Bionic Commando Rearmed

[Twin-X]

I just saw this.

Looks like a nice addition to a cab.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/898/898510p1.html

[Turnarcades]

If only all future gaming went like this, I'd be more into console gaming. My biggest complaint with the evolution of video games is that the purity of gameplay disappeared. How many modern console games can you pick up and play without an hour-long tutorial or having to read a bible of an instruction book? And who's idea was it to redefine a 'platform' game from a simple 2D romp with a jumping character to a 3D roamaround with complex analog movements and ridiculously complex goals?

OK re-hashing some classics entirelywould be sacrilige, but I like the new Galaga, Pac-man and things like Plasma Pong that retain the simple gameplay but are visually obviously 21st century. A prettier Bubble Bobble or cel-shaded Punch-Out remake would be ace!

[deadpool18]

I've been playing it on my PS3 and it is a really great remake.  It still retains the feel of the original with vastly upgraded graphics.  Playing this in high def is really amazing.  The only problem that one might have with playing this on a cab would be the hacking mini game (which is optional).  The analog sticks allow you to rotate the cube, but I think it can still be done entirely with a dpad/joystick.  I'm playing it on my Quasicade, so I have the analog sticks and a joystick.

I'm also really enjoying 1942: Joint Strike and Commando 3.  I think Capcom is really showing the other companies how it's done.  Showing respect for the fans of these classic franchises is important.

Super Street Fighter Turbo HD is next, and it's probably my most anticipated game right now!

[ahofle]

That looks sweet. 
I really wish the PC market would follow suit and start offering up $10 downloadable games of this caliber. 

[AtomSmasher]

That looks sweet. 
I really wish the PC market would follow suit and start offering up $10 downloadable games of this caliber. 

It is available on the PC, except it costs $15, but it also comes with extra challenge rooms you won't find on the console versions.

[ahofle]

Ah cool, thanks!!  The guy in the review video only mentioned XBLA and PS network. 

[bigdog1977]

YES! That game was RAD! They did a killer remake! Thanks for the info gonna try and download tonight.

[shmokes]

I picked it up for the PC and it doesn't work because I don't have a DirectX 9.0c compatible video card.    

Why in god's name does this game require pixel shader 3.0?  I've got an ATI Radeon X800 which supports up to DirectX 9.0b.  I can run Call of Duty 4 on my machine with reasonable quality and frame rates, but I can't run Bionic Commando Rearmed???  To quote one of my favorite movies:  That don't make no sense.

[ahofle]

LOL you're right, that's dumb.  Is there an easy way to tell if my card (Radeon 9800 Pro) supports pixel shader 3.0?

[Twin-X]

LOL you're right, that's dumb.  Is there an easy way to tell if my card (Radeon 9800 Pro) supports pixel shader 3.0?

According to this chart nope

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_ATI_Graphics_Processing_Units

I am kind of dissapointed...

[BORIStheBLADE]

Ya I bought it for my 360 and love it. Seems a little harder than the original though. Maybe I'm getting old??

[XYXZYZ]

Will an ArcadeVGA2 run the PC version?

[Spaced Ace]

Would make an outstanding arcade. 


Hmmm.....

[MrMojoZ]

If my graphic card was 3-4 years old and couldn't play a new game, I'd buy a new garphic card. Your mileage may vary of course. 

[shmokes]

You're missing the point.  I can't run Bioshock either, but I wouldn't really complain about that as anything more than unfortunate.  But Bionic Commando is little more than a prettier version of a 2D game that's more than 20 years old.  My graphics card is perfectly capable, in terms of horsepower, of running Bionic Commando Rearmed.  Like I said, I can run Call of Duty 4 at descent quality levels and get a perfectly reasonable framerate.  The only reason I can't run Bionic Commando is because Capcom decided I couldn't, not because my graphics card can't handle it.  That makes the prospect of having to replace my graphics card leave a bad taste in my mouth.  Plus, I'm not in a financial position to replace my graphics card, so that's neither here nor there.

[MrMojoZ]

Yeah I can't agree with you there. Games are made for as wide an audience as possible but there has to be a point where they have to cut thier losses. For a low cost game, building a new rendering engine to work on outdated hardware didn't make sense dollar wise. Big budget games are more likely to have the man power and resources to do this, ie CoD4. The first 9.0c cards hit the market 4 years ago, it isn't like they are requiring cutting edge equipment.

[shmokes]

They wouldn't have had to build a new rendering engine for the outdated hardware.  Build it for 9.0 vanilla in the first place and it will work perfectly fine on all 9.0c cards (as well as 10 cards, of course).  It doesn't make sense to build for 9.0c when you're making a low-tech game that can run perfectly on much older hardware.  It artificially limits your market.  Use pixel shader 2 and a game like that is going to look just as good, run just well, and you have a much bigger market.

Or not.  I'm not a doctor.

[ahofle]

building a new rendering engine to work on outdated hardware didn't make sense dollar wise.

LOL   
Why would they have to develop a 'new rendering engine' for 'outdated hardware' when there have been rendering engines for '4 years' for that hardware (according to you)? 

[AtomSmasher]

While I agree it would make much more sense to make a low cost game available to the widest of markets, but I think it's pretty obvious why it only supports shader model 3.0.  They developed the game mainly for the 360 and PS3 (both of which use shader model 3.0) and when they realized how easy it was to port a 360 game to the pc, they decided to do so with the least amount of effort.  They must of figured the extra cost to change the game to shader 2.0 wouldn't increase the sales enough to justify the cost.

[massive88]

While I agree it would make much more sense to make a low cost game available to the widest of markets, but I think it's pretty obvious why it only supports shader model 3.0.  They developed the game mainly for the 360 and PS3 (both of which use shader model 3.0) and when they realized how easy it was to port a 360 game to the pc, they decided to do so with the least amount of effort.  They must of figured the extra cost to change the game to shader 2.0 wouldn't increase the sales enough to justify the cost.

Exactly.  I didnt even know they were planning on bringing it to PC at all, I thought it was going to be a console only game.  Consoles are the main market for this game, anything else is gravy.

[jerryjanis]

So how many people shell out 15 bucks for the game before they realize that they can't play it without spending another $100 on a new video card?

[ahofle]

Shmokes, did you try to get a refund?  I'm assuming they'd just tell you to stick it, but I was just curious.

[shmokes]

So how many people shell out 15 bucks for the game before they realize that they can't play it without spending another $100 on a new video card?

How many people look at system requirements when they're buying Tetris?  I don't see why this concept is so hard to grasp.  The idea that my hardware would be insufficient to run this game is absurd.  I didn't look at system requirements because my system is ten times more powerful than what would be needed to run this game.  If you wanted a copy of Tetris and you saw it sitting in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart, I REALLY doubt you would read the system requirements.  You simply know more or less what to expect, so you know your system is up to the task.  This is the same thing.  It's a 2D side-scroller bargain-bin game.  It's not like I would have purchased Call of Duty or Oblivion without looking at system requirements first (both of which run perfectly fine on my system).  That makes sense.  I didn't check the requirements on this game, because it makes no sense that this game wouldn't/doesn't work on my system.   

[shmokes]

Shmokes, did you try to get a refund?  I'm assuming they'd just tell you to stick it, but I was just curious.

No.  I'll probably just give it to a friend of mine who never played the original (which is sad).