Capcom fans rarely need worry about their favorite title becoming another forgotten digital relic: Mega Man sequels, ports, and revisions are almost virus-like in their ability to multiply, Resident Evil 5 (actually the sixth core game) is due for release early next year, Dante recently made waves with Devil May Cry 4, and Street Fighter fans will receive a double dose of Hadoken later this year with Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.

Since the year 198X, Bionic Commando fans have waited for their time to shine. Nintendo's Game Boy platform assuaged some of the rabid craving for more bionic arm adventures with a 1992 revision of the NES classic and even a sequel in 1999 -- but fans wanted more than remakes and slight iterations. In 2007, Capcom granted their wish by announcing the plainly-titled Bionic Commando, a 3D sequel to the arcade and NES installments due for release on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Our hands-on session with the PC version took place not in a stage teeming with bad guys, but in a spacious greenhouse-like room built for multiplayer action. With no other players running around, we were free to treat the environment as our own virtual playground.


Similar to many stages in the new Bionic Commando, ours wasn't wide open so much as it was "tall" open. Most areas are built vertically, which allows the player to make the best use of his trusty bionic arm. As mentioned, our particular playground was a greenhouse filled with lush vegetation, a deep pond, and a tall obelisk-like structure in the very center of the room. Bridges jut out from the structure at different levels, providing platform for players to wage shoot-outs and...

Shoot-outs? There are guns in Bionic Commando, but conventional weaponry takes a backseat to the versatile bionic arm. Simple in design yet dynamic in execution, the bionic arm fires a cord that can be attached to ground, walls, ceilings, and even other players. Forgoing a keyboard and mouse in favor of an attached Xbox 360 controller, we started our avatar toward the obelisk, intent on climbing to the roof and swinging from its rafters.

Slinging to and fro is extremely simple: use the right analog stick (or the mouse) to adjust the camera and line up a target, then press the Left Trigger (or a designated mouse button or other key) to fire the line. We took aim at one of the platforms connected to the tall obelisk, fired, and press the A button to pull our avatar up. So doing positioned his feet squarely on the wall, and press A again caused him to climb up in large hops.

As we neared the platform, we had a sudden thought: why walk on the platform when we can just swing from it? Releasing LT caused us to retract the rope and begin to fall. Before our momentum could pick up, we quickly spun and again mashed the LT button. Just like Batman swinging his way from rooftop to rooftop, our hero shot out the rope and connected it to the bottom of the platform, causing us to swing toward it.


Wiggling the left analog stick (or your specified directional keys on your keyboard) causes you to build momentum, which we used for our next swing. Press LT, swing, release LT and press again, swing, release LT and press again...

In no time at all we had traversed the entire circumference of the room. Our Batman-like method of travel caused as to grow cocky, for just as we took aim at a rafter, we crashed face-first into a wall. Our hold broken, we plummeted toward the earth as the jagged rocks of the greenhouse floor rushed up to meet us...

We landed with a sickening crunch and prepared for a Continue screen to pop up... but to our surprise, the character simply straightened and stared ahead, waiting for our next command. Heights won't kill you in Bionic Commando; Capcom thought that the fun of playing Tarzan in each environment might be lessened if a simple mistake caused the player to fall to his death. Water, however, does spell doom for your character, as your bionic arm is simply too heavy to allow for swimming. You can mash the jump key like crazy to escape, but if you're out too deep, be prepared to load your last saved game.


If swinging from ceilings, rooftops, walls, and other structures becomes tedious, why not latch on to other players for a free ride -- or a hilarious kill? A Capcom representative described a play-testing scenario which saw one player latch on to another's, ah, posterior region. The poor sap had no idea he was receiving a bionic wedgie until his chuckling passenger used their momentum to swing over his free ride, whip out a gun in free fall, and plant a bullet between his stunned adversary's eyes.

Such tactics could also be used cooperatively. If there happens to be an area you find inaccessible, have a buddy climb as high as possible, then latch on to him while he swings and use your combined momentum to catapult yourself over or onto your destination.

Armaments in Bionic Commando are your standard fare: pistols, automatics, grenades, and other stock weapons. Standard run-and-gun tactics apply, although the camera can be locked behind your character's should with a single key press should you want to take more careful aim at a target. Grenades are atypical in that they do not detonate on impact, but respond to either proximity or gunfire. One useful strategy might be to throw down a grenade near a bend, wait for an opponent to round the corner, then open fire on the grenade for devastating results.


From what we saw, the Bionic Commando's weaponry doesn't include anything terribly new or exciting, but let's be honest: Bionic Commando isn't about guns, it's about the bionic arm. Why use a pistol when you can drag enemies over to you a la Mortal Kombat's Scorpion? The arm is far more interesting than the arsenal, and that is just how it should be.

Mega Man 9 has been announced for WiiWare, Street Fighter frenzy is at an all-time high, E3 will be dedicated to Resident Evil 5, but the next Bionic Commando installment -- and Bionic Commando: Rearmed, a remake of the NES classic headed to PC, PS3, and Xbox Live Arcade -- looks like it could be the standout star of Capcom's next wave of releases.

Look for Bionic Commando on PC in early 2009.