Bionic Commando (NES, 1988)
Graphics-8 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge- Story-6
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
+
Innovative mechanics (swinging via a bionic arm which also replaces standard jumping, spying on enemy intel via comm room wiretapping - reveal the story piece by piece
Neutral areas (where you can chat with the enemy for some reason, shooting in these makes every neutral turn against you while the enemy disappears)
Choose your own path (hub map, similar to SMB3 where you can run into enemy patrols - turns the game into Ikari Warriors for a bit)
You can increase your lifebar
Equipment inventory (can't cancel an item selection when preparing for a mission unless you have two items of one category (there are three categories)) - select three items before entering an area
Use the arm as an alternate weapon, pretty fast paced, decent dialogue (original)
+/-
Need to attack in some neutral areas to make barriers disappear (killing bystanders for no reason)
Censorship in western versions (no Nazis)
Leaving entered areas requires a code (except for neutral ones, code is A+B+Start)
-
No save (2 credits, 3 lives per credit)
No difficulty options
Cheap hits/trial & error (can't look up/down (some blind jumps, climb into paratroopers falling from above), enemies spawn well into the screen, ambushes in comm rooms, some traps, bosses)
Inconsistent about damage (bouncing into an enemy takes a little bit of HP while hitting them from below that much more)
Huge knockback
Dated controls in some ways (end up somewhat 'inside' ceilings when swinging throwing off one's timing, need pause menu to see exact life stats, can't start swinging from still hanging position, fall straight down when walking off a ledge, annoying delay when you just want to climb up a platform from below (can get around this by releasing and attaching again straight from below but it's a bit clunky and feels like an afterthought), can't jump down through platforms which you can climb up onto from below, need to walk away and back from comm terminal to re-use it)
Uneven difficulty (heavy respawn rates in some areas)
Need to enter comm rooms for doors to open further into the same area
Can't switch between equipment on the fly (adds to the uneven difficulty)
Mechanics and items not explained in-game
The level design often doesn't provide for good flow unless you know the level (non-intuitive design)
Simple and repetitive bosses
Some NPCs give useless tips ("advance with caution")
Level Design-7 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7 Originality-7
Overall Score-6.5
+
Innovative mechanics (swinging via a bionic arm which also replaces standard jumping, spying on enemy intel via comm room wiretapping - reveal the story piece by piece
Neutral areas (where you can chat with the enemy for some reason, shooting in these makes every neutral turn against you while the enemy disappears)
Choose your own path (hub map, similar to SMB3 where you can run into enemy patrols - turns the game into Ikari Warriors for a bit)
You can increase your lifebar
Equipment inventory (can't cancel an item selection when preparing for a mission unless you have two items of one category (there are three categories)) - select three items before entering an area
Use the arm as an alternate weapon, pretty fast paced, decent dialogue (original)
+/-
Need to attack in some neutral areas to make barriers disappear (killing bystanders for no reason)
Censorship in western versions (no Nazis)
Leaving entered areas requires a code (except for neutral ones, code is A+B+Start)
-
No save (2 credits, 3 lives per credit)
No difficulty options
Cheap hits/trial & error (can't look up/down (some blind jumps, climb into paratroopers falling from above), enemies spawn well into the screen, ambushes in comm rooms, some traps, bosses)
Inconsistent about damage (bouncing into an enemy takes a little bit of HP while hitting them from below that much more)
Huge knockback
Dated controls in some ways (end up somewhat 'inside' ceilings when swinging throwing off one's timing, need pause menu to see exact life stats, can't start swinging from still hanging position, fall straight down when walking off a ledge, annoying delay when you just want to climb up a platform from below (can get around this by releasing and attaching again straight from below but it's a bit clunky and feels like an afterthought), can't jump down through platforms which you can climb up onto from below, need to walk away and back from comm terminal to re-use it)
Uneven difficulty (heavy respawn rates in some areas)
Need to enter comm rooms for doors to open further into the same area
Can't switch between equipment on the fly (adds to the uneven difficulty)
Mechanics and items not explained in-game
The level design often doesn't provide for good flow unless you know the level (non-intuitive design)
Simple and repetitive bosses
Some NPCs give useless tips ("advance with caution")