Joining the ranks of the recent explosion of classic remakes is Bionic Commando Rearmed. The game original debuted on the NES back in 1998 and is now getting a fresh coat of paint. It's been updated with a HD look, added gameplay elements like grabbable objects and enemies, challenge rooms, local multiplayer, a health bar, rewritten script, and redesigned boss battles from the ground up.

Notable changes include the script that makes fun of the multiple engrish mistakes in the original, and the boss redesigns which were done from scratch to utilize the new features, and present new challenges to veteran players. Hacking has been redesigned to be a cube that you navigate a green orb through to a goal to successfully complete the hack. The game has also been tweaked a bit to present a little more challenge then the original. The game overall achieves a nice balance of old and new while provide enjoyment for new comers and veterans.

Bionic Commando Rearmed is currently available on XBLA, PSN, and PC. The game is also able to work through Remote Play from your PS3 to PSP. While the XBLA and PSN versions are $10, (800 MS Points), the PC version is $15. Capcom has promised PC exclusives that will make the $15 price point more reasonable. The PC version is currently available only on Direct2Drive and GamersGate. Unfortunately the PSN version is currently not available in Europe though. It is slated to come out this year sometime.

I downloaded the demo for XBLA and was seriously impressed. The look is very slick and stylish in gameplay and even the menus. I didn't get a lot of time to play with the new mechanics though. Once you reach the boss battle it just ends the demo. I was also hoping to get a preview of the new script, but the game was determined to remain self aware. I did play the two challenge rooms they provided and was impressed with the creativity and challenge they presented.

While the demo was less then stellar I feel like the full game will really be amazing. I have been anxious to play this for a while and I doubt many who play the full version will be disappointed.

Tags : Bionic Commando : Capcom : Grin : NES : pc : PlayStation 3 : Rearmed : Xbox 360

Comments

By: Dragonsoul On: 09:48 Aug 15th, 2008 Offline	Ah, yes Bionic Commando. Now that's a blast from the past. An goldie oldie. Good to hear they've seemed to have done it justice. I'll look out for it myself if I get the chance.

By: Dragonfly On: 12:52 Aug 15th, 2008 Offline	Bought it the day it came out. And its a reminder of just how more precise and skillful some of the old games used to be. And the visual upgrade (and what an upgrade!) is just absolutely glorious. Makes you feel old though, when you actually remember the original being released, doesn't it?