Most gamers who grew up with the Nintendo Entertainment System are familiar with the classic title Bionic Commando. After approximately twenty years Capcom has decided to update this title and put it on Microsoft’s burgeoning Live Arcade service. As soon as you start playing this game you will immediately feel at home as Capcom has done a tremendous job of capturing the spirit and style of the original. The graphics have been updated and the transition to high definition graphics worked really well. Of course the basic mechanics are the same with your grappling arm being your main mode of transportation as you swing across the various terrain. The storyline for the remake is similar to the original one with only a few tweaks to update it.

Some of the additions made to this title include some new challenge rooms, as well as multiplayer and a database option. The database option will give you info on just about everything from locations and bosses to plot elements and equipment. All of this information is not made immediately available to you however. As you progress through the title, more and more info will unlock for you. After all, you wouldn’t want to go read the entire story of the game without playing it right? Another thing that has been added to this title is achievements. The achievements range from goals like obtaining every weapon and weapon upgrade to being able to clear a level without firing your gun. There are also leader boards for every area to see how you stand up against everyone in your friends list. You can even highlight a friends name on the leader board and immediately go their gamercard if you so choose.

The controls work pretty much the same as they did on the NES. You can control your guy with either the d-pad or the joystick while the “A” button fires your gun and the “B” button controls your grappling arm, just like on an NES controller, minus the joystick. Throughout the game you will have to contact your headquarters and hack enemy networks in an effort to gather intel about the possible threats you will be facing. If you successfully hack the network you will get rewarded. If you mess up then the alarm will go off. There is co-op on this title but unfortunately it is only local co op. The AI will respond differently depending on whether you are going through the title solo or you have a friend tagging along. Gamers looking to go through the game with friends over Xbox Live are going to be disappointed that feature was left out. Unfortunately that might be on omission that prevents some gamers from playing this otherwise fantastic title. A while back Capcom held a poll on their website asking gamers whether they would pay $10 or $15 for this title. To no one’s surprise the $10 dollar price point won and to Capcom’s credit they listened to their fan base and released it at 800 Microsoft points ($10). Overall this is a fantastic update for a classic title. It is in widescreen so you don’t have to worry about the bars on either side of your screen like some other past titles. This is yet another stellar title in Microsoft’s “Summer of Arcade” and is well worth the admission fee.

Score: 9/10

Originally posted on Totally Gaming Network