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Bionic Commando swings to PC July 17 in EU, July 28 in US

by David Hinkle { Jul 8th 2009 at 8:57PM }

If you've been anxiously awaiting Nathan Spencer's latest romp, Bionic Commando, on the PC, then we've got some important days you'll need to mark on your calendar. First up, courtesy of Eurogamer, we know the title will release in Europe on July 17. Capcom has confirmed with us that the game will arrive in North America two weeks later, on July 28.

The PC version of Bionic Commando will feature the same gameplay as its console counterparts, but will boast new features in DirectX 9 and 10 support, higher resolutions, customizable controls and online options. Considering the game only managed to move 27,000 copies on consoles in its first month of US release, we wonder how the PC launch will fare.

Bionic Commando, Wheelman, more drop to $20 in GameStop sale

by Andrew Yoon { Jul 8th 2009 at 3:00PM }

GameStop is having a sale on a number of games; some of them flops that have plummeted from $60 to $20. Highlights include:

Guitar Hero: World Tour (Band Kit) - $90 [360/Wii]
Bionic Commando - $20 [PS3/360]
Wheelman - $20 [PS3/360]
Tom Clancy's HAWX - $20 [PS3/360]
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed - $20 [PS3/360]
Prince of Persia - $20 [PS3/360]
Tom Clancy's EndWar - $20 [PS3/360]
Cooking Mama: World Kitchen - $20 [Wii]
House of the Dead 2 and 3 Returns - $20 [Wii]

GameStop's summer sale runs from now until August 2. Check out all the goods here.

Bionic Commando grappled only 27k sales in May

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 15th 2009 at 10:45AM }

The new Bionic Commando sold a mere 27,000 units during its first month of sale in the US this May, reports Gamasutra. Well, its "first month" might be stretching it (like a grapple arm) a bit. The title went on sale May 19, which means it was at retail for the Xbox 360 and PS3 for a little under two weeks. Although, even with that caveat, those sales figures still aren't good for the modestly reviewed title, which had plenty of promotion.

Terminator Salvation, also developed by (the allegedly downsized) Grin and released around the same time as BC, sold 43,000 units with exceptionally poor reviews. To really put things in perspective, Bionic Commando Rearmed -- the high-def remake of the classic game -- sold 130,000 copies during its first week late last year.

Rumor: GRIN lays off more than 100

by Justin McElroy { May 27th 2009 at 8:45PM }

GRIN sort of exploded onto the scene recently with Wanted, Bionic Commando and Terminator Salvation all releasing within a couple of months of each other. Like a star post-supernova though, it seems that the company might be shrinking in on itself. Kotaku's reporting that various sources have indicated to them that the company has let go of more than 100 staff members.

We're working on getting official confirmation from someone at GRIN, we'll let you know what we find out.

Bionic Commando leaderboards swing online

by Richard Mitchell { May 20th 2009 at 8:00PM }

Capcom Unity reports that the leaderboards for Bionic Commando are now viewable on the game's website. The boards are fairly basic, displaying each players overall XP as well as their total kills, deaths and wins. Right now, it looks like the leaderboards are only available for the Xbox 360 version of the game, despite its availability on the PS3 and PC. Alas, there doesn't appear to be a search function, so good luck looking up how awesome you are.

Conversely, it will be much easier for bad players to hide their shame.

Future Capcom titles hitting Steam day and date with retail; more RE5 DLC considered

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 20th 2009 at 1:35PM }

Capcom's business and strategy VP Christian Svensson mentioned in a recent interview that the company plans to release future titles on Steam day and date with retail. ButtonBasher, following up on information provided in a recent Rock Paper Shotgun interview, discussed the topic of PC digital distribution and Svensson noted that Dark Void and Bionic Commando will be available on Steam at the same time as retail. The executive also noted that Capcom's western offices take digital distribution "very seriously."

Svensson added that the company is "considering" more DLC for Resident Evil 5. He notes that "there's nothing to announce by any stretch," but that a request for DLC suggestions on the company forums created a thread that's "hundreds of posts long." That's not really shocking, considering fans are passionate enough to give their blood for RE swag.

[Thanks, Jono]

Metareview - Bionic Commando (Xbox 360/PS3)

by David Hinkle { May 19th 2009 at 7:00PM }

Now that we've subjected you to our own review of Bionic Commando, it's high time we check out what others had to say about Nathan Spencer and his latest exploits. In short, it would seem the game is a success with most outlets. So, swing your eyes below and see what the rest of the gaming community thinks of Capcom's franchise reboot.

IGN (80/100): "If you can look past the replayability issues that crop up due to the linear play, you'll find an enjoyable adventure that easily re-establishes the franchise for Capcom."
Giant Bomb (80/100): "Bionic Commando goes back and forth between moments of great, navigation-based gameplay and a lot of little touches that don't work as well as you'd like. It makes the final product a little frustrating, because you can almost see a better game trying to bust its way out of its constraints."
Eurogamer (70/100): "Bionic Commando succeeds in resurrecting a good idea lost to the Capcom archives, and giving it a new lease of life, but it falls foul of a few old standards in the process."
Game Informer (63/100): "It's hard to forget the unresponsive controls, ludicrous story, and questionable combat encounters. The game is uneven and inconsistent enough to scare away even eager fans who have patiently waited 20 years for another swing." [June 2009, p.83]

Source - Metacritic: Bionic Commando (Xbox 360)
Source - Metacritic: Bionic Commando (PS3)

Gallery: Bionic Commando

Joystiq Review: Bionic Commando (single-player)

by Justin McElroy { May 18th 2009 at 2:31PM }

It figures. Right after I reinvent the face of modern games criticism by deciding not to finish a game I hated, a title comes along that really does get better in its second half: Bionic Commando is a pretty good game, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell from the first few hours.

Make no mistake, I'm not talking about the level of disdain I had for Velvet Assasin. I never really considered giving up on this rethinking of the 8-bit classic. But in Bionic Commando's opening hours, it was hard to stop wondering where Capcom had gone wrong.

Gallery: Bionic Commando

Continued →

Bionic Commando Rearmed NOT swinging in at $5 this week [update]

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 18th 2009 at 8:20AM }

Major Nelson notes that this week's Xbox "deal of the week" (which actually lives up to its name, for once) is Bionic Commando Rearmed for 400

($5). That's less than what you'll spend at the McDonalds drive-thru -- and a whole lot healthier.

The only thing diminishing our fanfare of this deal is that the PSN already dropped the BCR price last week. Either way, the price is something worth jumping for joy over. Sorry, Radd. Too soon for jumping jokes?

Update: The Major was apparently given misinformation. BCR is still $5 on PS3's PSN.

Play Bionic Commando demo with Capcom (again)

by Richard Mitchell { May 15th 2009 at 5:30PM }

We have to admit, we were really tempted to copy last week's post about this and just paste it in here. Alas, someone was looking, so the plans were scrapped. Suffice it to say that Capcom is once again hosting a little community playdate with the Bionic Commando demo. If you'd like a chance to own some Capcom fools, simply send an Xbox 360 friend request to "Snow Infernus" -- gamertag of Capcom's Shawn Baxter.

After that, just sign into Live when the action starts at 3:00pm Pacific (6:00pm Eastern). If you get invited to a private match, then congratulations! You're playing with Capcom. Finally, a story worth telling the grandkids someday. Also, sorry, but there is no word on whether or not Bionic Middle Manager will be taking part in the event.

Video: The big guns and big moves of Bionic Commando

by Richard Mitchell { May 15th 2009 at 4:00AM }

The latest Lab Report video for Bionic Commando has been released, this time showing off some of the game's weaponry and finishing moves. While we enjoy watching Nathan Spencer -- the game's hero -- hurling boulders at giant robots, our favorite piece of kit in the video has to be the Tarantula gun, which fires fires a cluster of missiles at distant targets. Also shown in the video is what appears to be a female sidekick and a sniping villainess.

A bionic love triangle, perhaps? Let's hope so.

[Via Big Download]

Bionic Commando Rearmed drops to $4.99 on PSN

by Richard Mitchell { May 14th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Capcom Unity has announced on its Twitter account that the excellent Bionic Commando Rearmed has received a price cut on the US Playstation Store. Specifically, the once $10 game is now available for only $4.99. If you haven't taken the plunge on the beautifully revamped remake, there's no time like the present.

After all, it's not like you get to explode the head of a resurrected World War 2 dictator every day. And, even if you did, it wouldn't be this cheap.

Capcom inks soundtrack deal over Bionic Commando, more

by Jason Dobson { May 11th 2009 at 9:30AM }

With a great mechanical appendage, Capcom has reached out and penned a deal with game soundtrack engine Sumthing Else Music Works to bring music from Bionic Commando, as well as other titles, to CDs, Sumthing's own digital distribution channel, Sumthing Digital, and iTunes.

In addition to the king of swing, the agreement will find six other titles from Capcom's catalog getting the soundtrack treatment, including recent releases like Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5 and Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, as well as upcoming games such as Dark Void, Spyborgs and Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. No release dates for any of the soundtracks have been released. However, given that we're unable to get the catchy tunes heard while swinging through Bionic Commando's recent demo out of our heads, that's one we'll certainly be keeping an ear out for soon.

PSA: Play Bionic Commando with Capcom

by Richard Mitchell { May 8th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Capcom's Shawn Baxter has announced that the company will be hosting a community play session of the Bionic Commando multiplayer demo later today. For your shot at playing with the folks at Capcom, sign on to Xbox Live at 3:00pm Pacific Time (6:00pm Eastern) and send a friend request to "Snow Infernus" (Baxter's gamertag). A few lucky gamers will then be invited to the match.

Of course, you could always just play the demo with your friends.

Bionic Commando demo glitch allows friends, extends time limit

by Richard Mitchell { May 7th 2009 at 5:15PM }

If you've put much time into the Bionic Commando multiplayer demo on Xbox Live, you'll be aware of two painful facts. 1) You can't invite friends and 2) five minutes isn't nearly enough time to, ahem, get into the swing of things. If you would like to get rid of both of these annoyances in one swoop, Capcom Unity forum member Toshin has got you covered. The process is pretty simple:

Open up the demo and press start, which will open the main menu (with the Xbox Live, Options and Quit Demo selections). Don't leave this screen.
Have a friend send you a game invite for any game.
Accept the invite, then choose no when it asks if you want to quit your current game session.
You will be booted to the demo lobby, only now you can invite friends to the game and the time limit has been removed. Be sure you don't edit either the frag limit or the game mode, as doing so will crash the demo.

We tried it, and it definitely works. Watch the process in the video above.