Bionic Commando (PS3)

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At its best Bionic Commando is a top class action game

When you're propelling Spencer at great speed around the various environments in Ascension city, linking together swings with the fluidity of a prize-winning chimp acrobat, Bionic Commando is a great deal of fun. The thrill of leaping into a giant chasm, only to latch on to a ledge moments before you prepare to smash into the ground with great force is something that few games can offer. Playing as Robocop meets Spider-man should in theory be one of the best gaming experiences around, but a few niggles prevent Grin's effort from joining the upper echelons of Capcom's back catalogue.

You play as Spencer, an ex-soldier, and no ordinary one at that. He's bionic, which means his left arm is a very heavy piece of machinery. He's been doing time in prison for acts committed while serving his country, but with a new enemy in town he's released and forced to work for the same corporation that put him behind bars. It's all a bit cliché, but sets up the action that's to follow quite nicely. The story and characters you meet feel rather incidental to the combat, but fans of cheese should be happy - some of the dialogue in this could give the lines from Resident Evil a run for their money.

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Early on Spencer has a few problems remembering his full arsenal of moves, having been separated from his arm for some time while rotting in jail. It comes flooding back soon enough, though, so before too long you'll be latching on to enemies and zipping into them with your feet, flicking objects into the air and then smashing them into enemies or just grabbing things and lobbing them Dr. Octopus style. He can also smash into the ground to stun or kill nearby enemies, rappel up walls and swing from just about anything - as long as it's not in an irradiated zone.

While the game often gives the illusion of being open world and free to explore, it's really not, with blue-tinged areas essentially blocking your path by way of death if you veer from the correct route. You're always moving towards waypoints or relay beacons, which can be hacked into in order to turn off the electrified hovering mines that provide you with a dangerous path to the next section of the game. It's all rather enclosed really, with moments of pure swinging being all too fleeting.

At times the visuals dazzle

Swinging does take some getting used to, with the timing of your release being the key to successfully pretending you're Spider-man. Thankfully a handy on-screen display tells you when it's the ideal time to release your grip and propel forwards (although this can be turned off if you don't want the assistance). Release too early and you'll head straight down, but let go too late and you'll fly straight up - not ideal if you happen to come down annoyingly in-between two grapple points, unable to latch onto either.

The core problem with Grin's Bionic Commando (the same studio that created Rearmed for Capcom last year) is that fiddly shooting gets in the way of the often exhilarating swinging. Gun-play is decent enough, but it doesn't feel as natural as it does in top class third-person shooters. You have other combat options of course, but in the heat of battle (and things get extremely hot towards the end of the game), trying to use a variety of moves is easier said than done. To say the waves of enemies that come at you is cheap might be a bit unfair, but combined with some dodgy checkpoints you're likely to be frustrated a little too often for your liking.

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