Bionic Commando

 PC
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 115 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 115
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 115
  3. Negative: 21 out of 115
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  1. The_D4RknesS
    Mar 25, 2023
    7
    it could be better because it has incredible physics and beautiful graphics. the gameplay was horrible but it was just custom until I learned and found the gameplay enjoyable.


    note 7 because the game is difficult
  2. AngryGeek
    Jun 7, 2022
    5
    It was very boringgggggg. You don't need to play. I didn't finish the game.
  3. LokiReturns
    Apr 12, 2022
    10
    Please join the below server on discord to meet the Bionic Commando PC Multiplayer community: https://discord.gg/TE8PaeTYE3
  4. Dco326
    Nov 15, 2021
    7
    A bila je zanimljiva igra :D Prica mi je ocaj iskreno hahaha ali je bilo zanimljivo ovako za sprdnju okej je gemplej :D
  5. R3PL1CANT
    Sep 9, 2020
    6
    For all its simplicity and uniformity, this game is not bad. It is worth playing it. That game, released in 2009 is still fun to play. Nothing more to say. Just play and get fun.
  6. Snowdon
    May 6, 2019
    7
    The game is not without it's flaws.
    - It's a lazy PC port, all of the controller prompts are given to you as if you're using an XBox controller, which is confusing if you're using a keyboard and mouse.
    - The story is just bad. Really, really bad. Main villain has no motivation behind being a villain, lots of loose ends and unfired Chekov guns. The main mystery of the game deservedly    The game is not without it's flaws.
    - It's a lazy PC port, all of the controller prompts are given to you as if you're using an XBox controller, which is confusing if you're using a keyboard and mouse.
    - The story is just bad. Really, really bad. Main villain has no motivation behind being a villain, lots of loose ends and unfired Chekov guns. The main mystery of the game deservedly became a meme for poor videogame storytelling.
    - Each level has invisible walls of "radiation" to keep your character in the game area. I'm ok with this, except it kills you in literally seconds, often before you have any opportunity to get back in the game zone. This can be especially frustrating when the level design is unclear on where you should be going. At one point one of your nav markers is inside the radiation area.
    - The arm mechanics are inconsistent. Some surfaces you'll be able to grab from a 50 feet away, others you can only grab when you're practically on top of them.
    - The end of the game is disappointing in that the first half is a run through corridors where your arm can't grab onto any surfaces. After the freedom of flipping about like a glorious bionic spider-man this really kills the momentum of the game. The second half is a series of quicktime events that don't seem to consistently work. I've been the game plenty of times but in that last level there are still times when I get insta-killed and have no clue why.

    Despite all that, I love this game.

    The arm mechanics are fun as hell and the levels, for the most part, are designed to take advantage of that. If your feet are on the ground for more than a few seconds at a time, you are playing this game wrong. For most of the game, the swinging mechanics are fantastic.

    Your arm is also your primary weapon. You can pick up enemy soldiers and toss them around. Rip the cockpit open on enemy mecha. The game, when it's all on point, is amazing fun to play. (Which makes one wonder why they buried the lead with an opening level where you have to run around without your arm). And there's so much in every level to interact with. Cars, debris, even bodies can be picked up and tossed around as weapons.

    I would be totally up for a sequel that smooths out the flaws in this game. Even better if the visuals and tone were more in line with he fantastic ReArmed sidescroller released around the same time. The grimdark drudgery of the visuals and story do not do the game justice.

    These days the game is super cheap, so well worth checking out.    … Expand
  7. Mobile
    Aug 8, 2018
    5
    ENG RU
    Monotonous gameplay, the same enemies and battle with them, capture transmitters and move on, the levels are passed for five to ten minutes, often the level consists of what you need as a Tarzan on a rope to fly from the beginning of the level to its end. The technical side is not bad, the plot is nonsense, all serious, but the player is not involved at all. Add variety, make more    ENG RU
    Monotonous gameplay, the same enemies and battle with them, capture transmitters and move on, the levels are passed for five to ten minutes, often the level consists of what you need as a Tarzan on a rope to fly from the beginning of the level to its end. The technical side is not bad, the plot is nonsense, all serious, but the player is not involved at all. Add variety, make more weapons, add drive music and humor and it would not be a bad game.
    Однообразный геймплей, одни и те же враги и битвы с ними, захват передатчиков и продвижение дальше, уровни проходятся за пять - десять минут, зачастую уровень состоит из того, что нужно как тарзан на веревке пролететь от начала уровня до его конца. Техническая сторона не плохая, сюжет бредятина, все серьезные, но игрока это не вовлекает вовсе. Добавить разнообразия, сделать больше оружие, добавить драйвовой музыки и юмора и было бы не плохая игра.    … Expand
  8. Armitas
    Nov 1, 2017
    8
    This game is really pear shaped. For 3/4 of the game you are simply moving way point to way point with no real motivation to continue. You hit each waypoint just hoping for a glimpse of some story line, some excitement, or just something to care about, but it's kind of a snooze until the last quarter of the game where the music starts playing the old themes, you actually get to fight aThis game is really pear shaped. For 3/4 of the game you are simply moving way point to way point with no real motivation to continue. You hit each waypoint just hoping for a glimpse of some story line, some excitement, or just something to care about, but it's kind of a snooze until the last quarter of the game where the music starts playing the old themes, you actually get to fight a real boss and enter a enemy stronghold, then it just ends... It ends with a lot question marks. If it wasn't for the last quarter of the game I'd give it a 7, but the last bit made me love the game enough to get past snoozing through the first 3/4 of it.

    The music is wonderful and incorporates the orginal themes which will really get you excited once they start playing. Combat is fun and fluid and incorporates guns and your grappling hook. Instead of discovering secret items to become stronger you complete challenges for more health, faster reload, more armor etc. There are collectables but I recommend skipping them your first play through as the game is slow enough at the beginning. The world you play in is gorgeous and sprawling both horizontally and vertically. The grappling mechanics are fluid and a lot of fun. You can jump of a building and dive to the bottom into a swing or crash into an enemy to kill them. Gravity doesn't hurt you, the only thing that will is water. The gameplay is really really good, it just lacks pacing and story.

    I bought this game bundled with bionic commando rearmed on sale for ~$5. I actually like "rearmed" better but if you love the series play them both because it's a cheap bundle that goes on sale often.    … Expand
  9. dandalis
    Oct 29, 2016
    6
    First of all great performance on PC, secondly absolute lack of options. Even while playing youre being shown Xbox 360 prompts instead of your keyboard bindings. Tho once you remember all the main prompts it not much of a issue and game isnt that long either. Graphics look fine, but nothing out of ordinary, game has some cool lighting and water effects tho. Things like anisotropicFirst of all great performance on PC, secondly absolute lack of options. Even while playing youre being shown Xbox 360 prompts instead of your keyboard bindings. Tho once you remember all the main prompts it not much of a issue and game isnt that long either. Graphics look fine, but nothing out of ordinary, game has some cool lighting and water effects tho. Things like anisotropic filtering or AA will have be enabled from Nvidia control panel or whatever AMD has similiar to that.

    Gameplay wise its a bit tricky to learn the controls, but it works pretty fine once you do, even on mouse + kboard and using your hand-grapple hook and swinging around oulling together more and more of them can be very fun. Once you get the sensitivity right shooting guns get very precise.

    Story in this game is BLEH, Nathan himself is very boring character and so is supporting cast. Only thing that made me care about whats going on is what happaned to his wife.

    In the end an OK action game with cool gimmick, if you got nothing to play and can find this for cheap go ahead.    … Expand
  10. jelikey
    Sep 1, 2016
    5
    This game is a lazy console-port and the devs haven't even bothered to fix the most basic stuff when porting this to the pc. Now most of this is only superficial. The game works great with mouse and keyboard and i had no problem whatsoever with getting the game to work. But i think that it is just plain respect-less that they didn't take the small time required to fix this
  11. Orthogon
    Aug 10, 2015
    8
    One thing I suspect divides reviewers of this game is whether they remember the original Bionic Commando - if you do, that will set your expectations accordingly and you will go in expecting a platform game with solid weapons where the main fun is in the experience of using/swinging around on the arm, and yes, slightly repetitive gameplay at times. If that is what you are going in for,One thing I suspect divides reviewers of this game is whether they remember the original Bionic Commando - if you do, that will set your expectations accordingly and you will go in expecting a platform game with solid weapons where the main fun is in the experience of using/swinging around on the arm, and yes, slightly repetitive gameplay at times. If that is what you are going in for, this game hits the spot perfectly

    If that is *not* what you're expecting, though, it could feel like something of a let-down, because while it starts out looking like a fairly story-driven FPS, runs through the standard Super Soldier stuff like Metal Gear Solid/Rambo/Deus Ex/Commando etc. (you are the ultimate warrior of bygone days, called upong to reluctantly return to service and save the day), it really is just a platformer. I think this could cause some to take a dim view of the game, which is understandable.

    Anyway, the whole thing is better than I was led to believe, and is a solidly implemented nod to something *like* the original in 3D. Swing, kill, get out of the line of fire, kill, swing, get a better gun, swing, kill - like spiderman with guns, as a platform game.

    Swinging on the arm is done brilliantly, guns work well and you get upgrades regularly (one at a time like the original game, some would have liked to see a pack full of weapons to switch between but in fairness that might not make sense given the character). Boss battles are well done, satisfying and interesting without any of the tedium and brokenness that seems to plague many games' boss battles. There is one possible exception on the boss battles thing, but a) it is spoilerish and b) doesn't ruin the game.

    Overall, this platformer scores well. Before you play, watch some videos of the original 2D game and see what you are signing up for - and if you decide to go in knowing that Splinter Cell it ain't, this game is good, solid, old-fashioned fun.

    Overall, graphics aren't particularly fabulous, it's a (fairly) repetitive platformer, and nostalgia would not have carried it alone, but it scores an 8/10 from me for one reason, something that is missing so often from games: Playability    … Expand
  12. dan2600
    Sep 16, 2014
    8
    Got this for 2.99 on STEAM sale...

    I was a big fan of Bionic Commando for the NES (how long can you last starting a fight in the demilitarized zone?) and rearmed. I heard this game sucked so I never played it. However, It's a solid action platformer, reminds me a lot of Batman mixed with Darksiders. The action is fun, the boss fights are fun, and flying around takes a bit of practice    Got this for 2.99 on STEAM sale...

    I was a big fan of Bionic Commando for the NES (how long can you last starting a fight in the demilitarized zone?) and rearmed. I heard this game sucked so I never played it.

    However, It's a solid action platformer, reminds me a lot of Batman mixed with Darksiders. The action is fun, the boss fights are fun, and flying around takes a bit of practice but looks awesome when you pull it off.

    That said the inconsistant gravity and weird weapon scanning (weapons do damage before bullets 'hit') makes for some weirdness.

    Overall it's a solid game.    … Expand
  13. Q3gun
    May 14, 2014
    10
    Finally learned good targeting in hooking and swinging to target .
    Cool when in came is possible / needed to use mans potential skills ! =))
    FEELS GREAT !
    sometimes u fall and in microsecond your eye catches a target u can hook to, and u graB it and woooooooooooooooww BACK IN THE GAME BABY! =D
  14. DRiVER_helsinki
    Dec 24, 2013
    10
    They did a surprisingly good job executing the grapple arm in a 3D environment. After completing the outstanding 'Bionic Commando: Rearmed', I was eager to see if Grin, the developer, could transfer the swing mechanic into the third-dimension. 8 hours later to beat the game on Hard difficulty, I can confirm they did. No other game does it better, not even the Spider-Man games. There is aThey did a surprisingly good job executing the grapple arm in a 3D environment. After completing the outstanding 'Bionic Commando: Rearmed', I was eager to see if Grin, the developer, could transfer the swing mechanic into the third-dimension. 8 hours later to beat the game on Hard difficulty, I can confirm they did. No other game does it better, not even the Spider-Man games. There is a learning curve due to the free-form nature of the swing mechanic. But once you master it, once you grasp where to attach your grapple, know what point in your swing trajectory to detach your grapple, understand which direction to shift your weight to, and think far ahead to identify your next two or three grapple points, once you master all that will you truly feel like a "rad" Bionic Commando.… Expand
  15. huss2215
    Nov 14, 2013
    7
    raphics: Average looking graphics. 7.5

    Sound: Average themes/sounds, nothing stands out, decent voice overs. 7.5 Gameplay: Fun and innovative gameplay mechanics, comparable to Spider Man without the open world, and with guns. The game has some fun boss fights, but its more of a linear experience, although the game does add challenge. 8.5. Story: Average story. Spencer in    raphics: Average looking graphics. 7.5

    Sound: Average themes/sounds, nothing stands out, decent voice overs. 7.5

    Gameplay: Fun and innovative gameplay mechanics, comparable to Spider Man without the open world, and with guns. The game has some fun boss fights, but its more of a linear experience, although the game does add challenge. 8.5.

    Story: Average story. Spencer in the future but he looks totally different, the plot opens slow, and the overall story is not interesting. 7.

    Replay Value: 6-8 hour experience, multiplayer, and some collectibles. I beat it without any interest for collectibles or playing the multiplayer, but for those who get it off of a steam sale for $5 buck, I would recommend it. 8.

    Overall Score: 7.7 out of 10.    … Expand
  16. MatheusKF
    Oct 22, 2013
    8
    The graphics are OK, except for the serrations. The controls and gameplay are good. Unfortunately, the story is very shallow and the enemies a bit repetitive.
  17. keefbaker
    Oct 17, 2013
    5
    So I bought the pack of this and Rearmed and expected this to be the stinker, so I was playing it and thinking, "this isn't too bad". Then I got the bionic arm, the endless tutorials started and I wanted to set fire to my own skin. So yeah, nice try and still better than re-armed but deh... Just no.
  18. AAKN
    Oct 14, 2013
    8
    Game Play[8]
    Controls[6]
    Contactable/Easter Eggs[7]
    Innovation[8]
    Graphics[10]
    Sounds[8]
    replay Value[7]
    Gaming Satisfaction[7]
    Price/Playtime[7]
    Technical Issues[10]
    ------------------------------------
    Over All[7.5]
  19. dumle
    Dec 15, 2012
    5
    This game is a lazy console-port and the devs haven't even bothered to fix the most basic stuff when porting this to the pc. Now most of this is only superficial. The game works great with mouse and keyboard and i had no problem whatsoever with getting the game to work. But i think that it is just plain respect-less that they didn't take the small time required to fix this. Now with thatThis game is a lazy console-port and the devs haven't even bothered to fix the most basic stuff when porting this to the pc. Now most of this is only superficial. The game works great with mouse and keyboard and i had no problem whatsoever with getting the game to work. But i think that it is just plain respect-less that they didn't take the small time required to fix this. Now with that out of the way lets focus on the game. The gameplay in the game is surprisingly fun. The swinging is really satisfying and the combat is quite enjoyable. There is also a couple of quite cool areas that you get to visit in the games campaign. Sadly is the games campaign kind of short (around 5-6 hours) and its story is pretty bad. The checkpoint system is also pretty messed up. Its quite far between checkpoints, collectibles doesn't stick and enemies that was already dead when the checkpoint was triggered has a tendency to respawn behind you which can be kind of awkward. This combined with the radiation manages to take the fun out of exploring which is kind of a shame since the swinging is the part of the game that works best and that is the most fun. Some other things that annoyed me were some quicktime-events and that a couple of things in the game wasn't properly explained. I might sound a little bit to negative here so i should point out one last time that the swinging is pretty damn great. And i enjoyed the game despite its problems.The game do however have its fair share of flaws but i will despite that recommend checking this game out if you are into the genre since the game has its moments.… Expand
  20. pretty_ugly
    Nov 8, 2012
    8
    The most fun I had in a long while. This game offers an interesting game mechanic that will have you hooked for the whole duration of it. The combination of shooting, swinging and fighting is perfectly balanced and never becomes dull or boring. There are few frustrating spots here and there but nothing that will have you throwing your keyboard against wall. The guys did great PC port whichThe most fun I had in a long while. This game offers an interesting game mechanic that will have you hooked for the whole duration of it. The combination of shooting, swinging and fighting is perfectly balanced and never becomes dull or boring. There are few frustrating spots here and there but nothing that will have you throwing your keyboard against wall. The guys did great PC port which plays wonderfully (can't imagine using controller for some of those harder jumps/swings). I can only recommend this.… Expand
  21. JonnyC
    Mar 25, 2012
    8
    Very good game. Don't believe the haters. Great sound track and game play with a controller, good graphics. Played this through on the 360 in 2009 loved it. Playing it through on PC in 2012 loving it. Really cheap now.
  22. redbarm
    Mar 4, 2011
    5
    It has nice graphics, uses nvdia physics. But controls are sucks. The letters on the screen A, B for jump, punch what ever doesn t match the keyboard keys. To make a action with combined keys, is too diffucult, and sucks. For example, make a stupid HACK action, it took half an hour. The game was designed for Playstation, not for PC. And stupid interfaces makes the game bad
  23. walkleyn
    Feb 17, 2011
    9
    Thoroughly enjoyed the game play. Interesting interaction with environment and enough weapons to make it a whole bunch of fun. Excellent storyline too, can't wait to play re-armed now.
    Definitely recommended.
  24. TruthS
    Dec 22, 2009
    1
    Gave it +1 for good graphics. Gave it -9 for horrible controls. It seems these idiots at Capcom just don't understand the golden rule : good controls = good gameplay. If you've ever tried their other horrible ports to the PC such as Resident Evil 4 and 5 (I'd rate these two poor excuses for a pc game a measly 1 as well), you'll know what to expect. DO NOT BUY THIS Gave it +1 for good graphics. Gave it -9 for horrible controls. It seems these idiots at Capcom just don't understand the golden rule : good controls = good gameplay. If you've ever tried their other horrible ports to the PC such as Resident Evil 4 and 5 (I'd rate these two poor excuses for a pc game a measly 1 as well), you'll know what to expect. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, it is utter garbage. How bad is this game, let me put it this way, on screen indicators make reference to the X or Y buttons on your non-existent xbox360 controller for the PC!!! Idiotic. The controls for grappling are so frustating you swear the idiots at Capcom never even playtested the pc version of their POS game. If you buy this game, you're merely supporting their negligent attitude towards the pc platform. For some reason, the moronic japanese developers just don't know what the f-kin mouse is for, or don't know what good HCI principles entail. Frustrating experience. Two thumbs down for this garbage.… Expand
  25. MattH
    Nov 19, 2009
    1
    A complete failure by almost any standards. The only thing that this game has going for it is it's cheesy title.
  26. KevinK
    Nov 15, 2009
    9
    The story was, in my opinion, original. I did not expect the ending and though it might not appeal to some audiences, I like to use my imagination and predict what happened next. Also I was just amazed at the fluid and seamless animation of the character swinging at extreme speeds all over the place. It's very awesome to see the realistic physics, GRIN did a great job at the swinging The story was, in my opinion, original. I did not expect the ending and though it might not appeal to some audiences, I like to use my imagination and predict what happened next. Also I was just amazed at the fluid and seamless animation of the character swinging at extreme speeds all over the place. It's very awesome to see the realistic physics, GRIN did a great job at the swinging mechanic. It's true that you have to pause and look up controls for the keyboard in the beginning, since the on-screen instructions show xbox buttons, but after a few minutes you basically got it. There aren't that many buttons to press anyway. I do not understand why people are complaining about the controls and the port to PC. No bugs. Controlling was a piece of cake for me. (I used to play Gunz, a game that requires extreme mouse and keyboard micromanagement) But anyone that considers himself a competitive gamer (or has basic knowledge of where keys are located on a keyboard) can master the controls pretty easily. There are a only few methods to kill enemies (or it may be a lot, my opinion), but that is a good thing. I hated it when games would have a million ways to kill enemies, and I had a hard time choosing and utilizing them all. With this game you can actually be kind of creative with how you can use the skills. Plus it's simply awesome to be swinging cars around and punting them at people. Gameplay was repetitive at times, but it's just so thrilling and dynamic that I never got bored of it. Graphics were beautiful too. Bottom line: for you to enjoy this game properly, you must be able to think fast and aim quick; that's it. Excluding the wasd buttons, there are only about 5 other buttons to worry about (which is very few, compared to other games like Crysis or GTA and etc.). I think this game definitely deserved a better overall score. The efforts gone into this intricate game is amazing. Even the Menu interface is a wonder of computer coding and graphics.… Expand
  27. SebastianP
    Aug 22, 2009
    8
    I think it's a great game! The levels are very differently and I had a lot of fun! The bad things of the game is the control and the graphic.
  28. RADS
    Aug 21, 2009
    9
    Excellent sotyline, epic experience, liked the game from the very start to the ending. Game mechanics works like a charm and boss fights were interesting.
  29. Vinz
    Aug 11, 2009
    3
    I've just finished Prototype so that game just feel like a "Beta" compare to it. The cammads are difficult to play with and most of them aren't used at all. Shoot with ammo... Hand to hand combat vs invincibles enemies... Some bonus that doesn't do anything at the end... Try it before buy it!
  30. MetalGuy
    Aug 8, 2009
    0
    Don't buy this on PC. The installation is a total bug fest with the support only having for an answer to uninstall my antivirus/firewall etc.. ''reformat'' so I never got to play the game. Thanks for stealing my money, and by the way, my version of Street fighter 4 works just fine so it IS a game related fault good for nothing noob support.
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Awards & Rankings

56
#56 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
73
#73 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. SpazioGames
    67
    Despite the not-so-bad first impressions, Bionic Commando is a disappointing game. Linearity is not a drawback by itself, it's more about the way it has been pushed into the game, which often delivers loads of frustration... Long and frequent loading times, lousy A.I., and inaccurate controls just confirm that this is not a Capcom game, but more a Grin one. Let's hope Capcom itself will be on the next RAD Spencer incarnation: all it needs is some polish.
    Read full review
  2. Cynamite
    80
    Entertaining, fun action game with a fresh concept, nice graphics and a lot of humor.
    Read full review
  3. Gaming Nexus
    75
    You'll have a lot of fun with this new Bionic Commando, but he ultimately plays it safe in his first adventure in twenty years.
    Read full review
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