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Bionic Commando for PlayStation 3
Bionic Commando for PlayStation 3 is an action-adventure game in which Nathan Spencer travels through the devastated Ascension City with a mechanical arm. After an attack, the previously imprisoned soldier receives another assignment from the government that abandoned him. You see Spencer from a third-person perspective. His extendable arm is both a tool for progressing and a weapon. Buildings, bridges and other tall structures provide attachment points for the route through the city.
By hooking your arm onto something, you build up a swing and release at the right moment to reach the next location. You need to look ahead for the next attachment point and account for distance. In combat, you use firearms alongside the arm's capabilities. It can grab heavy objects and throw them at enemies. Swinging to another position can therefore be just as important as choosing a weapon. Your movement remains an active part of combat.
You play the story campaign alone; there is no cooperation with a second player within this adventure. Hidden objects give you extra reasons to investigate hard-to-reach places as well. This PS3 edition is the three-dimensional Bionic Commando from 2009, not Bionic Commando Rearmed. That separate game uses a different structure. In the offline campaign, you steadily improve your command of Spencer's arm as you travel further through the ruined city.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 3 games are European editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Bionic Commando for PlayStation 3 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Bionic Commando
Capcom announced the new Bionic Commando in 2007 and released the console versions in 2009. Swedish studio GRIN developed the game. The creators took the swinging movement from the 1988 NES adventure as their starting point, but moved it into three-dimensional environments. Nathan Spencer returned as the protagonist, with Mike Patton providing his voice. The ruins of Ascension City gave the arm a different role than in the older side-view areas.
GRIN founder Ulf Andersson explained that swinging was central early in development. According to him, the rest of the game grew from that movement and the arm's cable. Objects also needed to have recognisable weight. Throwing a car makes the arm's strength understandable because you know how heavy such a vehicle is. Travelling and fighting therefore share the same foundation: you read the environment in search of something to hang from or something you can move.
Around the same revival, Bionic Commando Rearmed also appeared, a separate side-view reinterpretation of the older game. The naming can be confusing, but this PS3 disc contains the later three-dimensional adventure. It is not a bundle of both games. Bionic Commando from 2009 mainly shows how one familiar movement took on a different form on newer hardware. Instead of simply looking for the other side of a screen, you must now assess direction, height and distance in a spatial environment.
Similar games for PlayStation 3
Bionic Commando Rearmed on PlayStation 3 also revolves around a mechanical grappling arm. It uses a side view and reworks the structure of the older adventure. Bionic Commando from 2009 moves swinging into three-dimensional ruins. This changes how you read height and direction, combining the arm with movement through a much more spatial combat area.
inFamous on PlayStation 3 also lets you move between tall buildings and combine supernatural powers with combat. Cole climbs and uses electricity in a city that is more freely explored. Bionic Commando emphasises the cable and swinging between attachment points. It also follows a self-contained campaign rather than the same open city structure.
Just Cause 2 on PlayStation 3 also uses a grappling hook to connect movement and combat. Rico combines it with a parachute and vehicles in a large open world. Bionic Commando concentrates on the swinging movement itself. Your timing when hooking on and releasing therefore matters more as you cross devastated areas.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves on PlayStation 3 also alternates climbing with third-person gunfights. Nathan Drake uses ledges and cover during a story-driven adventure. Spencer's arm gives him a different means of movement, allowing him to cross larger gaps and move objects. Attachment points therefore form a more prominent part of your route choices.
Dark Sector on PlayStation 3 also gives you a hero with an unusual weapon on his arm. Hayden throws a returning disc and uses it in combat and environmental puzzles. Spencer's mechanical arm stays connected by a cable and mainly helps with swinging, grabbing and moving. Both combine shooting with a special tool, but call for different movements.
