The old Bionic Commando is a cult classic,  it brought the whole arm swinging thing in to the side-scrolling shoot and platform game and it deserves a place in gaming history.  So was it wise for Capcom to update the game for today’s generation?  Would it again make gaming history?

Well, we’ve had 3D swinging before in the Spider-man games so Capcom don’t have the novelty factor to fall back on, but what they have done is to invent a compelling game with a fairly decent swing mechanic which lets you shoot at the same time.  The introduction level, however, leaves you, as hero Nathan Spencer, without your arm and lets you get used to the shooting first.  Just as well, the aim is very floaty and it takes some time to get used to firing, not a great start. 

Once you get your arm (pretty quickly, I’m pleased to say) you go though a virtual testing ground which ends up being more tricky to master than in the game itself but at least it lets you experiment with the arm controls.  Pretty soon you’ll be swinging in to action and feeling like a cybernetic Mr Tickle, just as well because you’re going to need it.

From here it’s pretty formulaic.  Shoot, swing, shoot, find a waypoint or a target.  This is broken up by end-of-level bosses who range from the mild to the magnificent.  Some of the later ones are a sight to behold and really impress graphically.  The problem is that they are also pretty annoying and with added camera issues they can get quite tough to beat for all the wrong reasons.

A criticism of the game (and any game like this to be honest) is that it can fall into the trap of monotony as you weave through cities and carbon cut out bad guys.  It’s worth persevering as there are some great twists toward the end.  But then I enjoyed the swinging element enough to carry on happily through the levels and put up with that annoying aiming.

Even your bionic hand has its moments.  Radiation means that you can’t swing everywhere (unlike the open city in Spider-man games) and the hand won’t always attach when you want it to.  But with practice you can adjust your playing to work on this.

Of course, it doesn’t end with the single player mode.  Online you get to fight other Bionic Commandos, which proves a much better feeling than swinging around solo (as long as you’re all evenly matched).   Swinging around with friends firing at each other as you grapple higher and higher on the purpose built levels is as good as it gets and will stop you from trading in the game long after you’ve reached the end of the story.

So just like the old 8-bit game, the swinging element saves the day in what could have been just another shooter.  Still, Bionic Commando is not quite the stand-out game it perhaps could have been but it’s fun while it lasts.

7/10