Binary Domain

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 216 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 167 out of 216
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 216
  3. Negative: 15 out of 216
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  1. wishanem
    Feb 18, 2015
    7
    This game is like an interactive 1980's action movie, all the way down to the paper-thin characters and the constant explosions.

    When it tries to be over-the-top and silly, it really works. When there are extended sequences of dialogue or the game tries to address serious subject, it falls flat. I appreciate the attempts at depth, but this game has the subtlety of a Michael Bay movie    This game is like an interactive 1980's action movie, all the way down to the paper-thin characters and the constant explosions.

    When it tries to be over-the-top and silly, it really works. When there are extended sequences of dialogue or the game tries to address serious subject, it falls flat. I appreciate the attempts at depth, but this game has the subtlety of a Michael Bay movie and all of the cultural sensitivity of a John Wayne film.

    When you’ve got gunfighting down, stick to the gunfights.    … Expand
  2. PuckMan
    Aug 7, 2012
    5
    Binary Domain is a fairly mediocre Gears of War clone. The story is good but the characters, although like-able enough are extremely generic. Rugged muscle bound, wise cracking space marines with short hair and designer stubble is the order of the day here. The combat itself is the usual roll, duck and cover while popping out of cover to shoot an enemy then reload and repeat. The mainBinary Domain is a fairly mediocre Gears of War clone. The story is good but the characters, although like-able enough are extremely generic. Rugged muscle bound, wise cracking space marines with short hair and designer stubble is the order of the day here. The combat itself is the usual roll, duck and cover while popping out of cover to shoot an enemy then reload and repeat. The main problem with the combat is how your team mates keep walking into your line of fire then have the cheek to blame you for shooting them. The game is unfair in other areas as well, such as when you get knocked down and use a med kit. Before you can get to your feet to escape the AI will hit you again from off screen. There's also times when you will be fighting a mech but wont know whether or not your attacks are being effective.

    There's plenty of online options but again nothing that you haven't seen done better in a million other shooters this generation. Overall fun but ultimately throwaway.    … Expand
  3. Chrono
    Mar 5, 2012
    7
    Generic Shooter is Generic, however before kicking me in the ass, lets just say stereotypical characters isn't funny, The graphics on the other side are decent with the detail of enemies crumbling as you shoot them. Shooting is a bit "tight" but plays like Uncharted which is alright. Multiplayer? What?
  4. KrimzinZV
    May 2, 2012
    5
    Starting off my review, the command/dialogue system, good but with the options available it can get rather confusing what your actually saying and wondering why saying "you fool" is a dialogue option where it makes no sense(mic untested). Next character dialogue, meh, due to squad combat dialogue just doesn't seem right or got lost in translation, but cutscenes are good. Yes the cutscenes,Starting off my review, the command/dialogue system, good but with the options available it can get rather confusing what your actually saying and wondering why saying "you fool" is a dialogue option where it makes no sense(mic untested). Next character dialogue, meh, due to squad combat dialogue just doesn't seem right or got lost in translation, but cutscenes are good. Yes the cutscenes, good for story but being japanese there can tend to be about 3 before you get back to actual gameplay, and have better graphics than actual gameplay. Graphics, good, it isn't battlefield 3, but they are pretty standard graphics of the last few years.
    Audio, okay, but guns just don't sound right when you listen to them, otherwise fine, nice soundtrack. Gameplay, a rather standard third person shooter (find cover and shoot from there), upgrading weapons/customising nanomachines is boring(leveling up), the trust meter is a strange thing, leveled up with headshots/one hit kills/melee kills and agreeing with your team. Team commands, I found on the last boss fight my team member refused to revive another making me use up MY medkits to get them to just go down after a few seconds. Otherwise campaign is good however incredibly short. (Total for Campaign8/10-length)
    Now the multiplayer, utterly and completely mind-blowing at how it's dissapointing. After a good campaign I thought I'd try multiplayer(about 2months after release), hardly anybody online and 85% are Japanese(maybe Chinese the writting all looks the same to me), a poor attempt at multiplayer filled with max level people and it's incredibly unbalanced. So final decision on this game overall good but not great due to length and sub-standard multiplayer and low replayability of campaign.

    Yes a big fat 5 best describes binary domain.
    RECOMMENDED AS RENTAL ONLY(unless on sale).    … Expand
  5. PictoPirate
    May 17, 2017
    7
    A good story with interesting characters, a solid shooting mechanic and some quality boss fights Binary Domain is a very good game with one major flaw for a game designed with it in mind the voice controls are shocking.
  6. mongoman
    Sep 23, 2012
    7
    Overall, Binary Domain is a fine game. It blatantly rips off GoW but thats not so bad. My problem with this game is its very "generic" there is nothing new here, and the ability to "communicate" with your team seems useless, at least to me. The controls are tight, the graphics are good, and the story is well done. yet everything here has been done before and in some cases done better. ifOverall, Binary Domain is a fine game. It blatantly rips off GoW but thats not so bad. My problem with this game is its very "generic" there is nothing new here, and the ability to "communicate" with your team seems useless, at least to me. The controls are tight, the graphics are good, and the story is well done. yet everything here has been done before and in some cases done better. if your looking for another shooter to play for the weekend this may fit the bill but don't buy it, rent it instead. Fun in small doses, boring after an hour or two.… Expand
  7. JDConspirator
    Jan 6, 2013
    7
    Stripped of its unique ideas, you'd be forgiven that this is a hyper generic third person shooter. Luckily there are a few new ideas that give it extensive appeal beyond conformity. Such ideas come in the form of the Voice Recognition System. Whilst the idea is flawed (you need to sound very American to trigger the most elaborate recognition) it's a good idea to give it a slice of novelty.Stripped of its unique ideas, you'd be forgiven that this is a hyper generic third person shooter. Luckily there are a few new ideas that give it extensive appeal beyond conformity. Such ideas come in the form of the Voice Recognition System. Whilst the idea is flawed (you need to sound very American to trigger the most elaborate recognition) it's a good idea to give it a slice of novelty. When giving commands, you have a quasi moral mechanic. Do you act like a fool, and constantly reply in childish and sophomoric ways? Then expect them to ignore you, though they only betray you if you keep slamming your gun into their mush and acting like a noob. The real star of the Domain though is the deformation of your bot foes. Decapitate their head and they'll instantly fire at fellow drones. Shoot out their legs, they'll scrabble over to you in an attempt to take you out. In this way it's more hectic than other shooters. Though there are great ideas at work, it's still all about progression- shooting, following objectives and orders whilst occassionally varying up the repetition with boss fights and some wild excursions. Generally a decent game with great ideas that don't quite congeal into a blockbusting blaster.… Expand
  8. karmasleeper
    Mar 30, 2012
    7
    Standard but well done TPS gameplay. Excellent level design and visuals, but the framerate on the PS3 gets bogged down at certain points in the game and for certain boss encounters. The characters are very enjoyable and the voice acting is great, but tactically, it really doesn't make a difference which characters you choose to bring with you. The voice command system works well butStandard but well done TPS gameplay. Excellent level design and visuals, but the framerate on the PS3 gets bogged down at certain points in the game and for certain boss encounters. The characters are very enjoyable and the voice acting is great, but tactically, it really doesn't make a difference which characters you choose to bring with you. The voice command system works well but it's much easier and safer to issue commands with the controller since the game doesn't always pick up your commands correctly. The AI is also goofy at points, often bumbling into your line of fire and forcing you to lose trust with them as they complain about it. Trust is another mechanic that didn't pan out that well. By doing well in combat or responding favorably to dialogue cues, you can increase trust levels with certain party members. This affects the outcome of certain plot points in the story, but little else. These plot points are also few and far between. I was hoping choosing different companions when replaying portions of the game would affect the outcome of the events more, but sadly, it doesn't. The competitive multiplayer modes are awful but the cooperative modes are a blast. Buy this game mainly for the single player, which is somewhat replayable, and the coop modes. Great game.… Expand
  9. bundykins
    Feb 29, 2012
    7
    Binary Domain is a third person shooter that owes a massive debt to both Gears Of War and I, Robot.
    The graphics are solid, but there are better looking games this generation. The boss encounters are huge and time consuming.
    The squad mechanic is under par as your team mates will routinely run into your line of fire and complain at you as if it was your fault! Also they spout the same    Binary Domain is a third person shooter that owes a massive debt to both Gears Of War and I, Robot.
    The graphics are solid, but there are better looking games this generation. The boss encounters are huge and time consuming.
    The squad mechanic is under par as your team mates will routinely run into your line of fire and complain at you as if it was your fault! Also they spout the same repetitive phrases throughout combat.
    There's no online co-op which would have boosted my enjoyment further, and I can't see why Sega didn't think to include it seeing as you're always fighting in groups of 2 or 3 within the story. Shame.
    Overall it's a solid shooter, i can't say I didn't enjoy it. But it brings few new ideas to the genre, and without campaign co-op which it is so crying out for, a bit of a let down.    … Expand
  10. lazatoy
    Aug 30, 2014
    6
    You know, for a while now I've wanted to play this, and when PS Plus gave it to me, who could resist?
    I mean, the setup is pure brilliance: You play a member of some force with a terminator-like setup, and you can use your mic to give tips to your fellow followers, but be careful because if you play your dice wrong, your teammates will no longer follow in your orders. Just thinking about    You know, for a while now I've wanted to play this, and when PS Plus gave it to me, who could resist?
    I mean, the setup is pure brilliance: You play a member of some force with a terminator-like setup, and you can use your mic to give tips to your fellow followers, but be careful because if you play your dice wrong, your teammates will no longer follow in your orders. Just thinking about that, the first thing that comes to mind is how FRICKEN AWESOME it would be to play. But... remember siri on the iPhone?
    Remember how she would get things wrong even when you said them with perfection? ...that's kinda like the commands system in this game. Don't get me wrong, it's functional, but even while testing I got allot wrong. At least it works for actual gameplay, but even then it's kind of hard to try to give you fellow teammates commands. I still haven't tried multiplayer, and I will soon. The gunplay also works in a way that's fine, and when your not raging over how the damn microphone can't pick up a single f*cking thing you're saying, the teammates aren't too forgettable, then again, I've seen more memorable characters in the likes of the walking dead and the last of us.
    The story, however, is mediocre at best. The terminator-like setup gets you excited to hear what the story is, then you watch a few cut scenes that can be described in 1-2 sentences... wow.
    It is a fun game to play, don't get me wrong, but it's also really flawed in the areas that had me mostly hyped for it.
    6 out of 10,

    +Fun Gunplay
    +a great setup...
    -...that's partially wasted due to technical issues and so forth.

    Though I have a ruff time suggesting this, if you can get past screaming in the microphone because
    the game won't pick up a damn thing you're saying, then I would recommend you pick this up, whether it be boxed or digital.    … Expand
  11. SJ-ULTI-Reiews
    Nov 25, 2013
    7
    Binary Domain is a very unique game with an interesting premise. The gameplay isint anything special, its a third person shooter with some rpg elements like choosing who will be on your squad or what you want to tell your teammates to do. The graphics are solid, the cutscenes look great. Their is some re-playability to this game like leveling up your weapons and the muliplayer, but by nowBinary Domain is a very unique game with an interesting premise. The gameplay isint anything special, its a third person shooter with some rpg elements like choosing who will be on your squad or what you want to tell your teammates to do. The graphics are solid, the cutscenes look great. Their is some re-playability to this game like leveling up your weapons and the muliplayer, but by now theirs hardly anyone online. Binary Domain has a decent story mode that can get cheesy at times but it manages to pull through. Hopefully Sega makes a sequel to this game, i really want to see where the Dan and Faye relationship goes. Overall Score= 75/100… Expand

Awards & Rankings

97
#97 Best PS3 Game of 2012
40
#40 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
100
#100 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Hyper Magazine
    May 14, 2012
    50
    Every single thing that Binary Domain offers has already been done, and done better elsewhere. [June 2012, p.66]
  2. Thunderbolt
    Apr 27, 2012
    80
    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.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)
    Apr 3, 2012
    70
    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]
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