Go Go Bionic... The Bionic Commando Rearmed Review

After 20 years of waiting and begging, the Bionic Commando franchise is coming back in a big way. This is all in part of Capcom's remake renaissance with such games like Street Fighter IV, Mega Man 9, and 1942: Joint Strike. Bionic Commando Rearmed is the official console remake for the NES version of Bionic Commando with some tweaks and additions (Yeah, it was sort of remade on the Game Boy). If you don't remember, Bionic Commando was truly an innovative game for its time revolving a grappling hook and no jumping at all. Even its crazy story is still as memorable as it was in the late 1980s. Developers should take note of Rearmed because this is how a remake to a 2D game is truly done. Grin has definitely made Bionic Commando awesome again with Rearmed and the upcoming sequel for hardcore fans and even newcomers who never played the original like me.

The story of Rearmed is the same as the original. Your goal as Nathan "Radd" Spencer is to rescue Super Joe from the Imperials and eliminate their leader, Master D (or Hitler if you want to call him that). The game is structured in an overworld map full of areas to swing around defeating bosses and obtaining more weapons along with FSA camps for more items required for the trip. Some areas require certain items to go through as it is not an linear approach as you can back and play the same levels again if you missed any secrets or going for certain achievements. Also in the map, there are trucks that drive around and if you bump into them, you initiate a top-down shooter sequence set in the desert, snow, or the jungle taking down soldiers and big turrets. These break away from the normal action well, but be prepared to do these a lot if you're going back and forth in the map. Absent in the NES version is a new final area (in the Game Boy remakes), the Albatross, which is an airship containing the "Ultimate Weapon" that the Imperials would use to destroy everything.


The original Bionic Commando was one of the hardest games for the NES. Rearmed is slightly more forgiving, but still a difficult game especially for newcomers. The grappling gameplay is still as awesome as it was back in the day with great execution. You get a sense of satisfaction of swinging through a difficult section after dying multiple times, but the frustration does kick in since some moments in the game especially in the final areas require perfect timing. The controls also factor in the frustration as well as there will be some times that either the left stick or d-pad didn't perform the right direction you wanted it to which would likely lead to deaths. Despite that, the game controls beautifully with the shooting and swinging. The combat got significantly better as you can switch weapons at any time instead of stacking from the original. Sure, you can still rely on the Bazooka especially against bosses, but other weapons like the shotgun, vector cannon, and the machine gun still can put the hurt on the Imperials. The lives system is changed to be more forgiving as you start with three lives at an area and if you lose all of them, you just start over at that area from the beginning, which is not bad considering most of the areas except the Albatross are pretty short at times. On harder difficulties, the enemy's A.I. improves drastically for a even difficult game as they fire shots more frequently, go to cover faster, and you receive more damage for getting hit.

The boss battles in Rearmed are also still as great as they were from the original even though you face most of them twice with the second time being a different twist to the fight. The communication rooms also return along with the hacking mini-game of controlling a ball to its goal of the green box. These mini-games are not that really difficult, which add a puzzle element to the game. After they're hacked, you get to hear what enemy soldiers say about the boss of the level you hacked it from or other things. The dialogue in this game is way better than the original in terms of translation, but Rearmed does make fun of the original's translation during the cutscenes which is a nice touch if you played the original to death.


Other than the main game, Bionic Commando Rearmed has other modes to challenge the player along with multiplayer modes. The Challenge Mode is basically a whole bunch of obstacle courses that will test your grappling skills. These challenges start easy, but get way harder as you progress through them requiring perfect timing and skill. Leaderboards keep track of your times doing these courses along with the main game's completion and stage times / scores. Another of Rearmed's cool features is local co-op for two players through the main game. Grin handled the co-op well increasing the bosses' A.I. requiring some teamwork, being fast-paced, and it goes to splitscreen if you and your partner are far from each other. The splitscreen could be handled better in the top-down sections, but it is tolerable. The competitve multiplayer that is meant for a party atmosphere as Grin pointed out is also a nice distraction from everything else as up to four players can play deathmatches and an unique mode as the only way to kill your competition is making them fall to a bottomless pit. It would have been cool if both the co-op and the multiplayer are both online, but it is understandable.

Graphically, Bionic Commando Rearmed is one of the better looking downloadable games on Xbox Live Arcade. Everything has been redone from the original with new art and animations from the characters and enemies. There is at least some balance of the environments between indoor and outdoor even though there will be more indoor areas in the last half of the game. The swinging animations and explosions look great too. The only flaw with the graphics are that there is screen tearing in some levels. Capcom and Grin definitely kept the presentation as old school (8-bit) as they can specifically with the sound. The remixed soundtrack is arguably the best soundtrack I heard for a 2D remake or one of the best soundtracks for a downloadable game. It definitely feels old-school with 8-bit sounds, but still modernized with the electronica for the current generation and good thing Capcom decided to sell this soundtrack on iTunes because it is amazing. The other sound effects also sound great too with the weapons, grappling, and the minimal voice acting.


Bionic Commando Rearmed is an amazing old-school game just like the original. It is fully faithful to the NES game along with the tweaks and additions for people who never played Bionic Commando. It is still as hard as it was in the 80s, but a little more forgiving with the health meter and the tweaked lives system. There are plenty of secrets to be found to increase the replay value for the main game along with leaderboards, achievements, and harder difficulties that change the game drastically. Challenge Mode is a great idea that utilizes the swinging mechanic through difficult obstacle courses. The co-op and multiplayer are also nice additions even though it is not online. The graphics have been completely redone for the current generation (feels almost 2.5D), an amazing remixed soundtrack, and unlockable content for the 3D Bionic Commando makes the package more complete. For ten bucks (800 Microsoft Points), you get a lot of game in it which is surprising and almost a steal. Despite some minor flaws, everything else that is good outshines them. Bionic Commando is officially back and here to stay for a while.

Score = 9.5/10

Pros:

• Main game is still amazing as it was in the original with the satisfying conclusion.
• The swinging mechanic is very satisfying especially during difficult sections.
• Challenge mode is a great idea of utilizing your swinging skills.
• Co-op and competitive multiplayer are fun additions to the full package.
• Lots of replay value trying to unlock secrets and content for the upcoming 3D game.

Cons:

• Controls can be frustrating at times.
• Co-op and multiplayer not online
• Some screen tearing that is very noticeable in some levels.
• Might be too hard for newcomers.
  

Clip of the Day (8/16/08) - Botchmania 51

Another Botchmania and more why WCW sucked.

UPDATE (Off-topic) - Since I just beaten Bionic Commando Rearmed, my review will be tomorrow (It made my day after beating that last level).

First pics and footage of Akuma in Street Fighter IV

I'm going to Super soon to play more of it, but let's finally talk about Akuma in Street Fighter IV.


It was inevitable and now it is official that Akuma is in Street Fighter IV. For now, he seems to be the secret boss after defeating Seth and not yet confirmed to be playable yet, but likely he will be soon at least at Japan. Some speculate that Akuma can be unlocked as the last boss or even a playable character after a lot of playtime on a specific machine. Anyway, here's some footage of the last boss fight as Akuma gets owned by Abel and Ken (at least he did the Raging Demon, his Ultra, during the Ken fight).





If anything crazy develops over at Super for me, this post will be a combined post of Akuma and that.

ABDC Season 2 Episode 9 Recap

A Championship Showdown for the ages..... Oh, its just the top 2 teams in America's Best Dance Crew going heads up in three different challenges hopefully to please more voters. I got my finale and it delivered on what I expected out of them even though Fanny Pak also deserved to be top 2 too.


The first challenge is some World based one as the crews have to dance to numerous styles throughout the world like African and Latin. SuperCrew went first and delivered a solid performance as expected despite not being in their comfort zone. I love the song choices with PitBull, Sean Paul's "We Be Burnin," and another song I already forgot.


So Real Cru, however, had a disappointing start for the night with their world dance routine. Nothing really memorable in their first piece as it felt sloppy from beginning to end. At least they have 2 more to redeem themselves.


The Dance Craze challenge was next as SuperCrew focused on their S symbol for their craze of doing it in the clubs. Otherwise, it is a typical performance from them with their b-boy antics as it could have been better.


So Real did redeem themselves in their dance craze performance and starting to show that they represent the Dirty South (Ahhhh... Asians with grills on their teeth). The signature Explosion and the Hulk Hands are also great for the routine. If you are keeping score now like JC, the game is tied with the Last Chance challenge next.

The last challenge is like last season's where the two crews have bust out to a custom track using their signature moves and style to show why America should vote for them.

SuperCrew did another James Brown song and they killed it again with b-boy moves as three groups of 2 took turns doing crazy moves as always. So Real performed to that Lil Wayne song that is always on the radio now and arguably had the best performance of the night treating it like a battle. After that challenge, it is a toss up who won that one.

Now it is up to the voting and hopefully people get it right and vote for my #1 pick SuperCrew. I called it from the beginning and they should win and I wouldn't mind So Real winning it either at this point since they actually stepped it up for the finale.

Street Fighter IV at Super Arcade!!!!

Yesterday, Street Fighter IV is finally out in the United States courtesy of Super Arcade at Walnut, CA (Tekken 6 is also there). After reading about it, I was hella excited to go today to mess with the game and indeed I did for four hours. Good thing I came early (it got crowded around lunch time) because this game is still amazing and fun even after four hours of winning, losing, and watching others. Unforuntately, the owner of Super didn't get the official cabinet Capcom used at the L.A. event last month, San Diego Comic-Con, and Evo 2k8 as he at least got the boards necessary to play the game. It is in one of those Japanese-like cabinets you see at Japanese arcades (Astro City to be specific) as like Capcom's setup, two machines have the play for link matches to between with two separate players instead of being cluttered to one screen (The same thing is for MvC2, SFIII: 3rd Strike, and Tekken 5 DR over at Super). Being those cabinets means the game is not in HD compared to Capcom's official cabinets, but it still looks and plays beautifully. Like Tekken 6 there, Street Fighter IV costs 50 cents to play, which is not bad and it could be more expensive in other places if they have the official cabinets.

Three modes are selectable from the gate: Arcade, Beginner, and Trial. Arcade mode is the standard run-through of stages and then facing off against the final boss, Seth. Beginner and trial modes seem straightforward, so likely they won't be played. For the first couple of weeks, the single player game run won't likely happen as versus matches are bound to happen against great competition throughout the day. All 16 characters that have seen to death are playable with the original 12 for Street Fighter II to the four newcomers: Crimson Viper, Abel, El Fuerte, and Rufus. As expected the hardcore crowd, high-tiers and shotos run the show as Zangief and Rufus can be unstoppable to beat pending on how good the guy is with them (Easy double-digit win streaks win those characters). Ryu and Ken are obviously played a lot, so I decided to use characters that the others won't likely use, which are Sagat, Blanka, and Guile. For now, Sagat is my best character when the switch is on for me doing Tiger Uppercuts, Tiger Knees, and doing his Ultra on time. Blanka and Guile are good enough #2 and #3 characters for me even though I won't use their Ultras as I would stick with their EX specials. Since the game is out for two days at Super, no one has mastered the Focus Attack and all of its uses, but likely in a week or two, I expect the good players to learn to parry well like 3rd Strike. The Focus Attack is what it is as advertised in the videos so far as a stun strike when fully charged, a cancel, and a parry. Learning how to capitalize with the full blown Save Strike is the tricky part as I couldn't nail the combo I wanted to with Guile and Sagat (For example: Sagat would use his save strike and usually follow with an EX Tiger Uppercut). Along with the Focus Attack, not a lot of players have mastered the cancels yet either, but expect that to change in a week as normal players to go to Super are still learning the game. Also absent besides the HDness is the card system that Japanese machines have for character customization (pretty much different colors of their standard outfit and their crazy alternate costume) and tracking wins and losses.



Even you are new to Street Fighter IV, if you have veteran skills from Street Fighter II, you'll be fine here and pull off wins that way. In addition, hardcore 3rd Strike players feel right as home too with throws staying the same from that game (Both jab and short), EX specials the same (Both punches or kicks when doing special moves), and Focus Attacks (Both strong and forward). Capcom delivered on the promise that SF IV is a return to the SFII scene for many players that never play SFIII as it is still fun for even the casual player, but also deep for the hardcore player that will master Focus Attacks and cancels. From my time there, at least all the characters got played at least once especially guys like Dhalsim and Balrog, which rarely get used over at Japan and other events the game was shown off. The sticks and buttons feel fine for now over at Super, but be prepared to deal with them maybe being broken after a while, but for a game as big as this, expect it to be fixed as soon as possible. Good thing if I have to wait a long time to play SF IV, there's still Tekken 6 even though that game's popularity over at Super has worn off (MvC2 and the racing games like Initial D Vol. 4 and Maximum Tune 3 still get heavy play time.

Likely I will go again on Friday, we'll see what happens. There are certain games that you can't stop playing or watching because it is so awesome which is how I feel now with Street Fighter IV. Expect a review of the arcade version by the end of the month as I still need to play single player and mess with more characters like the new ones.

Remembering the 90s X-Men cartoon

This is a montage of awkward moments of the 90s X-Men cartoon. Yeah, there's some weird stuff in this clip I guess.

Evo 2K8 Footage of Street Fighter IV & Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

So Evo 2008 happened last weekend at Las Vegas (Inside the Tropicana Hotel and Casino). Other than the big tournaments like Justin Wong winning Marvel vs. Capcom 2, John Choi winning Super SFII Turbo and Capcom vs. SNK 2, the future for the genre had its presence there with Street Fighter IV, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, BlazBlue (the new Arc System Works fighter), and Super SFII Turbo HD Remix.



Here's a Rufus mirror match for SF4 featuring Capcom's very own Seth Killian against Nuki, a SF veteran throughout the years.



Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, on the other hand, is the next versus game that Capcom is doing which will not likely have a Stateside release pending on licenses. In this clip, it seems that Chun-Li is one of the best characters in the game so far (No surprise) and Alex (when close) can be very dangerous.

UPDATE - Looks like Street Fighter IV is already out at the arcade I play Tekken 6 at, which is Super Arcade at Walnut. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and hopefully it is not as crowded.