

First off, adverts. If you haven't seen them they're worth a watch:

• Bionic Fireman
  
• Bionic Middle Manager
  
• Bionic Paperboy
  

 

Next there's Eurogamer's review. As I'm sure some of you are loathe to actually read I'll just say it: 7/10. It's actually quite a bit more positive then I was expecting, and it sounds good enough to warrant keeping my £25 pre-order that made a ridiculously long time ago.

 

Finally here's the launch trailer for the game; I couldn't find a decent stream to embed.

[MATtheHAT]

IGN just gave it a 7.....pretty decent. Personally I think it will make a refreshing change, and I tend to prefer a more linear game any way. More Gears than GTA for me. I loved re-armed as well, especially the tongue-in-cheek humour and story line.

 

So my pre-order from ShopTo still stands, hopefully be here by Thursday.

[Retro_Link]

Gametrailers Review - 7.7

 

[Chris the great]

ok, this news story is just bonkers

 

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20090521/ten-mills-booted-as-video-game-star-c60bd6d.html

 

in short, heather mills was dropped as the face of bionic comando because she wanted more money, and to be the main character. serious.

[Kirkatronics]

ok, this news story is just bonkers

 

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/1/20090521/ten-mills-booted-as-video-game-star-c60bd6d.html

 

in short, heather mills was dropped as the face of bionic comando because she wanted more money, and to be the main character. serious.

Haha, if its true then a greedy bitch got owned.

Id rather play as the guy anywway, just seems a better personality to play.

[Aimless]

The swinging is excellent once you get the hang of it. I've heard quite a few people complain about that aspect of the game but I don't really see what they could have done to improve things. Similarly I find the gunplay fine; it may not be particularly notable but it's perfectly adequate and it's never left me frustrated.

 

The game's far from faultless, of course. Bionic Commando would be far more enjoyable if the different areas streamed instead of plonking you into a loading screen every few minutes; getting a good line going whilst swinging it exhilarating, but just as you get going you're having to stop and wait for the next section to load. On top of that the miasma of radiation is far too prevalent and kills you off too quickly — sometimes I've unwittingly swung into irradiated space and it been physically impossible for me to recover.

 

The latter point also helps to undermine the main carrots of moment-to-moment play: collectibles and Challenges. If you die anything you've collected or Challenge requirements you've completed since the last checkpoint are reset, and I think it would cut out a lot of player frustration if these aspects were more persistent; some of the collectibles require some death defying leaps to reach and it's thoroughly annoying when you end up dying and essentially having to redo the last 10 minutes.

 

From what I've seen so far the story tries far too hard to be 'gritty' in the Marcus Fenix sense. All the characters are unlikeable, the dialogue completely flavourless, and... well, I think the game would have been far better served taking the campy approach of Rearmed. Apparently things get really bizarre towards the end, but knowing that is the only reason I have any desire to see what's going to happen next.

 

Mechanically I think the game works well and the music is excellent, but it leaves a lot to be desired elsewhere.

[MATtheHAT]

The swinging is excellent once you get the hang of it. I've heard quite a few people complain about that aspect of the game but I don't really see what they could have done to improve things. Similarly I find the gunplay fine; it may not be particularly notable but it's perfectly adequate and it's never left me frustrated.

 

The game's far from faultless, of course. Bionic Commando would be far more enjoyable if the different areas streamed instead of plonking you into a loading screen every few minutes; getting a good line going whilst swinging it exhilarating, but just as you get going you're having to stop and wait for the next section to load. On top of that the miasma of radiation is far too prevalent and kills you off too quickly — sometimes I've unwittingly swung into irradiated space and it been physically impossible for me to recover.

 

The latter point also helps to undermine the main carrots of moment-to-moment play: collectibles and Challenges. If you die anything you've collected or Challenge requirements you've completed since the last checkpoint are reset, and I think it would cut out a lot of player frustration if these aspects were more persistent; some of the collectibles require some death defying leaps to reach and it's thoroughly annoying when you end up dying and essentially having to redo the last 10 minutes.

 

From what I've seen so far the story tries far too hard to be 'gritty' in the Marcus Fenix sense. All the characters are unlikeable, the dialogue completely flavourless, and... well, I think the game would have been far better served taking the campy approach of Rearmed. Apparently things get really bizarre towards the end, but knowing that is the only reason I have any desire to see what's going to happen next.

 

Mechanically I think the game works well and the music is excellent, but it leaves a lot to be desired elsewhere.

 

 

Spot on, that's what I feel about the game. As do most reviews so I knew what I was getting. I am a big fan of Capcom, and I find this a strange departure from their usual SFIV/RE5 brilliance. Still an enjoyable romp, but ultimately flawed by bad design choice's.

 

The Multiplayer is.......there, not much else to say about it. A little shallow amongst the current online shooter's.