The first time I tried to make cornbread from scratch, I carefully followed the recipe from a cookbook. When the timer rang, inspection confirmed that it both looked and smelled delicious. Only after digging in was my blunder revealed; what should have been a puffed, cake like interior had remained a viscous goo. The recipe was adjusted to accommodate a larger portion size, but I neglected to take into account the need for an extended baking time.
Bionic Commando is like that cornbread. Going down a checklist, the game fulfills all the requirements. It has the bionic arm, gunplay and a strong legacy to build off of. What Bionic Commando lacked was baking time. While I'm not sure how long the development cycle was, I can assure you it was not long enough. The game is maddening and unfortunately not because of its difficulty, which rest assured it has in spades. Irritation stems from loose controls, poor design, excessive glitches and extensive load times throughout levels and after each death.
While the bionic arm performs wonderfully, it's about the only aspect of the control scheme to do so. The rest of the combat can be described as "loose" at best. Not that it matters because the AI believes the pen is mightier than the sword* and repeatedly reinforces this idea by assaulting one verbally instead of with effective tools, like bullets. Coarse insults can be heard echoing off the walls throughout the game reminding players that the soldiers are clearly aware of the intrusion. However, their unusually strong adherence to following orders obliges them to continue dutifully manning their post. Eventually this problem is given a Band Aid by regularly placing soldiers into position with a large line of sight, but strategical advantage is no substitute for enemy adaptability.
The game starts (after a long and oddly placed tutorial level) in a city wrought with destruction from a recently detonated nuclear bomb. What first appears to be an open world quickly reveals itself as a corridor of invisible walls, floors and ceilings. If one strays from the beaten path or swings with what the developer feels is extreme verticality, the bomb's fallout produces a death screen faster than any array of enemy bullets ever could. These walls of radiation are covered in a blue cloud, except when they aren't. Likewise, the fallout can kill you between roughly a quarter of a second and three seconds with little indication to show why that's the case. While radiation is evidence for the undercooked, gooey nature of Bionic Commando, the strongest case for rushed development can be found in glitches.
Throughout the game, encounters with enemies stuck in walls, clipping, texture pop in (forgivable in an open world game, but this is a crafted corridor design with vistas) happens all too frequently. While such phenomenon detract from the experience, rarely do they break the game... unlike my encounter with the ultimate glitch. Normally with reviews, Pixelnauts policy is to finish a game before submitting a harangue opinion. This review breaks official policy. After playing about 75% of the way through the game, Mr. Commando decided to provide a demonstration of Quantum Mechanics by falling through a floor. After which, the game saved as if I was at a checkpoint. Since I kept reloading into one of the dimensions postulated by String Theory, I was forced to end my adventure through theoretical physics and reload the game. That's when my amusement ended with the dreaded message: "save file is corrupted". According to the dark back alley of the internet known as gaming forums, this glitch appears to be a relatively common problem.
After listing so many gripes, I am sure it will come as a surprise when I say that I hope for a sequel. The game felt like it was on the cusp of greatness. While the multiplayer was competent but ultimately forgettable and the story and dialogue absurd, these things don't matter to Bionic Commando. It played heavily into nostalgia with tone, collectables and musical cues. When mixed in with the strong implementation of the bionic arm, it becomes clear that GRIN understands the recipe for the franchise. Unfortunately, they bit off more than they could chew in the time alloted. Given that the framework for the arm, physics and much of the major character art assets are already in place, a sequel might just provide the developer the chance to make the game Bionic Commando should have been.
* While almost certainly true, a terrorist leader probably doesn't consider that an ideal quality in his recruits.
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