"Absolutely wonderful!"

Bionic Commando is a Capcom game released way back in 1988. It has lots of items to use and things to do, and a feature that makes it really special: the bionic arm.

Story: 9/10
Before Bionic Commando, there was Commando, a top-view shooter, with the style of Ikari Warriors. The Hero from Commando, SuperJoe, is captured by the Corporation when he tried to discover something about the weapon they were building, and the Federation sends a hero to rescue him. Later on the game, you can use a communicator to know about enemy´s plans, wich makes the plot more interesting as you advance.

Graphics: 9/10
Very cool graphics. The stages make you feel that the world is in war, or it will be soon. They take you to lots of warehouses, factorys where the enemy is doing experiments... From the sunset stage, to the night stage, they are all beautifully done. They are also very varied, and make good use of the Nes palette. Not the best of the Nes, but they get the job (very) well done.

Sound: 10/10
Cool sound efects, but not very noticeable. The music, on the other hand, is awesome. As the graphics, it makes you feel in war, it makes you feel you´ve to do something fast, or the world will be destroyed. First Stage music is one of the best on the Nes, and other musics are very close to it (Stage 5, with a sunset background, comes to mind)

Gameplay: 10/10
The B button shoots your weapon, and the A button throws your bionic arm. The arm is a very innovative feature used to hook to ceilings or platforms to make you cross pits, or arrive to platforms above you, since you can´t jump. When you tap A, you throw the arm, and you can swing to go to the next platform, or gather the arm to arrive to the platform above you... You´ll need a lot of practice to use the arm like you want to use it, but when you know what you´re doing, the arm becomes most of the fun you´ll have with this game, that´s for sure.

When you start a game, there´s a map with numbers. That numbers are stages. There are neutral zones and enemy zones. On neutral zones you´ll pick up an item needed for some stages, and you can get some information (Get out of here, nerd!) but if you shoot, the neutral people will try to kill you. The enemy stages are the ''real'' stages, where you have to kill lots of enemies, avoid lots of traps,get items etc... There are lots of weapons and items you can use in your adventure (soon you´ll discover what are the best) to stop the corporation´s plans.

Fun Factor 10/10
The plot is good, the stages are beautiful, the music rocks, using your arm is FUN, and you have lots of different stages to try many different things. And the ending... I won´t spoil it, but you´ll love that ending.

Replay Value 9/10
This will take you about 2-3 hours to finish your first time through, but when you learn to master the arm, you can finish it in an hour, more or less, so it´s not that long. The game doesn´t have passwords or save battery, but it doesn´t matter. Is so much fun to go through all of the stages you´ll want to do it lots of times.

Final: 10/10
Maybe the arm control will be frustrating at first, but master it, and you´ll love this game.With a good plot, an excellent music and graphics,and an innovative gameplay, this game is one of the best of the Nes.

Please, forgive any spelling errors I might have, as I´m not from an English Country

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/04