After a few years in development, the first fully 3D remake of Capcom’s 1988 Bionic Commando has been released (not to be confused with Bionic Commando: Rearmed), bringing with it not only the series’ unique brand of level traversal - in the form of a ‘grappling hook’ arm used to zip-line from ledge to ledge, or overhang to overhang – but an entire fleshed out 3D world and third-person perspective along with it.

The move to the third dimension, though, brings with it its own set of problems, and the solutions provided by developers GRIN and Capcom are hit-and-miss in nature, as though they misheard the question but attempted to answer it anyway with incoherent waffle. Frustratingly archaic restrictions and, in particular, the game’s main grapple and swing mechanic, both strike as muffled, incomplete attempts at solving inescapable problems met while taking on the mammoth task of converting (what nostalgic gamers call) a classic to the modern world of gaming.

Continue reading El33tonline’s review of Bionic Commando for the PS3.