My Love-Hate Relationship with Bionic Commando

In an earlier post I talked about how much fun I had with using the grappling hook to explore the island of Panau and Just Cause 2. I also talked of having another game in my Steam Library that made use of the grappling hook game-play mechanic. The name of that other game is Bionic Commando. This week, I was finally able to play the game and I can't say I hate or love it right now. But I will say that it has left an impression on me like no other game that I've played in my library. Below is my initial impression of the game.

Gameplay – Mixed

Using the grappling hook is hard. My main issue with it would have to be the timing needed for swings. It takes a lot of skill (I'm playing on Normal difficulty mind you!) and frankly, there were times where I just wanted to throw my keyboard and mouse at the screen because I always missed latching on to something because I swung too late! That's how frustrating it was for me. And yet, for some reason I can't seem to put down the game. I'm really going to finish this game before going to Manila next week.

I also couldn't help but compare the open-world setting of Just Cause 2 to the linear gameplay of Bionic Commando. BC would have really worked if it used an open-world environment instead of sticking to linear gameplay.

The freefalls were great!

Another thing to take note of is the fact that this game was developed for consoles first and foremost. I haven't tried playing this with an XBOX 360 controller yet. Using one to play this game is probably better than using the mouse and keyboard.

Unlike the original Bionic Commando and BC: Rearmed, initially you'll be working with limited ammo. Not sure if this is only for the early levels though.

Story – Doesn't matter if it's not really that great, still liked it.

One thing that I noticed about this game is that it really forces you to watch through the cut scenes. Not sure if it's because I'm a noob at playing videogames or what but I just can't skip the cut scenes. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. In fact I liked am enjoying the story so far. The story is also one reason why I'd want to finish the game.

Overall Impression – Challenging game. I'm going to finish this SOB.

Never has there been a game that has compelled me to play it over and over again even though I utterly suck at it. Sure the game isn't as fun as Just Cause 2 but it is in my opinion more challenging. As to which game is better? I'm more inclined to say that, even though I'm not a big fan of it's game-play, I feel that Bionic Commando is more challenging and for me, more compelling.

Playing Around Panau in Just Cause 2

Today really isn't the best day for me. I sprained my finger while playing basketball and now I'm basically typing with just 9 fingers. So anyway, what have I been doing in the last couple of hours or so since sustaining the injury? Really couldn't help with housecleaning and washing the dishes so I just opted to lock myself up in my room and play games. And since I can't mash buttons on my keyboard the way my arm is now playing Street Fighter IV is out of the question. It's a good thing that I was able to download Just Cause 2 and the Just Cause 2 Multiplayer mod last night through Steam so I thought of giving the game a play-through.

This game is looking good on a 1366x768 screen. Need to buy a better monitor ASAP.

I wasn't really expecting much from the game since I really just wanted to see what everyone was talking about with the multiplayer mod. Sadly though, I've been having problems keeping a stable connection with my carrier's mobile data services as of late so I decided to just ditch Multiplayer for now and focus on the single player game.

Combat and vehicle controls were clunky but were still playable.

So far I've been having fun with playing around in Panau, the fictional island in Southeast Asia that the game takes place in. Much like with GTA you get to play around with a lot of things in your environment from the cars to the buildings using your grappling hook. I'm not really too keen on the story since I've never played Just Cause but like with most of the recent videogames that I've played the story really isn't something to write home about. This however does not mean that the game is bad, it's just that this was the impression that I got from playing it without playing the first game.

Don't know why but I really liked to blow stuff up in this game.

Aside from being able to play around with cars, blow stuff up, and kill enemy soldiers, I really liked my initial foray into Panau. With this being said though, if there is something that I don't like about Just Cause 2 it would have to be the combat system. I just feels clunky or awkward for me at times. This impression might also change if I used an Xbox 360 controller to play the game, which as of now I currently don't have. For third person shooters and platformers, I'd usually prefer to use a controller as opposed to a keyboard. Coincidentally a couple of days ago I also played Bionic Commando Rearmed and I just realized that both Rico (the protagonist of Just Cause 2) and Nathan Spencer both make use of the grappling hook. Granted BC: Rearmed and JC2 are completely different games, I just found it amusing that the games that I played made use of the grappling hook as a major mechanic to further the gameplay.

Once my internet connection is stable enough will give Just Cause 2 Multiplayer a try and will give you guys feedback about it.

The World Warrior

It's the 2^nd day of the New Year and here I am writing my second post. The last couple of days had me reflecting, watching anime, and playing games (not necessarily in that order) all because I was too lazy to really do anything. Today though I'm kind of feeling a bit enthusiastic about writing so once again I hope you bear with my messy chain of thoughts.

The Street Fighter series of fighting games has influenced me a lot not just as a gamer but also a person. Street Fighter II was the first video game that I've ever played. It was also the game that got me hooked to the wonders of playing video games. Back in the early 90s the martial arts/karate era was very much in full swing. Ninja, karate, as well as shaolin kung-fu movies were really popular among kids and young adults during those days. So it's no coincidence that Street Fighter enjoyed the success it had during that time.

Have not updated to SSFIV: AE. Still playing the hell out of SF IV while waiting for Ultra Street Fighter IV.

Another feature that made Street Fighter stand out was the number of characters that you can play and out of all these, Ryu has left the most lasting impression on me. There was a time that I thought that he was the coolest character around because of his fireballs and dragon punches. And although Ken had basically the same moves as he did, I had a better opinion of Ryu because he wore white (I kid you not!). Remember though that this was a time when I really didn't have any idea about these characters and the series in general. With later iterations and newer characters added, Ryu became just one fighter that had basic controls and a generic background story in a rapidly multiplying roster.

Got goosebumps the first time I was able to pull off Ryu's Ultra in Street Fighter IV.

If we're talking about now, what is it that I really like about Ryu, the character? Comparing Ryu to Ken or Akuma, I couldn't help but think that he's too simple. He has really boring move sets, specials, and supers. The only thing that makes him stand out in SFIV is his Ultra, the Metsu Hadouken. His damage is so-so and he's not really that quick on his toes. He is the main star of the series right? Why is it that he's not the most powerful or flashiest moves?

With these questions in mind, I tried to research about Ryu, and his background. As a martial artist he aims to be the strongest and has abandoned worldly things just to be able to do so. He travels the world to face off against the best martial artists and at the same time control the “Dark Hadou” within him. The life that Ryu leads is a good parallel of life. Like Ryu, we also aspire to be the best at the things that we like to do. In my case, I wanted to be the best employee in the company that I was working for. Like Ryu, I had to do things out of my comfort zone and there were many instances where I ran into problems with other people or with myself. Unlike Ryu though, I didn't prevail in the “fights” that mattered. I didn't have the resolve to devote myself to the path I initially chose. I lacked the discipline and that mindset to be the best. Simply put, unlike Ryu, I wasn't strong enough to go against the challenges that came my way.

Dan sucking up all that Metsu Hadouken goodness!

My resignation from my job didn't mean that I had given up though. For as long as I'm alive I'll still continue my fight against whatever it is that life throws at me. Now though I know that I'll have to be more prepared for it. Did I do the right thing in resigning? Probably not, but that's all water under the bridge. I've no regrets and that's what's important. I'll keep on trudging and doing the things that I'm good at until I become the best in these.