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Bionic Commando Review At Kombo

Bionic CommandoCapcom's Bionic Commando for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 has not been selling as well as many people had expected.  Early negative buzz seems to have killed the game in the marketplace, but I say that the game has been terribly misjudged.  I came away from Nathan Spencer's latest adventure thoroughly impressed, and now that I have completed the game, I have written a full review that is available over at Kombo.

I wasn't expecting Bionic Commando's storyline to dig quite so deep, but the amount of world-building going on here reminds me of the extensive backstory running through Metroid Prime. Take the time to hack the enemy communication terminals and there's all kinds of backstory to learn. While eavesdropping on the enemy in Rearmed offers thinly disguised gameplay tips, here we learn about why Spencer was in prison, when his wife left him, which of his friends turned against him, how the Federation carried out the so-called Bionic Purge, and many other optional story elements. Players can plow through the game start to finish without reading these communiques and skip most of the narrative, but the extensive plot is there for those eager to read it (and, frankly, you really should follow the story to get the most of out this game). Moreover, there are plenty of references to [Bionic Commando] Rearmed and its cast of bombastic characters weaved into the story. Some of the spoken dialog even changes slightly during repeat plays to help keep things fresh.

I won't spoil it here yet, but the major plot twist near the end of the game completely shocked and disturbed me.  I simply did not see the big revelation coming and I'm still not so sure how I feel about it (beyond being creeped out by it all).  Poor sales seem poised to doom the franchise back into hibernation for another two decades, so I'm really hoping that the game finds its audience before we pass the point of no return on the sales charts.  Just like Nathan Spencer himself, Bionic Commando is being punished for crimes it has not committed. I say lock on and enjoy the ride.

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