Binary Domain

A cool story draws you into this game and won't let you go until you've seen how it all ends. Beyond that, Binary Domain is a sweet shooter with intuitive controls and a nice, Japanese atmosphere. It's not all gold though, since a lack of in-game depth and a lackluster online multiplayer keep this game from reaching the top.

I have very few negatives to level at Binary Domain; I think its single player mode is a stand-out shooter that I feel a lot of folks might glance over. But that would be a mistake, as you'd definitely miss out on a really fun experience that doesn't break the mold, but builds upon a solid foundation already laid by other cover based shooters.

Sega's Binary Domain is a real surprise. The game is entertaining and the developers tried something new. The consequence system and the speech controls work, but there is still some potenial to improve them. I'm missing a coop mode, but the full package with online multiplayer, giant bosses and highspeed levels entertains.

For shooter fans craving something with a little more substance, Binary Domain is definitely the ticket. Behind its hokey yet self-aware characters and stereotypical premise is a hugely intelligent shooter, one that packs just as much heart as it does brawn.

Fans of third-person shooters and Japanese game design will find themselves especially satisfied.

Do not expect to find anything new in Binary Domain. What you can expect is a third-person shooter that's highly polished, high doses of action and irrational fun in killing robots with a burst of gunfire.

Even on low difficulty with aim assist this game provides a challenge to newcomers to 3rd person shooters.

Despite the lacklustre online multiplayer that's been tacked on, the explosive campaign's action packed set pieces will constantly find your finger squeezing on the hammer one minute and tugging on your emotions the next with its diverse cast of likeable characters, as they fight to right the wrongs of morality towards mankind.

Yes, the multiplayer isn't inspiring in the slightest, but the single player campaign more than makes up for this, and no doubt by now the game can be picked up for pennies anyway...If you like shooters, you should definitely give this a look.

If you've been looking for braindead but entertaining third person action in the wake of Gears of War, Binary Domain won't disappoint you.

While there was nothing exceptional or innovative about Binary Domain online, what worked was fine - which sums up the entire game. With the fairly significant exception of the voice recognition, what you have is a pretty good shooter.

It's rare that a title sneaks right up on you and offers intense visceral gunplay, an intriguing consequence system and poses philosophical questions that leave you pondering the possibilities once you put down the controller. Binary Domain manages to juggle these aspects rather well, not outstandingly or brilliantly, but compellingly enough that I found it hard to walk away and was determined to see it through to the end in as few sittings as possible.

With some further streamlining, refinement, and innovation, with particular attention paid to the multiplayer, the next installment could be amazing.

We can't say it enough: shooting robots apart is a perfect way to kill some time. That's why we're surprised Binary Domain hasn't gotten the media attention it deserves, because this is one hell of a surprise. Granted, there are some things in this game we didn't like. Like the AI of your teammates, the lack of a split-screen feature and the appeal of the included multiplayer. If you like third-person shooters, you will not regret this adventure with Dan Marshall and his team of anti-heroes.

The intriguing world of Binary Domain rises above its conventional appearance, thanks to the satisfaction of shooting robots to pieces.

I enjoyed my time with the game, and I can see it grabbing a rabid cult audience. I'd recommend it to anyone who can relax their expectations a bit, particularly when it comes to the voice recognition. The more you're able to focus on where it succeeds and look past its obvious failings, the better.

Binary Domain is an enjoyable yet ultimately forgettable game as it does nothing to further the squad based shooter genre. It contains an interesting story, decent in-game mechanics but at times it feels a little too polished and stiff which makes it a tad unrealistic. The combat is fun and delivers an engaging system for players to finish this title, especially with the robotic gibs. Needless to say, it's quite refreshing to play something that is not based on another faux war or distant alien planet.

It convincingly apes the mechanics and behaviours of the best shooters on the market, but its augmentations feel noticeably forced and artificial.

Whenever the authors finally get the chance to tell their story it evolves further than "Gears of Blade Runner". Nonetheless Binary Domain gets stuck somewhere in the middle between the eastern excellence of bossfights and the western school of modern shooter action.

It's a shame the idiotic A.I. and hit-and-miss recognition spoil it, turning this into a merely "solid" shooter. [May 2012, p.79]

A fun but short-lived futuristic romp that, despite not stepping too far outside of the third-person shooter box, likes to poke its head out and have a look around from time to time. [Issue#216, p.79]

BD's narrative smarts and satisfying combat are let down by terrible AI and a lack of polish. [Apr 2012, p.94]

While Binary Domain tries a few new things and fails, the basic coverbased gameplay in the entertaining story-mode is good enough to keep fans of the genre happy. The enemies may be robots, but they still feel more alive and interesting than most other opponents.

The bot is pretty special as their outer flies off, and you need to be tactical at times to get the best of them. Not bad, but not great either. [March 2012, p78]

It's the best kind of 7/10. The gunplay is raucous, but never revolutionary. The relationships make you laugh, if not cry. Binary Domain is unpolished in all the right places – the rough edges make it a unique metal snowflake in a production line of identical, shiny shooters. Fill that Mass Effect gap with a game that loves you.

One of the best Japanese-made third person shooters of the generation, and one that doesn't just seek to copy the West but offer interesting new ideas of its own.

At the present time this game looks obsolete and uses game mechanics which won't take anyone's breath away. [March 2012]

The online is like every other shooter, and that's the problem. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, a horde mode, and few other standards-not very imaginative, are you? It's smooth playing online, so it's done well enough.

A very familiar experience, but it's also one that is well-presented, well-designed, and, most importantly, enjoyable to play.

After finishing Binary Domain we remember its great setting and atmosphere, but that's only because the overall story is the only thing worth remembering. No matter how exciting the setting may be, the characters populating it have the psychological depth of a goldfish. [March 2012, p.84]

Sega. The Yakusa series team. Stereotyped and super trained Mercs, looking forward to making their way through 2080's Tokyo. And robots. Everything was there to make an explosive and virile shooter. But instead, as its absolutely random title should have told us, Binary Domain ends up being only a globally passable game, wanting to succeed but often too close to an industrial misunderstanding.