Bionic Commando: Rearmed Reduced

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Bionic Commando

Hello, folks! Ben Judd, producer on Bionic Commando here. I’m fortunate the folks at the PlayStation.Blog have allowed me two golden opportunities to share some information with you here.

As some of you may already know, Bionic Commando will be released on May 19th for the PLAYSTATION 3. It’s one of the few big releases in May to feature a 20-plus-hour-long single-player campaign and several multiplayer modes. Oh yeah, it also has a really damn cool swing mechanic.

Speaking of the swing mechanic, it’s taken a VERY long time to make it into exactly what we wanted it to be. The game, for very obvious visual reasons, gets compared to Spider-man a lot. They both have a swing mechanic, but Bionic Commando plays very differently from Spider-man in that it uses a skill-based mechanic. Just as the name suggests, if you want to get better at the game, you need to increase your skill level.

There are a lot of games these that put you on auto-pilot straight to the end with very few deaths or real skill-based challenges. The thinking behind this strategy is that players nowadays don’t want to be frustrated and want to have their fun right away. Well, that’s good in theory, but some of the best and most memorable games I’ve played challenged you to overcome the obstacles set before you. There is a certain sense of gratification that only comes if you overcome a challenge yourself. And the harder the challenges, quite frankly, the more rewarding it feels to complete them. Now, I’m not a big fan of making a game artificially hard so that hard-core gamers have “bragging rights,” but there are some game mechanics that just aren’t going to be easy to pick up right away.

I remember the first time I tried to “roll a fireball” in Street Fighter II. It must have taken me 50 tries. But once I got it… boy, was it rewarding. I was able to hammer on a single “attack” button in other games but in the end, it was mastering the fireball in SFII that’s the memory I won’t forget.

BC Wallpaper


So for Bionic Commando, we choose to stay true to the game’s roots. We went with a skill-based swing mechanic that will take most players about 5-10 minutes to pick up. But, once you do, you will definitely feel the control. It was a risky choice not to go with “auto-pilot” methodology when it came to the game controls; that is certainly the trend in recent games. But, if you’ve ever played the original game, I think you’ll see that it too required some serious practice before you really ever “mastered” the swing mechanic.

Speaking of which, I have some great news to announce here. Starting today, for a single week, as a promotion for the new Bionic Commando game, we will be lowering the price of Bionic Commando: Rearmed on PSN to $4.99! THAT is a great deal. I remember when Phantasy Star 4 came out when I was a kid… it was 100 bucks! Nowadays you get games with additional modes, costumes, levels, and sounds for 1/20th the price. Heck, that’s less than the price of lunch at a lot of major restaurants… (and it has less transfats too!). BC:R is a great game, but don’t just take my word for, check out these great scores from around the internet.

Even if you aren’t a huge fan of 2D games, you really can’t go wrong for five bucks, so give it a shot. Additionally, don’t forget that Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando: Rearmed have some cross-operable content that unlocks, such as the classic Spencer skin (red hair and cool shades) right from the start if you own both on PS3. There are a couple of other really nice unlockables that are only accessible if you obtain key items in Rearmed and own Bionic Commando, so this is definitely a deal that a true swinger won’t want to pass up…

BC Wallpaper

OK. Enough of the used-car salesman pitching. Now for the bad news…

It was initially our goal to retro-program in trophies for BCR while we were working on them in the 3D version. Unfortunately, the clock ran out and we had to put all our resources on completing the 3D game. I know this comes as a disappointment to a lot of people and trust me, it’s incredibly disappointing to me as well, but rather than giving you a PR-coated response, I’d rather give it to you straight. It was a tough call but with limited resources and time, we had to cut this from the main production schedule in order to make the 3D game the best it could be. Again, personal apologies for not being able to come through with this one.

Thanks for your support and look forward to my final blog entry on 5/21.

Ben

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179 Comments

17 Author Replies

  • Sweet! Looking forward to getting this!

    • What\’s up everyone? Ben Judd is in Japan so he\’ll get around to your questions when he wakes up! ;)

  • Thats OK…thanks for being straight with us. We all appreciate that. I would’ve love to have another game in my collection to trophy whore it up, but I understand the time restraints. Thanks for the honesty

  • So on the 19th we will get this for $5. Not bad.

    Is a demo being released?
    Trophy support?

    Even if no trophies I might still get this.

  • lol nevermind. Would help if I read everything first before posting!

  • Hey, Ben. Thanks for giving a straight up honest answer. You don’t see that very often and so I do appreciate it.

  • This game looks really cool, only I am not sure yet wether I’d like to play it. Will there be a demo?

  • This game will have trophies. It’s BCR on PSN (which came out in August) will not.

    Anyway, I understand resources had to be devoted to this game, and I’m definitely looking forward to it. :)

  • Already bought Rearmed back when it came out but great to see it drop in price so others can try it out! :)

    So, does that mean NO trophies are coming to Rearmed??? I don’t mind if they aren’t retro-trophies, I’ll gladly go back and play the game again.

  • How can you openly admit that some people may find the swing mechanic too frustrating, and then not release a demo?

  • Shame about the trophies.

  • Awesome price for a very awesome game

  • So, once the 3D BC is completed you’ll have plenty of resources to devote to Rearmed trophies, right? There is no reason to bail on this. We’ve waited this long, we’ll wait a little longer.

  • That is certainly a magic price point. Count me IN!!!

  • I’ll give you some credit for finally manning up and telling us about the BC:R trophies.

    But I won’t give you too much credit because it took you WAY too long to do it, and you still screwed us over after you initially said you were going to do it.

    So, BOO. No next-gen BC purchase from me. Sorry. I can’t support developers that lie to thier customers.

    • Agreed. Perhaps I could have mentioned the fact that we were up against the wall and the clock was running out a few months ago but to be honest the game only when gold a few weeks ago so up until that point I was still hoping we might be able to squeeze it in.

      Also, please don\’t see this as a lie. I truly wanted to get these in there and the initial response was that we were looking into retro-patching the trophies. I don\’t remember making any 100% affirmative statements or promises that these would be added. I did my best and it just wasn\’t enough this time. However, you as the consumer have the ultimate power and can judge with your dollars how much you think my misjudgment should count for…

  • I will say this though:

    To anyone who has yet to purchase BC:R, you’d be a fool not to pick it up now for $5. It is definately in the top three in downloadable games on the PSN.

  • Thanks for the straight answer Ben. Some people from the industry could learn from you.

  • Hey Ben,

    Thanks for the honesty.

    I know a lot of people give you and Capcom crap for not putting trophies in BCR. Hopefully this will quiet things down; you guys made an amazing game for $10 (or $5).

    I love getting trophies as much as the next guy (I am close to becoming an all-out whore), but no one needs to get reamed for not including them.

  • $5 for Rearmed isn’t bad. With remote play on the PS3 version and a superior D-pad control, I may have to double-dip despite the fact the PS3 version STILL DOESN’T HAVE ACHIEVEMENTS THAT WERE PROMISED MORE THAN SIX MONTHS AGO.

    *sigh*

    Capcom: Please release Biohazard 1-3, Breath of Fire 3-4 soon, please? You’d have my money in that case.

  • @ Ben Judd

    What is the mandatory install? 3GB or the normal Capcom 5GB?

    I’d really like to buy this game. Unfortunately, with InFamous coming out a few days after BC. I’ll have to pass. I’d much rather Support Sucker Punch then Capcom. Capcom has done nothing but lie to the PS3 fans. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I’ll just wait for a Best Buy special or the bargain bins.

  • Ben you ROCK!

    I find that I am getting sick and tired of people just no answering questions because the answer is no. It sucks that there is no trophies, but its not the end of the world, and its nice to have some closure on the subject. Now if you can just convince some other people over at the blog to say some things about some PS3 features, like cross game voice game, we would be forever grateful, and I think this is proof that we can take bad news, just as long as we do get some news instead of ignoring requests.

    P.S. I am going to get this game, trophies or not, 5 bucks and you cant go wrong!!!

  • Well that sucks I was really looking forward to getting me some trophies.

    I hope none of the key items have to do with all the torture rooms I never did because they were impossible for me.

  • Thanks for being honest with us… I suppose now that the 3D version is finished you can’t go back to the PSN game for Trophies…can you?

  • I too want to give you credit for being so straight-forward. I’ve been the skeptic about BC:R getting Trophies, and it looks like I was right. But I understand the manpower and time it takes to program games these days.

    Lots of people have been waiting for trophies for BC:R, including me. Acutally one of the reasons I haven’t bought the game was due to that reason. The other was being behind in most of my other games.

    But now with a $5 price, I’d be a fool not to buy it now. I wish more companies would lower their PSN games when they have another respective game coming out.

    I hope the extra manpower that was taken from the trophies helped make a great game. Look forward to trying BC when it comes out.

    p.s. Sorry if I’ve missed the news, but will there be a BC demo?

  • Release Breath of Fire III & IV on the PSN and all will be forgiven. Thanks…..

    • Tell me about it. I love those games! Matter of fact, Takeshita-san, the producer on both of them has helped me out a bit with Bionic Commando. He\’s a really great guy.

  • Where is John at!?

  • Its great that you manned up and came clean about the BCR trophies. But truthfully….you’re about 8 months too late. This is old news, news we deduced long ago, we just wanted you to come out and say it. Which frankly took way too long, but its honestly none the less, which I hold in high regard.

    Considering most of the this post is damage control on the controlability of BC, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say BC is probably going to suck gameplay wise and get panned in the reviews. It might BECOME a good game after playing it, but a TRUE good game, is good from the get go (with handholding if necessary), and doesn’t ask for patience from the person who just spent 60 bucks on the game. You can still handhold and still have the game be challenging. God of War and DMC are examples of this.

    How is it that the entire BC franchise has been mismanaged this badly? Best of luck in the future though.

  • As you were probably expecting/hoping, shooting straight is appreciated :) BCR is worth playing, with or without trophies, any, IMO.

  • Um, I thought trophies were mandatory at this point? Sorry but no trophies = no purchase.

  • wow – first you lower the price on BC:Rearmed, then you have some valuables which we need to unlock for it to be playable in the new Bionic Commando. So much for me paying the full price for BC:Rearmed– now I gotta finish it so I can get ready for the BC!

  • Awesome, I’m buying BCR when I get home. I wanted to get this game since the beginning… great I had to wait :)

  • thanks for being honest, but i still think it’s BS. trophies do not take that long to do. it was promised from the beginning, so i think you’d better honor what you said MONTHS ago. now that the 3D game is done, you owe it to us to go back and make good on what you said.

  • I think people are confused by your last paragraph. It sounds like you’re not including Trophies for the 3D Bionic Commando I’d re-word it if I were you, just check out the low score this post has gotten.

  • Ben, BC 3D wasn’t really on my radar, but it is after reading about mastering the swinging mechanic. I know some of the responses online and on GAF were negative re: swinging in the BC demo, but hey, you’ve gotta learn it, right?

    Thanks for your honesty re: Trophies for BC:R, it goes a long way!

    • Thanks for the nice words. I believe in the swing mechanic. I\’m not the best game out there but I picked it up and enjoy multiplayer quite a bit.

  • No Demo?!?! guess its a RENT.

  • Was really looking forward to the trophies but I guess it’s not that big a deal >_<. $5 is a great deal, looking forward to buying it tonight.

    After recently playing Phantasy Star 4 for the first time I probably would have paid $150 back in the day <3 Rieko Kodama

  • So you guys would certainly have the time to add trophies to BC:Rearmed now that the 3D game is done, right?

    If you want to be straight with us, why don’t you just say “The game didn’t sell well enough on the PS3 for us to bother adding the trophies we promised a long time ago”.

    You should still add those trophies you promised.

    • Actually the PS3 version of BCR did well enough. Unfortunately, you don\’t make a lot of money of these smaller digital titles (certainly if you sell them for 5 dollars). BCR was more of us trying to give the Bionic Commando franchise a kick in the pants and to give back to the fans.

      Also, apologies about the trophies. I never \”promised\” them since I hold that word in high regard, but I did announce that we had plans to try and retro-fit them later if time allowed. Unfortunately, the best laid plans sometimes fall through.

  • Appreciate the straight talk, though I’m a little relieved about no BCR trophy support because I’d probably pull all my hair out trying to get them all!

    Anyway, message to anyone who doesn’t own BCR yet: for $5, if you don’t buy this, there’s no hope on this Earth for you. Get it, love it and experience the greatest ending in video game history in all its HD splendor!

    PS: Thanks for remaking one of my favorite NES games, guys!

  • This means nothing to me. So what if there’s cross operational items in both games that depends on the other? We were promised trophies in the Rearmed and we never got them. I have no interest therefore in supporting the full fledged game until I get trophies in Rearmed let alone I honestly have no interest in getting the game period and quite frankly I rather have my money I spent on Rearmed back.

  • Yeah thanks for the honesty but the Price Drop is a lame excuse for not giving us trophies (that are already on the other console).

    Besides, all of us interested in Rearmed already have it, already paid full price.

    Was on the fence ’bout getting BC but with this kind of support don’t think so.
    Thanks, but no thanks.

  • That’s a tough answer to give, and although I’m disappointed I won’t get any extra trophies, I echo the sentiments that a straight answer is the best. Thank you very much for letting us know.

    I hope Bionic Commando isn’t crazy hard. If it’s got the same learning curve as the original, it should be pretty cool!

  • Quick question on Trophies. Do you plan on patching them in? Because if so i’ll buy the game this week & then play it later when trophy support is added.

  • The punches keep coming..

  • The Big question is…. Is Bionic Commando going to shaft us with a 6 gig install like every other capcom game? Honestly I’m sick of it, I let it slide with DMC4, skipped Lost planet because of it, and question getting any capcom game that forces this install.

    If Killzone 2, Uncharted, Resistance 2, and Deadspace can be that beautiful and play that well with no install; then I think it is time Capcom got its act together and scrap their shotty engine.

    I mean for crying out loud no reflections in the water on RE5! What is up with that?! We know the PS3 can do it.

  • Im a loyal Capcom consumer. I bought in the last couple years Dead Rising, Lost Planet ( both in X360) SF2HD, SFIV and RE5 for my PS3.

    But this news about BCR is inexcusable. The game was sold with this MASSIVE feature publicity, if i remember well.

    So, I Payed last year 10 bucks for a LIE. Shame Capcom, I will not buy Bionic Commando for that, lost one sale at last.

    Its amazing that Capcom dont have “resources” for patch a company promise, while EA ( among other minours developers ) are yet patching last years released games in many cases.

  • As much as I would have loved a Trophy patch, it doesn’t really matter, I enjoyed the hell out of this game when it came out!

  • eff you capcom, i bought rearmed and told myself i wouldn’t play it until it was patched with trophies.

    now i have no point in having it.

    seriously you guys are terrible. supposedly your going “multiplatform” and lost planet 2 is only on the 360? i’m not sure about this one but dead rising 2 gets released earlier on the 360? charging for your ridiculous versus mode in re5? now no trophies in this? there no trophies in sf2hd remix either?

    now your offering it for 4.99?

    this bionic commando game looks terrible, at least you could make the classic one right.

    come on now.

  • PLEASE add trophy support to Rearmed!

  • Re-Armed is where it’s at.

    But, all those “resources” allocated to the 3d game seemed to have been for naught Ben.

    The reviews for the new game are coming in and it’s not looking pretty.

  • So would that be classified as false advertising? I purchase a game that promises to provide a feature and it is not delivered?

    I do not mind having the trophies retroactively rewarded, but I would like a trophy patch.

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