Author Topic: Bionic Commando  (Read 9269 times)

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Offline Rize

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Bionic Commando
« on: May 30, 2009, 12:39:02 AM »
I've beaten it on normal ignoring challenges and collectables, and am now half-way through hard trying to get all the collectables and complete many of the challenges. I'm enjoying it a lot and intend to play the hardest difficulty after this (at which time I will ignore the god forsaken collectables and focus on staying alive).

My personal review: the game's got a lot of little flaws (flaky presentation, a really bad story, linear level progression, only a few bosses and only one really good one) but they're superficial flaws mostly. The core gameplay is really fun and the bionic arm mechanics just get better and better as you gain experience with them. The game's biggest sin is lack of basic content. A single play through is only about 8 hours if you don't try to get the relatively pointless "collectables" (tokens that serve no gameplay purpose whatsoever except occasionally to draw your attention to a certain area). Despite the lack of content, the game is worth replaying on harder modes. You take less and less damage forcing you to use the arm more expertly to evade and attack groups of soldiers (and you have a better idea of where you can and can't go). Anyone who was interested in this before the 70% review average ought to at least rent it. Just note that the game likes to kill people who lack skill!

Offline Caliban

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2009, 02:24:12 AM »
The only thing that I don't like about this game is that you can't go back to a specific level just in case one collectible was missed. Bionic Commando Rearmed gave such choice, so why couldn't this one.

Offline Mop it up

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2009, 03:21:37 AM »
I could never get into that game because of the complete lack of direction... and also a lack of a save feature.

Offline Rize

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2009, 03:46:10 AM »
Mop_it_up: I'm talking about the new one (on the 360 and/or PS3) not the old NES :)

Offline Flames_of_chaos

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2009, 01:11:25 PM »
I think the game suffered because the developers, GRIN released 3 games at once(Bionic Commando, Terminator Salvation and Wanted). Working on 3 different projects will definitely thin out resources(all 3 received mixed or average reviews). I heard that because Terminator and Wanted are doing really poorly, GRIN laid off around 140 people.
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Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2009, 04:39:36 PM »
Meh, if they have 140 people to fire that means they're large enough to handle three projects at once.

Offline Caliban

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2009, 10:23:43 PM »
Actually they closed 2 of their subsidiaries, Barcelona (Spain), Gothenburg (Sweden), and in Indonesia (wtf). Only 30 were laid off from their HQ in Stockholm (Sweden).

http://kotaku.com/5271661/rumor-mass-layoffs-hit-bionic-commando-developer-grin

Offline Mop it up

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2009, 11:38:43 PM »
Mop_it_up: I'm talking about the new one (on the 360 and/or PS3) not the old NES :)
Oops. I didn't even know there was a new one...  :-[

Offline Rize

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #8 on: May 31, 2009, 01:02:58 AM »
Playing this game has made me rethink how I view games based on meta ranking sites.  If the core game mechanic is really really fun (from my point of view), it almost doesn't matter if the rest of the game is mediocre or even short.

Meanwhile a game can get solid 90's (or at least 80's) because of high production values while the actual game experience is tepid at best (the latest Prince of Persia is pretty good example; the games primary redeeming quality is that it's really beautiful).


Offline Peachylala

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #9 on: May 31, 2009, 06:48:12 PM »
Meh, if they have 140 people to fire that means they're large enough to handle three projects at once.
Welcome to the HD generation. =D
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Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #10 on: June 01, 2009, 10:38:48 AM »
I think for me the core mechanic is a foundation that can be built upon but it's the level design that really decides whether it works out. There are many games that have clever mechanics that could be used for some awesome puzzles but never go beyond "push box A onto switch B". I think Fracture was a game that made shitty use of its main feature.

Offline Rize

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #11 on: June 01, 2009, 01:07:05 PM »
That's very true of course.  Obviously the core mechanic doesn't do anything in a vacuum.

People seemed to want an open worlds for Bionic Commando, but I think the level design ended up a lot tighter with the linear design.  Each individual level isn't completely linear, but you'll easily find and run into the artificial boundary (which takes the form of deadly radiation or water).  Games always have to contrive a boundary defining where the player can go no further.  That's especially difficult in a game where you can fly (or otherwise go just about anywhere you like).  An open world game like GTA ends up with a pretty natural boundary by setting the entire game in a big city on an island or something but those are getting awful repetitive.  Even BC is set on an island (I think it was originally going to be designed as an open world game).

Offline Flames_of_chaos

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2009, 01:25:32 PM »
The NPD sales results aren't pretty. The combined sales of both the PS3 and 360 versions is less than 30,000.
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Offline Caliban

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #13 on: June 12, 2009, 02:32:08 PM »
Wow that's quite bad.

Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #14 on: June 12, 2009, 03:33:37 PM »
I wonder what it cost to make...

Offline BlackNMild2k1

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #15 on: June 12, 2009, 06:11:22 PM »
cost just under 20mill US to make

& best cast scenario, 30k sold in US @ $60 a game = $1.8mill earned

subtract retailer cut, developer pay, advertising budget, packaging & shipping and whatever else gets factored in and Capcom is not happy right now & GRIN is probably not gonna be getting much more high profile work anytime soon. 3 Big Budget High Profile HD bombs in a row.

Less has killed better developers (F5)

Offline Flames_of_chaos

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #16 on: June 14, 2009, 02:00:48 PM »
I wonder what it cost to make...

According to GRIN's CEO about 150 Million Swedish Kroner or roughly 19.6 Million US Dollars.
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Offline TJ Spyke

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #17 on: June 14, 2009, 02:06:22 PM »
3 Big Budget High Profile HD bombs in a row.

I assume you mean "Terminator Salvation" and "Wanted: Weapons of Destruction"? Do we know how those did?

GRIN will probably get relegate back to doing PC ports of console games (there previous two retail games were the PC ports of the GRAW games).
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Offline Flames_of_chaos

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #18 on: June 14, 2009, 03:24:30 PM »
3 Big Budget High Profile HD bombs in a row.

I assume you mean "Terminator Salvation" and "Wanted: Weapons of Destruction"? Do we know how those did?

GRIN will probably get relegate back to doing PC ports of console games (there previous two retail games were the PC ports of the GRAW games).

Well lets put it this way Terminator and Wanted did so badly that GRIN laid off 140 people because of how they performed.
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Offline Rize

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #19 on: June 22, 2009, 01:24:18 PM »
It's a shame.  For all it's flaws, BC is actually very fun once you accept it's limitations.

Famitsu actually gave it a 34/40 (9 9 9 7): http://bioniccommando.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1591
« Last Edit: June 22, 2009, 01:31:41 PM by Rize »

Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #20 on: June 22, 2009, 03:42:38 PM »
Does the plot twist with the girlfriend really beat the walrus hotline?

Offline Rize

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #21 on: June 23, 2009, 11:40:13 AM »
It's pretty retarded, but then Bionic Commando's entire story is retarded so by that time it's not that big a blow.  In fact, part of me thinks it's a brilliant satire of a certain plot element in the Metal Gear Solid franchise.

Now the ending inFamous made me want to punch things because that story was doing fine up until that point.

Offline Enner

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #22 on: August 14, 2009, 02:14:42 PM »
GRIN closes up shop. :(
It's a shame because GRIN nailed the swinging in Bionic Commando which is the one thing they needed to nail. Unfortunently, a lot of the rest of the game was not good. Seeing as how the BC (2009) sold, this big revamp of an old franchise is DOA.

Offline Deguello

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #23 on: August 15, 2009, 02:06:38 PM »
Bionic Commando is probably dead for good, now.  Because you can't come back from the "too cool for school" "ultra mature" revival to something a little more close to it's original design.

Same thing happened with Final Fight with that lump of retardedness called Final Fight: Streetwise.
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Offline KDR_11k

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Re: Bionic Commando
« Reply #24 on: August 15, 2009, 03:32:43 PM »
At least Konami could still make a Ninja Five-O game. That involved swinging and was totally awesome.