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Bionic Commando

EMAIL PRINT pc

6.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
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Based on 23 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: GRIN

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 10

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: July 28, 2009

Summary

The first true sequel to the classic 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System original, Bionic Commando sees the return of the bionically-enhanced Nathan "Rad" Spencer, voiced by Mike Patton, the former lead singer of Faith No More. Time has not been kind to Spencer: 10 years after his heroic defeat of the Imperials in the original game, he has been betrayed by the government he swore to serve, imprisoned for crimes he didn't commit, and sentenced to death. On the very day of Spencer's execution, terrorists detonate a massive experimental weapon in Ascension City, unleashing an intense earthquake that has turned the city into rubble and wiped out its population. With the terrain in ruins and the city's air defense grid now in the control of a massive terrorist force whose goal remains unclear, the FSA have only one option left - a behind-the-lines assault. The perfect job for a Bionic Commando. Bionic Commando transposes the swing-and-shoot gameplay of the 8-bit original to a stunning 3D environment of towering buildings, suspended roadways and monorails, deep canyons and sheer rock faces, where every environment is scalable using swinging, scaling, climbing and wall-walking techniques. [Capcom]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

PC Games (Germany)

Capcom did a great job with the conversion of the console hit, especially when it comes down to the very complex controls. Beginners may find themselves frustrated and overwhelmed by the possibilities, but once you learn how to handle your character, the game unfolds its whole fascination.

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VideoGamer

Bionic Commando will frustrate many gamers, but get past the initial swinging learning curve and you'll find a highly entertaining action game that tries to do something a bit different.

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Cynamite

Entertaining, fun action game with a fresh concept, nice graphics and a lot of humor.

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InsideGamer.nl

Bionic Commando is a great experience for action-fans. Flying around with your bionic arm is lovely and we just love the action which comes out of that. There is a lot of stuff to discover and the soundtrack is superb. The only downfall of the game is that the story is a bit short.

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Gamers.at

The port to the PC went pretty well for our bio-enhanced super-soldier Nathan Spencer, whose game is still a pretty good choice for action-fans.

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NZGamer

In the end the high difficulty will drive away casual gamers so trying the demo first is a must. But between the tough bosses and fast gameplay, this is a worthy successor to the NES original.

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Cheat Code Central

Bionic Commando is an interesting single-player experience many gamers are likely to enjoy. Disappointingly, the multiplayer experience is entirely forgettable, and not all of the wonderfully tacky elements of the series were well translated this time around.

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Gaming Nexus

You'll have a lot of fun with this new Bionic Commando, but he ultimately plays it safe in his first adventure in twenty years.

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IGN

If you can look past the replayability issues that crop up due to the linear play and the tons of screen and texture tears, you'll find an enjoyable adventure that easily re-establishes the franchise for Capcom.

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GameStar

It stats a bit slow, but once Nathan has learned all his special attacks, the fights turn out to be quite a show – despite their occasionally high difficulty. Once you manage a jump combination without touching the floor once, you'll feel euphoric.

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PC Gamer UK

Just like a cheesy action flick, Bionic Commando is a satisfying rollercoaster of explosions, profanity and bizarre plot twists. [Sept 2009, p.82]

Absolute Games

If you can forgive plot holes, awkward save system and unstable multiplayer, you will enjoy Bionic Commando.

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LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Stupid opponents and autosaving feature are the only flaws in this fast paced action game. Direct sequel to old-times classic platformer will pump your veins with adrenaline. [Aug 2009]

Total Video Games

While the combat is a bit of a letdown, the high bar for difficulty is certainly more addictive than it is frustrating, which compensates for the title's shortcomings and fittingly punctuates a solid piece of work.

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GameZone

If you’re a diehard Bionic Commando fan, there’s nothing that will stop you from buying and enjoying this one. For the rest of us, it feels a little mediocre given what similar titles are offering these days.

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PC Zone UK

Offers up one of the drabbest looking and tedious opening sections witnessed anywhere. [Oct 2009, p.62]

SpazioGames

Despite the not-so-bad first impressions, Bionic Commando is a disappointing game. Linearity is not a drawback by itself, it's more about the way it has been pushed into the game, which often delivers loads of frustration... Long and frequent loading times, lousy A.I., and inaccurate controls just confirm that this is not a Capcom game, but more a Grin one. Let's hope Capcom itself will be on the next RAD Spencer incarnation: all it needs is some polish.

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Computer Games Online RO

It’s unlikely that we’ll see another Bionic Commando in the near feature, as GRIN closed down soon after the launch of the game and the title’s poor performance itself clearly contributed to their inevitable financial problems, so it’s now up to other studios to see the potential behind Spencer’s story.

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Total PC Gaming

Surprisingly solid old-fashioned skill-based fun, limited by linear level design. [Issue#24, p.57]

GameSpot

The PC port of this inconsistent action adventure smacks of indifference.

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PC Format

It's a pretty decent port of the 360 version that unfortunately brings with it all the frustrating flaws of the original. [Oct 2009, p.97]

GameSpy

A sloppy port of a game I found to be fairly mediocre.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Truth S gave it a1:
Gave it +1 for good graphics. Gave it -9 for horrible controls. It seems these idiots at Capcom just don't understand the golden rule : good controls = good gameplay. If you've ever tried their other horrible ports to the PC such as Resident Evil 4 and 5 (I'd rate these two poor excuses for a pc game a measly 1 as well), you'll know what to expect. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, it is utter garbage. How bad is this game, let me put it this way, on screen indicators make reference to the X or Y buttons on your non-existent xbox360 controller for the PC!!! Idiotic. The controls for grappling are so frustating you swear the idiots at Capcom never even playtested the pc version of their POS game. If you buy this game, you're merely supporting their negligent attitude towards the pc platform. For some reason, the moronic japanese developers just don't know what the f-kin mouse is for, or don't know what good HCI principles entail. Frustrating experience. Two thumbs down for this garbage.

Matt H gave it a1:
A complete failure by almost any standards. The only thing that this game has going for it is it's cheesy title.

Kevin K gave it a9:
The story was, in my opinion, original. I did not expect the ending and though it might not appeal to some audiences, I like to use my imagination and predict what happened next. Also I was just amazed at the fluid and seamless animation of the character swinging at extreme speeds all over the place. It's very awesome to see the realistic physics, GRIN did a great job at the swinging mechanic. It's true that you have to pause and look up controls for the keyboard in the beginning, since the on-screen instructions show xbox buttons, but after a few minutes you basically got it. There aren't that many buttons to press anyway. I do not understand why people are complaining about the controls and the port to PC. No bugs. Controlling was a piece of cake for me. (I used to play Gunz, a game that requires extreme mouse and keyboard micromanagement) But anyone that considers himself a competitive gamer (or has basic knowledge of where keys are located on a keyboard) can master the controls pretty easily. There are a only few methods to kill enemies (or it may be a lot, my opinion), but that is a good thing. I hated it when games would have a million ways to kill enemies, and I had a hard time choosing and utilizing them all. With this game you can actually be kind of creative with how you can use the skills. Plus it's simply awesome to be swinging cars around and punting them at people. Gameplay was repetitive at times, but it's just so thrilling and dynamic that I never got bored of it. Graphics were beautiful too. Bottom line: for you to enjoy this game properly, you must be able to think fast and aim quick; that's it. Excluding the wasd buttons, there are only about 5 other buttons to worry about (which is very few, compared to other games like Crysis or GTA and etc.). I think this game definitely deserved a better overall score. The efforts gone into this intricate game is amazing. Even the Menu interface is a wonder of computer coding and graphics.

Sebastian P gave it an8:
I think it's a great game! The levels are very differently and I had a lot of fun! The bad things of the game is the control and the graphic.

RAD S gave it a9:
Excellent sotyline, epic experience, liked the game from the very start to the ending. Game mechanics works like a charm and boss fights were interesting.

Vinz gave it a3:
I've just finished Prototype so that game just feel like a "Beta" compare to it. The cammads are difficult to play with and most of them aren't used at all. Shoot with ammo... Hand to hand combat vs invincibles enemies... Some bonus that doesn't do anything at the end... Try it before buy it!

Metal Guy gave it a0:
Don't buy this on PC. The installation is a total bug fest with the support only having for an answer to uninstall my antivirus/firewall etc.. ''reformat'' so I never got to play the game. Thanks for stealing my money, and by the way, my version of Street fighter 4 works just fine so it IS a game related fault good for nothing noob support.

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Bionic Commando

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