Bionic Commando (arcade game)

] , who is unnamed in the game itself. Super Joe was later made into a supporting character in the NES version of the game.

The protagonist of the game is a commando equipped with a bionic arm featuring a grappling gun, allowing him to pull himself forward or swing from the ceiling. The series is notable for being one of few instances of a platform game in which the player cannot jump. To cross gaps or climb ledges, the hero must use his bionic arm.

Plot

The original arcade installment follows a commando who must infiltrate an enemy base and foil the enemy's plot to launch missiles. The protagonist must pass through five stages to do so. The levels are as follows:
* Level 1: Forest
* Level 2: Enemy Outpost ("The Forefront")
* Level 3: Underground Base ("Infiltration")
* Level 4: Final Base

In the final level, the hero must stop a missile from launching and then fight the final boss, the leader of the enemy forces, guarded by an armed bodyguard.

Gameplay

The player transverses through the five levels: from a forest to a base, in order to stop a threatening armed force. The levels themselves are, like any conventional platformer, straightforward and semi-linear, with many situations in which there are enemies and other dangers lurking, while at the same time, cliffs that must be passed through.

Prizes like points and power-ups can only be obtained from crates that come on the screen in a parachute, which can be revealed by shooting them. Unlike most of the later games, the player cannot use the arm and shoot at the same time, the arm cannot be used in the air and the only power-ups are weapon enhancements.

Ports

Home computer ports of the game, (available for 8-bit computers Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum and 16-bit computers Amiga and Atari ST) generally received average or decent reviews, apart from the ZX Spectrum version which was greeted by some critical praise, receiving ratings of 9/10 and 92% from Your Sinclair and CRASH.Fact|date=June 2008

For Commodore 64 there are two distinct versions: a US version by Capcom, and a UK version by Software Creations. The UK Commodore 64 version seems to be the most well-received computer port, while the US version is considered poor.Fact|date=June 2008

An emulation of the arcade version is included in "Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1" for PlayStation 2 and Xbox; and "Capcom Classics Collection: Remixed" for PlayStation Portable.

Music

The music for the computer conversions was arranged by Tim Follin, using a music playback engine programmed by Follin's brother, and has been considered to be of high quality.Fact|date=July 2007 The original music was composed by Harumi Fujita for the YM2151 arcade-game sound chip.

Tim Follin rearranged original compositions and utilized capabilities of computer sound chips well; the music on stage four is mainly Follin's own composition. The game's music sounds very different on every machine due to differences in sound chips. The Amiga version features music that is based on well-chosen instrument samples while the C64 version is a great example of utilizing the capabilities of the SID-chip. The Atari ST music is well done despite of the limitations of the YM2149 soundchip.

ee also

* "Bionic Commando", for other games in the series.

References