It's impossible to ignore the impact jumping has had on this once proud franchise. Now Playing: Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 Video Review Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 fails to capture the magic the series has dutifully wielded before now.īy clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's It's only when you take down an oversized boss or happen upon a secret area that the dormant feeling of elation returns.

When you try to propel yourself above a spike-lined floor and die for the seventh straight time, it makes you wonder what you ever saw in this franchise to begin with. Controls that were once novel are now unforgivingly clumsy, and haphazard level design ensures your frequent deaths come at the hand of unseen dangers lurking offscreen. Now that Bionic Commando's precious distinction no longer fits, the delicate fabric holding this game together has been torn to shreds. He has a mechanical grappling hook in place of his right arm, and his swinging ways are what separated him from his peers. But Bionic Commando's most noteworthy characteristic was that its protagonist, Rad Spencer, couldn't jump.

After all, there's no genre where vertical locomotion is more appropriate than in a 2D platformer, and more diverse movement options could lead to fresher level design. It seems like such an innocuous inclusion. At the bottom of the crumbling tower that was once the mighty Bionic Commando, a culprit for the collapse was found: the jump button.

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