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The Game Boy seems to have a billion games involving a hero running from left to right and jumping over platforms, but Bionic Commando rises above the clutter with its interesting take on the side-scrolling action genre.

You assume the role of a commando with a super-extendable bionic arm. Your task is to free your ally Commando Joe, who is trapped in an enemy prison. With the bionic arm, players swing from place to place, stun bad guys, and even grapple walls and ceilings. As the game progresses, you'll earn new weapons and armor. Unlike most side-scrolling action games, your commando (playable as a male or female) cannot jump from platform to platform. This twist brings a refreshing bit of strategy to the generally fast-paced action.

Commando boasts some of the best graphics the Game Boy Color has ever seen. All of the characters are smoothly animated and, considering the tiny size of the screen, the levels are very detailed. Whether you're a fan of the original 1980s Bionic Commando games from the arcade and the original Nintendo Entertainment System, or want to experience one of the best titles on the Game Boy Color, this is a portable gaming classic. --Mark Brooks

Pros:

A refreshing take on the crowded side-scrolling action game genre
Easy to pick up and play for good, long gaming sessions

Cons:

Controls do not allow your character to jump
Irritating music and scratchy-sounding voices

From the Manufacturer

YOU ARE THE ULTIMATE WEAPON. You are teh perfect synthesis of human and machine-a Bionic Commando. Your latest mission-to rescue fellow commando; Commander Joe-will take you deep into the heart of the enemy territory. Use your Bionic Claw to grapple and swing through more than 20 levels of forest; desert; mountains and futuristic cities. Blast through dozens of unique enemies with your Assault Rifle; Rocket Launcher; and Flame Thrower as you seek to destroy the overlord; Arturus; and save your homeland of Karinia from utter destruction! - All-new gameplay based on previous arcade; NES and Game Boy versions. - Play as a male or female Bionnic Commando. - Play modes include side-scrolling; top-down and first-person sniper modes- Features over 1500 frames of life-like "Human Motion" animation.

Review

Bionic Commando is one of those old, fondly remembered NES games that stays in your mind long after you complete it. Capcom's side-scrolling shooter has never really spawned a sequel. There was an old, black-and-white Game Boy conversion of the NES game that added a few new features, and it was a nice touch, but a whole new game would have been a lot nicer. Nintendo's in-house development team apparently felt the same way, and the result is a game that borrows heavily from the original game and isn't really a true sequel, but the mostly new game keeps all the important aspects that made the original great while pushing the Game Boy Color hardware to the limit with amazing animation, colorful graphics, and speech. The story has remained the same. Commander Joe is missing behind enemy lines, and it's up to you, as one of two bionic commandos, to find him. You're sent in with only a gun and your bionic arm, which you use to get from place to place. You can't jump in Bionic Commando, so the only way to catch air is to grapple on to the ceiling with your arm and swing from place to place. Your arm is also good for climbing as well as poking enemies, stunning them in the process. As you move from level to level, you'll earn new items, including new armor, weapons, and communicators, which let you contact headquarters and wiretap enemy transmissions. Fans of the original will remember the hassle of accidentally going into an area with the wrong communicator. Thankfully, you can now switch your inventory in the communication rooms, so you'll never be stuck listening to static. Graphically, Bionic Commando is really quite impressive. The characters have tons of frames of animation, so everything from running to swinging from your arm is extremely fluid. The game is more colorful than anything else on the system, and everything, from jungle backgrounds to the still pictures that display between levels, looks incredible. The sound keeps up with the graphics, delivering catchy tunes, excellent sound effects, and a smattering of speech. Simply put, Bionic Commando is a must-own Game Boy game. You may occasionally find yourself longing for the levels and graphical style of the original game, but the new model doesn't disappoint in any way. --Jeff Gerstmann
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