Dynafire has 132 chronicles

1. Under the Radar #5: Bionic Commando (NES)
   

   Player Chronicle -- Posted on May 20 2009

   Ok, so this one isn't necessarily under the radar. There was a remake of the original game that came to Xbox Live Arcade and PSN in August 2008, it appears in a few "Capcom Classics" collections on various consoles and handhelds, and there is a new, 3D retail game that just came out yesterday. However, there are a surprising amount of people that have never played what I consider to be one of the best games on the NES.
   
   In short, Bionic Commando is awesome, and you need to play this if you have any kind of appreciation for platformers. There's no jumping function in this platformer, however; all progression is done by swinging around and grappling ledges with your bionic arm. All of the areas in the game are pretty short, but the difficulty of some of the swings you'll be making in the later ones will make the stages seem really long since you'll likely be dying a lot.
   
   To compound the difficult platforming element are Nazis, which are referred to as "the empire", if I remember correctly. The plot of BC is legendary for that of an NES title. The "empire" has resurrected Hitler to create an ultimate weapon, and it's up to you to stop them. Ultimately, you destroy the weapon, shoot a rocket right into hitler's face, and watch his head explode (or "explod" rather, since there is a well-known typo of the word right after this scene) into a glorious, pixelated, bloody mess. In the remake, the Nazi references are either removed or more subtle, I guess to avoid getting flagged by the morons in the media, who make it their duty to denounce all forms of pleasure and fun.
   
   You get a variety of weapons to utilize, though you can pretty much just use the rocket launcher for most of the game. The wide cannon (a shotgun-type weapon) is probably the least useful of the bunch due to a very short range, while the rocket launcher is amazing, like I said before. Gunplay takes a backseat to platforming however, so there's not much to say about it. You can shoot at the people and they are removed from 8-bit existence, but generally, there's not much to be gained from doing so. You will need to grind a bit initially to get your maximum health up (by killing enemies and collecting the little tokens they drop), but after that, you want to avoid damage wherever possible, meaning avoid confrontations.
   
   There are no "real" bosses in the normal areas of the game. To pass stages, you have to blow up some reactor-thing to advance. Sometimes waves of baddies are thrown in to make it harder, but there's usually just a single boss-like enemy that dies in a few rockets guarding it. This is something that BC Rearmed changed. The XBL/PSN remake actually has real boss battles. While entirely new to the game, the way you defeat them is classic. There is usually only one way to kill them, like a lot of bosses from the NES days. These fights are a welcome addition to BC, as they make an already difficult game even more difficult, but not to the point of frustration (at least on the normal or easy difficulty).
   
   In conclusion, I love this game and I hope you'll give it a try as well. Coincidentally, the XBL version of Bionic Commando Rearmed is on sale starting May 25th for 400 MSP. That's only $5 real money. BCR has lots to keep you busy, including challenge rooms, local co-op gameplay, local multiplayer, and four levels of difficulty. I consider myself a master at BC, yet I can only clear about half the game on super hard difficulty, just to give you an idea of how challenging it is. BUY THIS GAME. At $5, you have nothing to lose.
   
   Also, CyberOps in Ankeny, Iowa is holding a launch party featuring the new Bionic Commando on Saturday, May 23rd from 12pm-3pm. There's free pizza/pop, as well as prizes, so definitely head over there if you can.

   
   

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Dynafire has 2 comment s on this chronicle.

1. JackDaniels624
   Posted On May 20 2009

   I played a wee bit of the game...I should play it again some time!

2. BEN
   Posted On May 20 2009

   Yet more insight for a game I've not played, but now need to try! I love this series of yours sir.
   
   I'll unfortunately be unable to make this weekend's Cyber Ops event, as we'll be down in the Ozarks for the holiday, but if you attend, make sure to enjoy yourself and highlight the event for us here