Bionic Commando: Rearmed

One of the best remakes out there. If you loved Bionic Commando on NES, you will love this. If you've never played Bionic Commando, you're in for a real treat. But let me cover some caveats before I explain more about the game. These caveats (especially #1) are why the game has mixed reviews. Which is a shame, but the reality of trying to play a game that's nearing 20 years old.

1) This game won't run on Windows 10 without some work. I don't know if it runs on Windows 11. If you're willing to troubleshoot, check the Discussion page first for latest information. For me, I had to install 2 PhysX packages and download a hacked EXE that allows the game to run on more than 4 cores.

2) The movement in this game is unique. It's a platformer, but your character can't jump. Instead, you have to aim a bionic arm to move vertically. The game centers around this completely. Every level is a bit of puzzle and a bit of a platformer, because not only do you need to figure out how to traverse the level, you need to get the timing on the arm throws correct. This is the core of why the game's so great, but some people don't like it. The character is not snappy and responsive until you've climbed high enough on the skill ceiling to make him that way. But there is a lot of depth to this system, including knocking bullets out of the air, and performing other tricks with the bionic arm.

3) I think you must use a controller to play the game. I'm currently using a Switch controller with Steam support force-enabled. The prompts are all X-Box style, of course. This game is from 2008!

Now, why is the game so great, beside what I've already mentioned? The music is bangin, the level design is flawless, the enemies are paced just right, are fun, and are not bullet sponges. Everything about this game feels master-crafted. This was a perfect remake back in the dark ages of NES remakes. I would say this is the grandfather of the great NES remakes. And because of the unique arm mechanic, you won't find another game out there like it. Every level has a boss, and the boss fights are fun. Note that this is a relatively linear game with levels, not a metroidvania or open-world style game. It's not an exact copy of the NES game; like any great remake, they improved it but kept the core intact. If you want to know even more, there should be some old school reviews online from back in the days when game review sites were actually pretty decent.

TLDR; if you like unique platformers, and you're not afraid of a little troubleshooting, it's more than well worth a buy -- until Capcom remasters it. (And sadly, they probably never will.)

It's fun as hell when you get it up and running.

Really fun kinda of old school game!

Bionic Commando Rearmed is a really mixed bag of a game and a poor port, but it’s still an okay remake of a classic game, but what is the story.

The Imperial Army has just struck a major blow to the FSA, as their greatest soldier Super Joe has been captured by them, all hope seems lost as the Imperial Army conquers the land, increasing their power but it’s not over as a young man named Nathan "Rad" Spencer is charged to rescue super Joe and help bring down the evil Imperial Army. It seems impossible for one man to do it all, but with Nathan’s Arsenal and his bionic mechanical grapple arm this young man, this Bionic Commando ma have what it takes to do the impossible and save the world.

Okay let’s talk about the likes, the gameplay is okay I do like the grapple hook even though it could be quite frustrating at times, it is very versatile and the game really pushes the whole bionic grapple hook thing to its maximum not just with traversing levels, but beating bosses. The weapons are good each one has its own feel, we have your standard pistol and shotgun, but we can also get a machine gun as well as a bazooka and some can be a little bit multi-purpose especially the shotgun, there is also upgrades, but they are scattered throughout the game.

The story is good, it’s a very simple stop the fascists from taking over the world, it does have a good amount of Comedy and some light hearted moments but there is one problem with it but that's for dislikes. The graphics are good with a nice use of shell shaded bright colors that makes each level an area stand out along with a variety of rich environments, characters and enemies that are all visually appealing.

The levels were okayish each level is a bit diverse with some interesting scenery, but it does make you want to stop and look at each one, but there is a problem with them all, but like I have said that’s for the dislikes. The enemies and bosses were good each one has their own unique looks and feel, especially the bosses as each one was quite unique, although they do reuse bosses but I didn’t really mind it.

The characters are good they're simple but you definitely come to like them, especially Nathan the Bionic Commando as he has this pretty kick-ass classic super soldier kind of feel to him and the helicopter pilot Haley I liked her as well as she is cool with a great sense of humor. The music was good that fit the game quite well with some nice tracks to listen too. The little bonuses in the game are good, I liked the little bios for the different enemies, characters and the world, there's also a challenge mode you can do but I never played it.

Okay let’s talk about the dislikes, now there's this huge and I mean huge problem with the game and it lies in the port itself, the game does not work on newer PCs, it just doesn't.To the point where I actually gave this game a bad review because I thought it was unplayable, but thanks to the fixes/walkthroughs on how to fix the game precisely Katros and Master Squid I was able to play it, but it's still bullshit that we even have to have these walkthrough/fixes for a game that Capcom should have patched it themselves before releasing it.

Now I said the levels were a mixed bag and that's because the game can have some pretty bad difficulty spikes, especially when grappling on certain levels like especially level 6 and 12 are particularly annoying. Now before anyone says I should get good, I'm a fan of Dark Souls games and I've played difficult games before, but the parts of this game feels very much bunk and requires a good bit of luck to beat, I don't know maybe it's my controller but I feel like it's the game itself.

Now the problem with the story is that they really should have just called the leader Hitler like come on I can understand why in the original game they had to scrub most of the overall Nazi references like changing Hitler’s name to the leader and stuff like that, but I feel like you don't have to do it for this game like call the leader Hitler and keep the more overt Nazi stuff in it, I don't know it just feels like if they did it would make fighting the bad guys even more fun, I don’t know like just using subtext feels kind of cheap. Also this game doesn't have achievements which I feel like it should.

Now that you all know this Bionic Commando Rearmed is a really mixed bag of a game and a poor port, but it’s still an okay remake of a classic game, it has okay gameplay, a good story and good characters.

So do I recommend this game, kind of yes kind of no if you do get it I suggest wait till it's on sale, also to have a lot of patience especially when fixing the game so you can be able to play it on newer PCs. Honestly I hope Capcom or maybe Nightdive Studios can do a proper port of this game that also includes the original bio Commando and bio Commando rearmed 2.

It is a great remaster, but an extremely hard game basically because of the controls. Wasn't able to finish it.

I played Bionic Commando quite a bit back when I was a kid, on the NES. It was one of my favorite games on the NES as a matter of fact. This is a very well designed remake that keeps the style and gameplay of the original while also improving upon it a great deal. The graphics are about as good as you could ask for in a remake of a NES Side-Scroller. They kept all of what made this game incredible in the first place. The swinging mechanics are just as fun as they ever were and the gunplay has been enhanced to make it more playable and a bit more faced paced. If you are a fan of side-scrolling shooters then you will probably enjoy this one. The lack of a jump button or even the ability to jump may turn some people off but the swinging mechanics are just so much fun that you will be enthralled before you know it. If you enjoyed the original on the NES, or even the original Arcade version you will absolutely love this game.

I've seen a few reviews complaining about how difficult the game can be because of some design decisions. However, this might be one of the most subjective reviews here. I initially played this game around 2009, I was about 7-8 years old, and to me, the OST, the gameplay and lots of other features till today, are one of the best I've ever seen. And all of this may be caused for the fact, that this was if not the first, the first game that I completed and played with my father. I can still remember my father carrying me the whole game, looking to some guides online, not knowing what to do in some places, and me just shooting all around while not having any idea of what to do, but till today, is one of best experiences in term of videogames, so to me, this might be one of the best games of all time.

I only had to download https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/drivers/physx/physx-9-13-0604-legacy-driver/ to fix the game

I still like this game ,but it doesnt control that great ,it not horrible either it is in between

I loved the NES game it was one of the first games I ever beat and I ave this on PS4 pro and I’m tempted to get it on steam just because I love it that much. To any who haven’t played it it’s fantastic.

Authentic, classic controls and overall very good presentation. Has a serviceable story with multiple characters, and some really fun set pieces and boss battles. However, it doesn't appear to run on Windows 11.

Overall enjoyable once you get a couple fixes running to stop the crashes.

It's one of the few modern remakes of an NES era game that does the name justice, controls are awkward at first since there's no dedicated jump button, but once you figure out how to swing around and get where you need to go, it's a lovely action platformer with a lot of charm.

Please add sex with Big Tiddy Goth Chicks

Cool little game that I spent countless hours playing in the early 2010's.

Contrary to what most recent reviews say, the game actually works in Windows 11 and it even runs flawlessly at 144 FPS, but it's kind of a hassle to make it run. I used the most recent DXVK (version 2.5.1, 32bit, d3d9) along with the PhysX Legacy fix (copying the PhysX files into the game folder) and even downloaded a modified EXE from PCGamingWiki that restricted the game to run with 4 CPU cores.

So yeah, I'm giving it a negative thumb because the end user SHOULDN'T have to take these steps to make their purchased game run, no matter how old and cheap it is.

Game is really good, but only buy if you're willing to take these steps to make this game run, avoid otherwise.

November - 2024.

This game is no longer playable on Windows 11. I've followed all the "fix it" guides to try and have this game work and the best I can get is that it loads up - but it just sits there on a black screen.

Really lame that I'm not able to play this ever again.

no you did not have me go thru all that..very fun yes..but i almost beat that boss..
to send me all the way back to start of the level..there's no way im doin' that again
& i know this is how games were back then..but there's just no time for that shii now
so i highly recommend cheat engine codes for the 999 unlimited lives h4ck for BC:R
same w/ cuphead & these brutal retro difficult games..need option of save states pls
someone said if you select 'exit to extraction' it saves it but..nah i dont trust that shii
other than that love love love this game wow everything about it so far is sooo good
for those having trouble..id suggest an Nvidia GPU for its PhysX driver is part of code
i swear the japanese..capcom..konami..square..sony..yamaha..lexus..they do it all..best

Bionic Commando Rearmed is a remake version of the 1998 NES game Bionic Commando, often remembered for it's unique swinging mechanic and challenging platform gameplay. This remake also serves as a prelude to the 2009 Bionic Commando title, created by the same developers. You play as Nathan "Rad" Spencer, a commando with a bionic left arm tasked with the mission of rescuing a man named Joseph "Super Joe" Gibson and destroy a weapon known as the Albatross from the Imperial Army.

The Good.

Gameplay - The gameplay is simple. You kill some foes, use your arm to progress through the level, do a hacking mini-game, defeat the boss and get a new item or weapon. Rinse and repeat until the credits roll. Throughout the game you'll face different types of enemies and traps, some being rather tricky to get rid off but it's quickly becomes easier as you progress and acquire new weapons such as the bazooka and the machine gun which is incredibly satisfying to use when you get it, The real difficulty is going through areas with spikes, as when you fall there it's instant death. If you die three times in a level, then it's game over, you'd have to start from the level from the beginning as there's no checkpoints in levels.

Soundtrack - The soundtrack of this game was created by Simon Viklund who is popular for his contributions as a sound designer and creating the OSTs for Payday: The Heist and Payday 2. Although not many tracks within the game, they're incredibly well made and catchy, feeling both retro, yet new.

The Bad.

Boss Battles - The issue with the boss battles of this game is that they're repetitive, if you've beat one before, you're most likely going to see them again with a minor variation in attacks. They get incredibly easy as soon as you get the bazooka or Joe's Machine Gun, often going down in a few seconds,

The Ugly.

Controls - My biggest gripe with the game has to be the controls specifically in the swinging mechanic, it felt awkward and frustrating especially at the more difficult levels towards the end of the game where at that point you're constantly restarting levels and dying from the same traps. From start to finish, it felt like I was fighting with the controls which often ruined the experience for me.

Verdict.

It's clear that GRIN took a lot of time and passion on creating a game that feels both new and updated, yet remaining faithful to the original adaptation of the NES game. The runtime is rather short, probably lasting you around 3-4 hours. However, it's difficult to recommend this game to other people due to the bad controls. Usually dropping the game before they complete the first boss due to the awkward controls, not to mention this game has some issues running on modern systems according to the many reviews here.

Bought this game years ago in a bundle I think, it sat in my back log until my new years resolution where I wouldn't buy another game till I played and beat all my other steam games. I would comment on the game but it will not run on my PC I tried for 30min to get it running no dice. No idea if its my rig or if capcom isn't updating either way buyers beware.