➤ Bionic Commando, review 🎮

2009 seems to be a particularly prosperous year for Capcom, which does not spare itself in re-proposing its major IPs on the market, and given the great success of titles such as Street Fighter and Resident Evil it is clear that this policy is bringing excellent results for the Japanese company. Also this time to enjoy a new episode is a brand that represents a real pearl of the past, that Bionic Commando which recently has already been seen on our consoles thanks to a remake of the original and unforgettable chapter available on the digital delivery platforms of Microsoft and Sony.

The title in question, however, represents in all respects a new chapter that transports us a few years after the events of the original game into a future where bionic soldiers have become an uncomfortable legacy of the past, and by virtue of this the government is willing to get rid of them. forever. The results of this policy, in addition to creating various clashes between supporters and detractors of bionics, lead to the escape of many super-soldiers who thus escape the so-called "purge".
The reasons for such intolerance are to be found in the widespread mental incapacity and increasing aggression that soldiers equipped with bionic prostheses present, reasons that prompted the upper echelons to abandon the project leading to the arrest and in extreme cases to the elimination of the biotics remaining in homeland, as happens in the case of the protagonist of the game who, deprived of his mechanical limb, is locked up in a cell with false accusations only for having carried out the orders given to him. The fate of our hero, however, is destined to change when a terrorist group destroys a city with a nuclear attack and occupies its devastated soil, from this moment the services and skills of the soldier return to be useful and it is from here that the adventures of the game begin.

Urban decay

Much of the game takes place right in the rubble of the devastated town occupied only by the presence of the terrorist forces, but there are also various excursions to extra-urban environments, always very convincing in the realization. These turn out to be an excellent theater where to unleash the peculiar abilities offered by the bionic arm of the protagonist who, almost as if he were a primate, can exploit every protrusion and grip to reach every place in the explorable area, from the tops of decadent skyscrapers to gorges. deep that wind underground. Faced with such a wide freedom of movement, this is not counterbalanced by an equally generous width of the areas which, although the horizon offers us an entire admirable city, are limited to a continuous chain of macro-areas delimited by insurmountable obstacles or by benches of deadly radiation and joined by rather invasive loads also seen the large number of times we have to change the area during the game. There is no freeroaming component therefore, which leaves a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth given that the proposed settings would seem to lend themselves splendidly to a similar approach. If we put this aspect aside, however, there is no doubt that the creation of all the environments was skilfully taken care of by the Capcom designers who have created an infrastructure that lends itself well to the numerous gameplay solutions that a dynamic game such as Bionic Commando proposes.

Grapple or pistol?

The real star of Bionic Commando it is undoubtedly the bionic arm and its relative and very famous grappling hook that offers the player a wide range of useful moves both in exploration and in more excited situations, proving to be an equally effective offensive weapon thanks to the use of various special moves unlockable during the course of the game. game. Thanks to the use of this versatile limb, we are able to climb any type of surface, swing like a modern Tarzan on every ledge and save ourselves from a jump that went wrong, all with the use of a single button, which manages the grappling hook. in an intuitive and functional way. Thanks to this, there are also distinctly platform sessions that offer a pleasant diversion to the fights as well as present a moderate level of challenge. The other side of the gameplay of Bionic Commando resides in clashes with enemies, even the latter can be faced both by using the grappling hook, for example to grab enemies or to hurl them against objects and parts of the scenario, and through the use of firearms, obtainable through the support of the base of operations that occasionally offers us new tools of death that we can use against the occupying forces. Of these two different ways of dealing with clashes, the one that convinced us the least is undoubtedly the most markedly shooter: relying on the use of firearms does not offer the same satisfaction as using the bionic limb and its moves, for how often it is necessary to resort to conventional weapons.

The feeling with the weapons is approximate and does not have the same depth found on other more traditional titles, the shootings turn out to be monotonous when faced against the enemy infantry, which does not boast a very developed AI as well as offering a demanding challenge only when the enemies are present in large groups. The situation is very different when we have various types of mechs in front of us, these machines must be faced using a more reasoned approach based on the opponent's weaknesses, so that the clash takes on a much higher depth and level of challenge. . The same depth is found amplified in the boss fights that are undoubtedly the most successful part of the package.

Xbox 360 achievements

Bionic Commando has a particular structure with regard to the objectives that is partly reminiscent of the one presented by Valve's Orange Box. In fact the goals of Bionic Commando they are very numerous and, consequently, not very profitable. Most of the unlockable points refer to the numerous challenges that gradually become available in the game, mostly related to the use of weapons and grappling hook.

Tecnica biotics

Bionic Commando boasts, as already mentioned, a respectable level design, combined with a more than satisfactory technical realization, especially as regards the modeling of the protagonist and the environments, the latter caressed by an excellent dynamic lighting system. It happens to be faced with some subdued textures, particularly in the interiors, but the overall impact offers enjoyable landscape views especially considering the wide visual horizon of the areas. Instead, the modeling of the enemies is rather cheap, even here greater care has been placed in the mechs that boast a detail and research that is closer to today's standards. Special mention for the soundtrack composed mostly of rearranged pieces from the first Bionic Commando, to the delight of longtime players who have already enjoyed certain unforgettable sounds at the time. But Capcom has thought about nostalgics throughout the development of the game, peppering it with numerous quotes that recall the original game on more than one occasion, as well as offering numerous references, in the form of documents to collect, to the events that unite this new game. chapter to its illustrious predecessor.

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This Bionic Commando certainly cannot boast the charisma of the first chapter, but it can certainly make many long-time fans of the bionic super-soldier happy as long as they are aware that they are facing a title that has now lost most of the peculiar characteristics that have made it famous at the time, largely conforming to the games of the genre. It is precisely this approach to the universe of the most canonical shooters that is the greatest limitation of the new Bionic Commando, the real star is and will always be the grappling hook and its many uses, and the contuinue shootings, showing themselves a bit repetitive, only confirm this judgment. Apart from that, Bionic Commando it does not suffer from particular defects that undermine the gaming experience, but the lack of bite could make those who expected a return to the quality standards of the past turn up their noses and paradoxically could have a lesser influence on a buyer who has not experienced the previous adventure of the same name.