E3 2008
Capcom’s Ben Judd ‘Re-Arms’ Bionic Commando
July 16, 2008
One of Capcom’s oldest franchises–dating back to the Nintendo Entertainment System, Bionic Commando has enjoyed a long life on consoles, handhelds and even mobile phones. Now gamers are getting a double dose of action with two separate games launching: Bionic Commando Remake for Xbox Live Arcade and Bionic Commando Rearmed for PC and next gen consoles.
“I’ve been a huge fan of the original game ever since I was a child,” said Ben Judd, producer of the Bionic Commando franchise at Capcom Japan. “When I first entered Capcom I was doing some translation and interpretation work at PR events. It gave me a chance to talk with a lot of the U.S. press one on one and much to my surprise many of them said they wanted a Bionic Commando remake. I ended up moving over to the head office in Osaka and talked with the head of R&D Inafune-san about it. At first he dismissed it as a selfish dream that I personally had and that I wasn’t thinking about the sales of the game, which was totally fair since none of the previous Bionic Commando games made a big splash in Japan.”
However, when Inafune would pose the question about which old Capcom game the press wanted remade, the most common answers were Street Fighter and Bionic Commando. Fast forward to present day and gamers have Street Fighter IV and two new Bionic Commando games.
“It’s taken me five years to get this title to the support it needed to be made, so I guess you could say that it’s my biggest life’s work so far,” added Judd. “The reason you lucky people are getting two Bionic Commando titles in one year is that the swing mechanic that the game is built on is something that works incredibly well in both 2D and 3D. Some key gaming elements can feel similar, yet still different enough that making the transition to 3D just makes sense. Mario is clearly one of these games, because whether you are jumping on a Koopa in a 3D space or a 2D one, it’s still a lot of fun. The swing mechanic for Bionic Commando is no different.”
Swedish developer GRIN has collaborated with the Japanese game maker for the PC and next gen sequel, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, which brings the latest technology to a franchise that has traditionally been a 2D platformer starring a hero who makes up for his lack of jumping skills with a very handy bionic arm. Actually, one of many new features in this sequel is the ability for Nathan Spencer, the bionic commando, to jump and use his cybernetic arm in new ways.
“Basically, the idea was that Spencer started out as the penultimate hero in the original game,” said Judd. “He was invincible. He took down an entire army by himself. Well, there isn’t a lot you can do with a hero like that, so we needed to break him. Some of the events that occur in-between the original Bionic Commando and the 3D game change Spencer’s outlook on life. This is reflected in his physical appearance and how it changes between the 2D games and ultimately makes him a dynamic character that waivers between his patriotic love for his country but distrust in the government running it.”
As with the original game, players will be able to perform multiple swings off of almost every piece of the background. This is the same in both Rearmed and the 3D versions, since this is what separates Bionic Commando from other 3D swing-based games. Classic characters like Super Joe will return and gamers will see classic weapons like the rocket launcher and Super Joe’s machine gun.
Capcom and GRIN went back and played the original Bionic Commando, analyzed it, and then broke down what made the original special. Then they took it a step further and did that for the Japanese version, as well, since it had different content than the U.S. version. The end result is shaping up to be a great new look and feel for a tried-and-true old school classic.
–John Gaudiosi
