bionic-commando-rearmed posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Rumor: Nobody's smiling about more GRIN layoffs

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 11th 2009 at 9:07AM }

It appears that the rumors of layoffs at Stockholm-based developer GRIN are getting worse, with the company itself allegedly on the brink of collapse. Gamasutra has been informed by reliable sources that the studio has had another round of layoffs and that some employees have been told not to show up for work. Two of the company's studios have already shut down, with the main Stockholm office being the next domino.

Despite critical acclaim for Bionic Commando Rearmed, the studio saw sluggish sales and tepid reviews from big-budget titles like Terminator Salvation, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and -- the game that could really have given it a boost -- Bionic Commando. We'll update as we hear more.

Bionic Commando grapples Steam, soundtrack released

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 29th 2009 at 4:00AM }

Get ready for a double bionic news whammy. First up, both Bionic Commando and its retro cousin, Bionic Commando Rearmed, are now available on Steam. Bionic Commando can be grappled for $39.99, while Rearmed will make heads explode for only $9.99. If you want to just go crazy and get 'em both, you can save a whole five bucks by picking up the Bionic Commando Pack for $44.99.

In other bionic news, the Bionic Commando soundtrack is now available from Sumthing Digital and iTunes for $9.99. While opinions on Bionic Commando are mixed, the soundtrack is definitely worth checking out (just like its cousin).

[Via 1UP]

Trophies: Bionic Commando Rearmed

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 27th 2009 at 11:35AM }

	0 Platinum 1 Gold 4 Silver 7 Bronze	Difficulty: Very Difficult Online Trophies? No Time to Completion: 30 hours DLC Trophies? No
	View Trophy List	Read More About the Game

Gallery: Bionic Commando Rearmed

Continued →

Bionic Commando Rearmed Trophies are almost here

by Jem Alexander { Jul 21st 2009 at 9:30PM }

Hey, remember Bionic Commando Rearmed? Probably not, seeing as it came out almost a year ago. It was a pretty decent remake of the NES classic. Only one problem -- it didn't have Trophies. Still, Capcom promised they'd patch them in. Then they canceled that promise. Then they promised again.

Now, finally, we've been told via the company's official Twitter account that the Trophy patch has been approved for the US, with Europe scheduled to be approved in the next few days. The upshot of which is that you "may" be getting your long-awaited Trophies within the next "7 to 10 days." We're pretty sure most of you will have moved on by now, but it's the thought that counts.

Bionic Commando Rearmed update coming to XBLA as well

by Christopher Grant { Jun 29th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Worried about news that Capcom's Bionic Commando Rearmed was getting patched with Trophy support as well as new difficulty levels on PlayStation Network, with no mention at all of an Xbox Live Arcade patch? We feared the worst and asked Capcom to set us straight. A spokesperson told us, "Yes yes of course, same new Easier modes on both platforms." There you have it!

Eleven days ago Capcom's John Diamonon assured us that the patch (at least on PSN) "should be available real soon"; however, as of today, neither patch has appeared. We'll go ahead and assume the new release date is "really really soon."

Gallery: Bionic Commando Rearmed

Capcom to patch Bionic Commando Rearmed with Trophies, thanks 'brutal' community feedback

by Andrew Yoon { Jun 18th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Well, Capcom has proven that if you complain loudly enough, it will listen. After deciding against a Trophy patch for Bionic Commando Rearmed, fans offered "brutally constructive" feedback that made the company reconsider. In addition to Trophies, the upcoming patch will offer a few new features, such as a new "Normal" difficulty that grants players unlimited lives and the ability to respawn at the last checkpoint. The Super Joe Machine Gun has also been fixed, and the weapon will become more powerful across all difficulties.

The patch is currently in QA and "should be available real soon." The patch should hopefully end the "Crapcom" comments that plague PS3 sites ever since DMC4 went multiplatform.

Grab Bionic Commando Rearmed on XBLA for $5 this week

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 25th 2009 at 4:00PM }

Major Nelson received accurate information this week indicating that the Xbox "deal of the week" would be Bionic Commando Rearmed for 400

($5). A small reminder: to take advantage of the deal, you must have an Xbox Live gold membership, otherwise it'll show as the standard 800

($10).

It's also worth noting that the Metacritic average for BCR is an 85, while the super new and flashy Bionic Commando is 70. Which one is getting five of your dollars?

Bionic Commando Rearmed NOT swinging in at $5 this week [update]

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 18th 2009 at 8:20AM }

Major Nelson notes that this week's Xbox "deal of the week" (which actually lives up to its name, for once) is Bionic Commando Rearmed for 400

($5). That's less than what you'll spend at the McDonalds drive-thru -- and a whole lot healthier.

The only thing diminishing our fanfare of this deal is that the PSN already dropped the BCR price last week. Either way, the price is something worth jumping for joy over. Sorry, Radd. Too soon for jumping jokes?

Update: The Major was apparently given misinformation. BCR is still $5 on PS3's PSN.

Bionic Commando Rearmed drops to $4.99 on PSN

by Richard Mitchell { May 14th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Capcom Unity has announced on its Twitter account that the excellent Bionic Commando Rearmed has received a price cut on the US Playstation Store. Specifically, the once $10 game is now available for only $4.99. If you haven't taken the plunge on the beautifully revamped remake, there's no time like the present.

After all, it's not like you get to explode the head of a resurrected World War 2 dictator every day. And, even if you did, it wouldn't be this cheap.

Grin praises XBLA/PSN development, dislikes submission process

by Randy Nelson { May 13th 2009 at 9:00PM }

Stockholm, Sweden-based Grin, developer of last year's superb downloadable title Bionic Commando: Rearmed, recently told Develop magazine that while XBLA and PSN give smaller developers a chance to get just as much exposure as the largest publishers, the process of actually getting a game onto them can be daunting.

Grin CEO Bo Andersson expressed, "It's really nice that, whoever you are, you can get the same sort of attention [on XBLA and PSN]. I don't think the big publishers can muscle their way in for more exposure on the platform; it's a level playing field. That promotes quality." His brother Ulf, the company's creative director, admited that actually getting onto that field can be tricky.

"It's still much easier to make digital games on the PC than it is with XBLA and PSN. With the consoles' online platforms, Sony and Microsoft have their own rules and regulations to follow, and you have to have a pretty robust [bug testing] session to get your game out there," he said. "That's something which smaller independent developers run into." Sounds like Sony's Pub Fund could be quite useful for bringing on the extra bug-squashing muscle.

We're not going to help you win this Bionic Commando contest

by Justin McElroy { Apr 29th 2009 at 4:29PM }

If you've got seven friends who don't mind changing their Xbox Live mottos to "Bionic Commando = RAD" you could win a Bionic Commando lunch box and 64,000 MS points for you and your buddies to split. Each of you will also get a code to download Bionic Commando Rearmed, if you're among the lucky chosen ones.

But we're not helping you. Seriously, we don't care if you're coming up on the May 13th deadline and you just need one more. The answer is no.

... OK, maybe. But we want the lunchbox.

Mirror's Edge vs. Age of Conan at Nordic Awards

by Ben Gilbert { Mar 31st 2009 at 4:10PM }

Nordic Game 2009 is fast approaching and, like you, we're gearing up by listening to loads of ABBA, driving Volvos and wearing nothing but H&M clothing. That's all they do over there, right? Anyway, with the conference comes the obligatory awards show, though this one comes with a uniquely nordic theme. While über nordic games like LasseMajas and Englekræsj show up on the list, EA DICE-developed Mirror's Edge and Funcom-developed Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures are duking it out for two major awards: Artistic Achievement and Best Nordic Game.

We can't speak to the ... ahem ... games we've never heard of running against Mirror's Edge and Age of Conan, but retro remake Bionic Commando: Rearmed is also competing for the Best Nordic Game award, while Watchmen: The End is Nigh takes on the two for Artistic Achievement. The awards are set to be a veritable smörgåsbord of gaming, if you will. (Those are Swedish, right?)

[Via Edge]

Capcom: No online play for Bionic Commando: Rearmed the 'right choice'

by Richard Mitchell { Jan 27th 2009 at 7:30PM }

In a rather exhaustive postmortem of Bionic Commando: Rearmed on Gamasutra, Capcom producer Ben Judd shared his opinion that excluding online play from Rearmed was "the right choice." Said Judd, "After seeing the large amount of headaches, additional production time and cost that comes with adding online, I'm glad we made the choice not to include it." He noted that many digitally distributed games are plagued with online problems and that "additional sales would not have been equivalent to the additional pains" needed to add online play to the game.

While we certainly have to agree that digitally distributed games have their share of online problems -- something any XBLA user can tell you -- we can't help but imagine the glories online play could have brought to Bionic Commando: Rearmed. At least we'll still be able to swing online in the upcoming 3D remake.

Telling stories: The next hurdle for story telling

by Jason Dobson { Dec 29th 2008 at 9:45AM }

As games have evolved, so too has the role of storytelling in the titles we play. As we turn the corner on 2008, we asked multiple industry personalities across all walks of game development on titles such as Dragon Age: Origins, Bionic Commando and Guild Wars for their thoughts.

What's next for in-game story telling? In this, our final segment looking at video game narratives, our collective of industry professionals offer insight into what they believe is the next big challenge facing the evolution of story telling in the games we play.

Continued →

FanPoll'08: XBLA Game of the Year

by Xav de Matos { Dec 26th 2008 at 1:30PM }

This year has brought us a slew of incredible Xbox Live Arcade titles so whittling the list down to five contenders is a difficult task. In the end the top honors went to the five titles we felt delivered on all promises made and showcased greatness, even through their shortcomings.

Read more about these five nominees:
A Kingdom for Keflings
Bionic Commando Rearmed
Braid
Geometry Wars 2
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Voting closes at 12:01am on December 30, 2008. Results will be revealed on December 30, 2008.