Bionic Commando PC Review

Bionic Resolution

Now for the bad news again; the fact that the improved speed and accuracy allowed by a PC interface is apparently the only real improvement made for the PC version of Bionic Commando. The game is easier to play now, but it’s still the same in every other regard.

One of the things to have stayed the same between the two versions is the graphics, with the PlayStation 3 version of Bionic Commando which we played before looking pretty much identical to the PC version we’ve been playing recently.

That’s not to say that the graphics are all that bad though – when the in-engine cutscenes rolls then the game can look quite good and we were impressed that in all our fiddling with Bionic Command the rope-physics didn’t screw up once!

On the other hand though, the environment textures are noticeably poor (did we mention the splodges of blue radiation that grip to most buildings like dirty underpants to a wall?) and though the levels look big they’re actually quite small. The game may want you to think that it’s wide-open and free-roaming, but it’s actually more linear than a game of Pong!, with the only replay value coming from the unlockable extras and collectible items.


On the plus side though, the system requirements for Bionic Commando are far from lofty. The minimum spec is a dual core CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 5200+ 2.6 GHz), 1.5GB of RAM and a DX 9.0 and Shader Model 3.0 compatible graphics card with 512MB of memory – a GeForce 7800, Radeon X1900 or higher.

The recommended spec is a little bit higher than that obviously, but that shouldn’t be a problem for most gamers nowadays. Capcom suggests a quad core CPU (Intel Quad Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Phenom 9500) backed by 2GB of RAM and a DX 10.0 Shader Model 4.0 compatible GPU with 512MB of RAM – that’s a GeForce 9800 GTX+ or Radeon HD 3800 or higher. Both technical spec-sheets say you’ll need 8.0GB of disc space for the install too, which explains why it took so long to install on the PlayStation 3 the first time around…

That sudden jump in graphics card requirement between the two sets of requirements above may be a little intimidating to some gamers, but it’s also not entirely realistic – a quick FRAPS test showed that Bionic Commando's supposed DirectX 10 content made no difference, for example.


To be honest though, we didn’t really need FRAPS to tell us that Bionic Commando on the PC doesn’t have any DirectX 10 content – it’s pretty obvious that the game is really just a straight port from the Xbox 360 version. It’s spelled out quite clearly in the way that the tutorials keep referring to the Xbox 360 gamepad buttons; “Press Y, B, A to do this combo and control your descent either the right thumbstick.” Ugh. Capcom couldn’t have just switched the words around when they were doing the port?

No, apparently they couldn’t. They couldn’t really change the game one iota – Bionic Commando on the PC has the same quote-unquote story, the same boring multiplayer that’s limited to just DM, Team DM and CTF and the same…well, it’s just the same. Let’s leave it at that. Everything is the same and the only thing that’s better is the increased speed and accuracy allowed by a PC interface – something that Capcom can’t take credit for until it at least starts to properly support PC peripherals in the in-game instructions.

Is Bionic Commando a game best played on the PC? Yes, it is and it gets an extra point up from the console version is recognition of it’s increased playability – but it’s still not a game we’d really recommend to anyone.

Score Guide