Nathan "Rad" Spencer is back in this true sequel to Bionic Commando!
The gameplay is pretty decent. For my first hour, I had fun swinging around the landscape completing challenges for upgrades. I also spent a great deal of time smashing people with cars, obliterating mechs, and tossing people into the far beyond. The latter is a lot of fun because the distance before they disappear is very, very far away.
Challenges are side objectives that can be completed, sometimes for rewards and sometimes for another challenge continuing the last one. Challenges usually are for things like "Swing 30 feet on one swing" or something like that.
Also decent graphics. Nothing to get too excited about but nothing to be disappointed about. I did find one part at the end of a boss battle which seemed none too impressive and a bit of a lag, too, however I will not give away who I fought against.
The sound is pretty good. Playing from a television where the only speakers are built in, the sound sounded pretty good. Would've sounded like I was there with surround sound though…
The only voice acting I don't like is Nathan "RAD" Spencer. His voice is very stale and unenthusiastic, especially when he's angry. Sounds like he tries too hard. Voices over loudspeakers would be hard to hear without subtitles. Glad they're on then. Everybody else sounds goods.
There are a few other things that get annoying, too. The man directing you around (no names) constantly says "Look Alive" sometimes when an enemy comes to the scene. It is very boring and I wouldn't mind it if it was used about three times in the entire game. But it's not.
Nathan also tends to swear a lot. The F-word and the S-word are the most common, and usually describe what you were just thinking. (Something) happens on screen and Nathan will go "Holy S-word" or in a confusing situation he will go "What the F-word?". I don't mind it since it makes him seem human. Besides, when he swears is the only time he sounds right.
Despite how much he seems to hate the situation he is in, he sure does love his arm. Occasionally after a thrilling flight through the air, he will let out a "Wahoo!" or a "Yeah!". It's comforting to know he's enjoying himself too.
The game also has improvisation. Finding yourself in a tough brawl, ripping signs off of their posts and hurling them at your enemies is very effective. Occasionally, you can find yourself in tough spots with nothing around you though, so, good luck.
Just to get this clear, if you were expecting a game like the original Bionic Commando, and this is directed mostly towards the fans of the original game, the addition of the third-dimensional movement has made it vastly different. This game is mostly directed towards the new generation of gamers and isn't recommended for people who can not run and shoot, jump and shoot, fall and shoot or swing and shoot all in the third-dimension. I say this though so people will not buy this game hoping for the original's gameplay and have to - or in some cases, not be able to - return their game because they were sorely disappointed.
This is something I am stating only because this was a game my father had bought for himself, being a fan of the original game, and will soon find that he is not able to do even the basics.
The game is well worth the buy. It is very fun to play. Though not having played the original Bionic Commando, the game has made it very easy for me to understand what has happened through series of dossiers. Fun, addicting, and time-consuming. If you let it, you could lose half a day easy getting lost (in a good way) in this game.