Video Game / Bionic Commando (2009)

Arm yourself with a variety of weapons worthy of a Bionic Commando.

"The first true sequel to the classic 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System original, Bionic Commando sees the return of the bionically-enhanced Nathan "R.A.D." Spencer. Time has not been kind to Spencer: Five years after his heroic defeat of the Imperials, he has been betrayed by the government he swore to serve, imprisoned for crimes he didn't commit, and sentenced to death.

On the very day of Spencer's execution, terrorists detonate a massive experimental weapon in Ascension City, unleashing an intense earthquake that has turned the city into rubble and wiped out its population. With the terrain in ruins and the city's air defense grid now in the control of a massive terrorist force whose goal remains unclear, the FSA have only one option left - a behind-the-lines assault.

It's the perfect job for a Bionic Commando.'

—Official summary of the plot

A handful of years after being incarcerated, Spencer was released when a terrorist organization called BioReign destroys Ascension City and he must fight against it and learn what has happened to his wife.

---

Bionic Commando (2009) contains examples of:

• All There in the Manual: Lots of background info is buried in the files you unlock, and the incident leading to Spencer's incarceration is only covered in a webcomic that wound up being packaged as a print comic as a Pre-Order Bonus.
• Company Cross References: There are large signs for TriCell all over Ascension City. There are also several smaller posters of Dark Void here and there, and once in the game you can spot a large billboard with a Tron Bonne minion robot on it.
• Converted into a Weapon: Bionic limbs such as Nathan Spencer's require a certain catalyst to function, and a person's loved ones are the best to use. The climax reveals that Spencer's missing wife Emily was murdered and had her brain uploaded into his bionic arm.
• Cruel Twist Ending: In the sequel, discovering that Nathan Spencer's missing wife... Was taken by TASC and had some part of her uploaded or fashioned into his bionic arm! ...How Evangelionesque. Surprisingly, THIS twist is rather subtly alluded to, making several seemingly-inconsequential comments much, much more meaningful. Mind, after The Reveal, they really sledgehammer it in, and yet he inexplicably doesn't get it (or is hugely in denial).
  • It's denial. It finally sinks in during the last cutscene, when Emily Spencer confronts her husband about his avoiding the issue. Nathan finally faces the facts.
  • It's also potentially because she may not be dead, because while a section of her is inside his arm if she is dead or if the process is reversible is never commented on.
• Darker and Edgier: The sequel is much, much more grim and apocalyptic (most of the game takes place in a nuked mega city) than any of the prior games, including the company's own remake of the NES game. Super Joe's is shown to be an ass, but then again so has Spencer. Spencer spent a better part of 10 years in prison, without his bionic arm, after witnessing the death of two rogue bionic agents. Ten years after the Master-D mission, The Federation has turned into a cruel and cynical the-end-justifies-the-means regime. The terrorists opposing it are even worse, nuking a capitol city IN THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME. Oh, and apparently Spencer got his bionic arm by said federation possibly sacrificing the life of his wife to make it. Whether all this is good or bad is up to you.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Spencer was on death row, just cause he didn't follow one single order. Surely such a stunt would just have him stripped off of his Bionic Arm and position within military? The online comic reveals that "one single order" was murdering two bionics who didn't want to be stripped off of their life-supporting implants. He was put in jail because he didn't kill the two bionics, he let another one escape (Mag), and he killed an entire force of Federation troops when they tried to kill the two bionics. He also found out about the heavy crackdown on bionics, which ultimately led to the creation of BioReign (Bionic Resurrection Initiative). He was imprisoned for insubordination and treason.
• Downer Ending: By the end of the game Mag is apparently dead, Emily has been revealed to have been changed in an unknown process into Rad's bionic arm, Super Joe is a (dead) scumbag, and the last we see of Rad is him plummeting from several thousand feet up.
• Easter Egg: An interesting case of Throw It In! happens when you re-attempt to fight The Mohole after dying. It only occurs the second time.
  Super Joe: "Spencer! There's no way out! You'll just have to fuck it!"
  Spencer's voice actor: "Um..."
• Fast-Killing Radiation: In the 2009 game, several parts of Ascension City are highly irradiated, and staying in them for too long (a couple of seconds) will instantly kill Nathan "Rad" Spencer.
• Faux Action Girl: Mag, in the modern sequel. Introduced as a possible rival or boss, she then does nothing of import, and gets Hitler'd by the Big Bad.
• Feed It a Bomb: After Spencer kills Groeder by shoving a grenade in his mouth and kicking him off the high point they were fighting on, just to make sure he doesn't return again:
  Spencer: Try coming back from that!
• The Man Behind the Man: Groeder is the last boss proper, but Super Joe is the actual mastermind behind the whole mess. Sort of a reversal of roles in terms of difficulty, though.
• Mood Whiplash: While the sequel starts dark and gets darker, Spencer's sheer, unadulterated joy at being free and reunited with his bionic arm, even swinging through a hellhole of a city and viciously killing enemy troops, makes him appear almost sociopathic.
• Mook Chivalry: Subverted in the sequel. BioReign soldiers duck and cover, attack in groups, spot you from long distances and try to kill you dead from that range if possible. The list of things they do correctly is astonishing, and it's clear from the get-go that these guys want to survive, go home, and see their families. Double Subverted in that none of this manages to accomplish a damn thing.
• Not as You Know Them: Spencer and Joe in the sequel. In spades. Somewhat justified in that Spencer has been in prison for five years, just waiting to be killed, and Joe has become bitter and jaded from the events of the Bionic Purge, which he didn't entirely agree with but was forced to implement.
• Nuke 'em: BioReign bombs entire Ascension City which is pretty much the game's equivalent to a New York.
• Old Save Bonus:
  • If you own both Rearmed and the 2009 game on the same platform, you can unlock Spencer's "classic" Rearmed skin for use in the 2009 game. Which is a good thing too, when most players vastly prefer that look.
  • Obtaining a collection of secret items in Rearmed unlocks the "Prototype Weapon" for use right away in the 2009 sequel, which replaces the weaker standard firearm.
• Powered Armor: Shows up here in several variants. Because they're not nearly as vulnerable as basic infantry, they need special tactics to take down. Or you can hit them hard with the secondary weapons, that works too.
• Powered by a Forsaken Child: In the sequel, it's revealed that all bionic limbs are created an unknown process using someone with strong emotional ties to the person usually family or spouses. It's also a semi-twisted, semi-sweet take on The Power of Love, if you think about it.
• Product Placement: In the first level of the 2009 game, there are intact Pepsi vending machines, ads for Nvidia and Alienware cards, and plugs for the then-upcoming Dark Void.
• Railroading: One of the most frequent complaints about the 2009 game was how poorly marked areas of radioactivity prevented players from exploring the levels.
• Required Secondary Powers: In the sequel, Spencer is outrageously tough to kill, and can deal great heaping gobs of damage just by landing correctly (generally that means arm first...). Wholly justified — his body must be bionically reinforced to keep up with the rigors of his bionic arm.
  • Why yes it is. In the 360 / PS3 version, the in-game text actually outright says he possesses some kind of "bionic armor." This not only makes him highly durable, but also allows him to regenerate health. Also like his other bionics, over time he gets used to using it again and it gets stronger, or "upgrades" or whatever you want to call it. So yeah, apparently he is equipped with some kind of bio mechanical armor, presumably either under his skin or nanotech.
  • Still won't prevent him from getting killed with a couple bullets from even the lowest ranking Mooks; Spencer doesn't really take less damage than a regular human would, but he does have Regenerating Health.
• Shotguns Are Just Better: There is an anti-tank shotgun usually aimed at infantry: The Hiker fires nine super sized buckshot shells for clearing out armored enemies, and is, in fact, unstoppable against anything that isn't powered armor, while the last shot is specifically a super heavy armor piercing giant shell for use against armor.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: As an Anti Frustration Feature, you're allowed to skip a boss' Boss Banter about how Spencer is just a pawn if you restart the battle enough times. This is represented in-game as Spencer literally telling him to shut the fuck up.
• Sociopathic Hero: When not angsting about his missing wife or that his country has betrayed him in the most vile way possible, Spencer takes a little too much joy in throwing people off cliffs and shooting them in the head.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: Also, the music box lullaby after destruction of the Constructor.
• Wreaking Havok: Hurling around debris and enemy soldiers in '09. Spencer can throw real far and real accurate and real hard, making for some really satisfying takedowns.
• Your Head A-Splode: Iit's the only way to make sure a bionic stays dead.