Metareview - Bionic Commando (Xbox 360/PS3)
by David Hinkle 
{ May 19th 2009 at 7:00PM } 
- IGN (80/100): "If you can look past the replayability issues that crop up due to the linear play, you'll find an enjoyable adventure that easily re-establishes the franchise for Capcom."
- Giant Bomb (80/100): "Bionic Commando goes back and forth between moments of great, navigation-based gameplay and a lot of little touches that don't work as well as you'd like. It makes the final product a little frustrating, because you can almost see a better game trying to bust its way out of its constraints."
- Eurogamer (70/100): "Bionic Commando succeeds in resurrecting a good idea lost to the Capcom archives, and giving it a new lease of life, but it falls foul of a few old standards in the process."
- Game Informer (63/100): "It's hard to forget the unresponsive controls, ludicrous story, and questionable combat encounters. The game is uneven and inconsistent enough to scare away even eager fans who have patiently waited 20 years for another swing." [June 2009, p.83]
Source - Metacritic: Bionic Commando (PS3)
Gallery: Bionic Commando
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Moris @ May 19th 2009 7:05PM
I was expecting better, i heard alot of good comments from my friends who played the demo :P
Foetoid @ May 19th 2009 10:40PM
I was surprised Punch Out scored a lot better. I know its a different style of game, but Bionic Commando looks spectacular and as much as am pleased Punch Out ranked better, it's still a shock.
Zack Turner @ May 19th 2009 7:07PM
I love this game. There's a few flaws. But the Core of the game is excellent. If you can't swing, that ain't the game's fault.
OLDMIKE @ May 19th 2009 7:08PM
s one were if i had a demo i mite have goten the game but to late now
if a demo come i will have all ready got a new game to play
OmegaRed @ May 19th 2009 7:25PM
There is a demo for 360: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/games/offers/0ddf0001-0000-4000-8000-0000434387f5?cid=SLink
McWilly @ May 19th 2009 8:52PM
palm2face
Mazrael @ May 19th 2009 9:22PM
the demo is online multiplayer only.. I'd be far more interested in a campaign mission, even half of one. To me, that's far more important than any online 'bolt-on'..
Tep @ May 19th 2009 10:52PM
My lord...
OLDMIKE @ May 20th 2009 1:03AM
there is no PS3 demo at all fact is loved the old game but i was a kid then
and i cant trust scores GTA4 and RE5 proves that
Susumu @ May 19th 2009 7:24PM
Play magazine said that this was one of the best games ever. Just in case you want a second opinion. Or rather, 5th.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ May 19th 2009 7:27PM
I think I can count the number of games Play didn't like on one hand.
doreo @ May 19th 2009 7:34PM
Now, isn't Play Magazine known to glorify horrible games? I mean for god sakes they gave Golden Axe: Beast Rider a great review, now I didn't play the game but from what I hear it was horrible.
Jason Statham (Aka Vegeta) @ May 19th 2009 8:05PM
As much as I preach that there is no such thing as a wrong review, Play magazine gave Sonic the hedgehog(360, ps3) a 9. A FUCKING 9!!!!
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 19th 2009 8:16PM
They must be on ecstasy most of the time; Play Magazine thinks everything is wonderful. Everything gets a 9.Really I don’t remember any game that scored lower than 7 in Play Magazine.
Mazrael @ May 19th 2009 9:07PM
Play magazine probably gave Golden Compass good reviews...
Rumor @ May 19th 2009 7:24PM
ha ha ha...the demise of ben judd.
capcom of japan will make an example of him.
bionic commando is pure garbage!
save your money people.
Revariance @ May 20th 2009 12:31AM
Don't feed the trolls.
NaeemTHM @ May 19th 2009 7:28PM
Actually is quite excellent.
You're just a pathetic hater. Just look at your comment history...you have nothing nice to say about anything.
NaeemTHM @ May 19th 2009 7:28PM
God damn you straight to Hades comment system.
That was directed at Rumor.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ May 19th 2009 7:29PM
I was hoping that this game would turn out well and Japan would actually start looking outside Japan for competent talent, because let's face it, they're stagnating pretty hard in terms of game mechanics and story.
It's too bad that this isn't looking so good at this point. I still intend on playing it myself before I make judgment though, but I'll be doing it through Gamefly now.
Rumor @ May 19th 2009 7:41PM
riiiiiiiiight.
because the west is sooooo original right now when it comes to game mechanics, story and character designs. blah!! both sides (east and west) are suffering right now, imo. each side is releasing a bunch of shit. there's nothing good coming out of the west or the east.
Mr Khan @ May 19th 2009 7:45PM
So this shows Japan that the best talent is homegrown?
That sounds about right
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ May 19th 2009 7:49PM
Did I say they needed Western influence? Did I say one was better than the other? Maybe you should stop being a jump-to-conclusions-jackass.
Nobody's exempting Western designers from being stuck in neutral, either. If every would just freaking share talent and compare notes, we'd have a much better finished product from all sides.
However, I've never heard an American, European, developer, etc. as being officially hesitant to hire a foreign producer. But Japan's totally against the practice. It's 2009 and Ben's the FIRST. Let that sink in. It's not a shock when a Japanese producer's at the helm of a US company's game. There's been one foreign producer at the helm of a major Japanese game company's game ever.
Maybe that's why I only mentioned Japan. Learn 2 Reading Comprehension.
Mr Khan @ May 19th 2009 9:06PM
They've done it before, i think. Dylan Cuthbert, formerly of Argonaut (the team that did the original StarFox) is employed by Q Entertainment.
Levi @ May 19th 2009 7:36PM
These reviews are not as good as I wanted them to be, but I don't generally agree with reviews anyway. I liked Mirror's Edge, after all.
But seriously... someone calls the story ludicrous?? It's SUPPOSED to be!! Gawd!! :D
NaeemTHM @ May 19th 2009 7:39PM
To be fair Game Informer is usually (and ironically) misinformed. Is it just me or do they usually score a game lower if it's too difficult or if they can't comprehend the gameplay?
I remember them give a very low score to Etrian Odyssey because they didn't understand the combat system. WTF! How are these people still reviewing games?
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ May 19th 2009 7:43PM
I think Game Informer's review criteria are basically this:
Did Gamestop order a bunch of it?
If yes, > 8.
If no, < 7.5
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 19th 2009 8:02PM
OhJustSomeRandomGuy A Winner is YOU!
I guess I'll go with Giant Bomb and give it a rent and then decide for myself.
Kdiggy @ May 19th 2009 9:14PM
I have a subscription to Game Informer as does most of the country unfortunately. There reviews are usually pretty on, but they also have a tendency to randomly give good games bad reviews and vice versa. Based on the other reviews and what I've seen, it's worth checking out.
I was NOT of fan of Mirror's Edge btw. It's like DICE took a great concept, graphics and music, and still somehow managed to crush all of the fun out of it.
Susumu @ May 19th 2009 9:43PM
to naeem: Ya gameinformer is crap. They rated Fire Emblem Radient Dawn a 5.5 because it was too hard for them. They said that in the review.
BlackDove @ May 19th 2009 7:36PM
Let me guess.
The people who couldn't figure out how to swing found the game crap.
The people who could found it excellent.
That about sum it up?
Mr Khan @ May 19th 2009 7:46PM
Sounds about right. Some of them "got" it, some of them didn't.
Seems to be a recurring pattern.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 19th 2009 8:09PM
The swinging, judging from the demo, is pretty much like in the original 2D game and with that I mean you need to spend time with the game to get used to it. Is like in Sonic Unleashed, if you spend a few hours with it and "get it right" you can have a blast.
What I would like to know is if the single campaign is at least interesting enough to buy it for that alone. I had it with games that focus too much on the online component and deliver a half-assed single player experience or a lousy online component that feels completly forced.
Burns11 @ May 19th 2009 10:28PM
Somebody found it excellent?
Anyway, if that many people have a problem with the controls, it's bad design.
OLDMIKE @ May 19th 2009 7:37PM
my main gameing system is a PS3 no demo there
only games i get for the 360 are games not on the PS3
Meatloaf @ May 19th 2009 7:59PM
Yea its kind of like star wars the force unleashed. I felt as though every review i read was bitching about how much they hated the game cause they sucked at it. Now granted there was a lot of things they could of done different( pulling down the dame star destroyer) to make the game better, but tell me you didn't at least smile ever time you force pushed a storm trooper out a freaking window or shattered everything in sight with your force push.
OLDMIKE @ May 20th 2009 1:07AM
force unleashed was a bug filled rushed mess of a game
the last level had a spot that was missing text and yet they tryed to milk DLC
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 19th 2009 7:59PM
I wish they had released a single player demo,the Multiplayer demo let's face it is not the best online game around.
So anyone here has played the game?
I would buy it but with Capcom you never know what to expect DMC4 and Re:5 are great games but they too repetitive for their own good.
The Dark Wayne @ May 19th 2009 8:08PM
whoa look at that, replace a couple nouns in their review and you have a review of game informer itself
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 19th 2009 8:12PM
"It's hard to forget the unresponsive editorial, ludicrous opinions, and questionable review politics. The magazine is uneven and inconsistent enough to scare away even eager fans who have patiently waited 20 years for another swing"
Am I doing it right?
OLDMIKE @ May 20th 2009 1:09AM
and yet many trust IGN we sell scores and game spot we put scores weeks after the rest
ZildjianKX @ May 19th 2009 8:25PM
Good thing they delayed and cancelled trophies for the PS3 version of Bionic Commando: Rearmed for this!
8-bit.artist @ May 19th 2009 8:43PM
i thought they were eventually releasing them once this game hit retail?
ZildjianKX @ May 19th 2009 8:59PM
Sadly, they dropped it...
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/05/14/bionic-commando-rearmed-reduced/
Fuze9 @ May 19th 2009 8:39PM
I've certainly been enjoying the game, but I gotta say, I've got an overwhelming sense of missed opportunity on this one. Then again, my expectations were a little too high. I think Capcom, and I think of Devil May Cry's flamboyance, which this does not possess. A protagonist with a bionic limb needs very little gritty realism.
Game_playa @ May 19th 2009 8:46PM
WHERES MA PC VERSION?!
LegendK1ll3r @ May 19th 2009 11:06PM
This is going to be one of those mixed reviews games.
Anyone who is able to grasp the controls and the swinging, will absolutely love it.
Anyone who tries to swing and then ends up dying once or twice and then gives up on it, will hate it.
Jon B @ May 20th 2009 12:48AM
I've heard these rants before...
Remember the nerd rage surrounding "Assassin's Creed"?
Round Two...FIGHT!
OLDMIKE @ May 20th 2009 1:12AM
Xplay hated on the nuke zones that stoped you from going were you like by killing you
Mazrael @ May 19th 2009 9:18PM
I completed SW:FU on all difficulties.. the game was crap. I never felt all that powerful, my Fable 1 characters Force Push was far more satisfing, the bosses were rediculously bad, I felt it was worse than Too Human. the only person I know who actually liked it, had only played it on easy