QnD Review: Bionic Commando (Xbox 360)

Where: Zavvi.co.uk
Price: £12.95 (+1£ postage outside UK)
(Edit: now on sale at The Hut for £9.73.)

I've never been a big fan of Bionic Commando and I don't think I ever played past the first stage (even though the whole game takes 9 minutes to complete! ;) ).

This version, the first true sequel you could say, plays like your average "average shooter game with a gimmick"; you have a hero with a bionic arm, grudgingly fighting against enemies of the state who destroyed and took over a major metropolis.

What is refreshing though, is that that the jumping and swinging with the bionic arm from sign to sign, house to house is not automatic or a complete walkthrough, even on the normal difficulty. You actually have to time, target and think about where you jump and how you swing.

Shooting on the other hand is pretty easy - you just make sure the reticle (a BIIG round thing in the middle of the screen) is on an enemy and pull the trigger. Whether you hit is pretty much only governed by your distance to the target.

Why an elite soldier would be able to carry only 50 ammunition for his pistol is beyond me - maybe his next bionic upgrade should be "Bionic Pockets"?

The graphics are "OK" and on par compared to other current titles - even though the city graphics could be lifted straight from inFAMOUS or Prototype. Though don't expect anything really jaw-dropping.

Level design is pretty linear...

*PLEASE WAIT, LOADING*

... though sometimes you can decide between the "low route" or "high route".

The levels aren't very big, even though...

*PLEASE WAIT, LOADING*

... there's constant loading between them. (Geddit? ;P )


The game could use a few more checkpoints, as dying can set you back a bit (so going after those bonus hidden markers can make you fight the armored robots you just destroyed or the group of soldiers you killed, again).

All in all, not a great or memorable game - but definitely worth the 13 quids.

Score: 7/10