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Bionic Commando
I borrowed the 3D reboot of this from work because I'm very fond of the original and I flat out loved the 2D revamp. I like the idea the grappling hook in games but I've not seen swinging done right in 3D since Spider-man 2.
The game looks gorgeous, taking place in a fallen city just after a massive explosion - sunlight filtering through smashed skyscrapers that are broken across the horizon, it really makes you want to explore this world with your abilities.
Unfortunately, the game doesn't want you to explore. This is a game about fluid, high altitude movement, set in a city begging to explored and it has invisible walls EVERYWHERE. Worse still, these invisible walls can kill you due to radiation immediately after you swing into them thanks to 'fallout from the explosion' (read: developer couldn't be bothered making multiple routes).
In addition to this, the game is glitchy and inconsistent - often sending you tumbling to your death for reasons that have nothing to do with your skill. This is a problem compounded by the terrible checkpointing that makes you drudge through the poorly designed level all over again, even making you pick up the hard-to-reach collectable items again and - worse - sit through all the cut scenes (which seem to have been scripted by a 12 year old boy) AGAIN.
The original Bionic Commando (and the remake) was hard but if you died it was because you weren't skilled enough and if you finished a hard level, you felt like you'd achieved something. In this game finishing a level means you just navigated bugs and poor design and makes you a more patient man than I. A wasted opportunity.
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