Bionic Commando Rearmed 2

After a disappointing full-fat 3D outing for Nathan “Rad” Spencer, Capcom is returning the Bionic Commando to safe territory with Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. This is not a surprising move, considering the first Rearmed was a critical success (it received a solid 86 average rating on Metacritic for its retro gameplay and presentation) and the financial risks are relatively small here because it is a low-budget PlayStation Network game. Capcom may very well be in a win-win situation. 

That said, there is an awful tendency for studios to show absolutely no ambition when in safe territory so it is interesting to see how new developer Fatshark (Lead & Gold) are handling the situation after taking over from GRIN, who sadly went defunct. It should be said, key members of the GRIN team joined Fatshark after their studio closed.

For the most part, the team is sticking to the same formula that proved successful for GRIN, but there are some notable changes, which will not please everyone. The studio is opening up the gameplay to allow the player more freedom; thus, Spencer can now jump. It does not sound like a big deal, after all most platformers have jumping, but Rearmed 1 was not like most platformers.

It was one of the few modern day platformers without a jump button; instead, you had to use the grapple-hook in Spencer’s bionic arm to swing through the levels. This made the game difficult because you had to be precise, but rather than being annoyingly restrictive, it was something to celebrate; it made it unique.

Can I have a bigger reticule, please?

By letting you to jump, Rearmed 2 feels like a diluted game in comparison to Rearmed 1. The jump mechanic does not even add much to the gameplay because you can actually play the whole game without jumping. It does however make it more accessible to newcomers and those who found the previous game too fiddly. Levels can be finished in a fraction of the time and rather than having to swing from one lower platform to get to an out-of-reach one you can often reach that platform with your grapple just by jumping a little closer to it.

This is not necessarily a bad thing; as we said, Rearmed 1 was notoriously difficult so any move to make the game friendlier to new audiences is a good thing. However, the fans of the hardcore gameplay should not suffer. Thankfully, Fatshark has added a retro mode, in which the jump button is disabled. Therefore, you can have that Rearmed 1 experience, and even get a trophy upon completing the game without jumping.

READ THE REST OF THIS REVIEW AT PS3 ATTITUDE