Bionic Commando: Rearmed Reduced

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Bionic Commando

Hello, folks! Ben Judd, producer on Bionic Commando here. I’m fortunate the folks at the PlayStation.Blog have allowed me two golden opportunities to share some information with you here.

As some of you may already know, Bionic Commando will be released on May 19th for the PLAYSTATION 3. It’s one of the few big releases in May to feature a 20-plus-hour-long single-player campaign and several multiplayer modes. Oh yeah, it also has a really damn cool swing mechanic.

Speaking of the swing mechanic, it’s taken a VERY long time to make it into exactly what we wanted it to be. The game, for very obvious visual reasons, gets compared to Spider-man a lot. They both have a swing mechanic, but Bionic Commando plays very differently from Spider-man in that it uses a skill-based mechanic. Just as the name suggests, if you want to get better at the game, you need to increase your skill level.

There are a lot of games these that put you on auto-pilot straight to the end with very few deaths or real skill-based challenges. The thinking behind this strategy is that players nowadays don’t want to be frustrated and want to have their fun right away. Well, that’s good in theory, but some of the best and most memorable games I’ve played challenged you to overcome the obstacles set before you. There is a certain sense of gratification that only comes if you overcome a challenge yourself. And the harder the challenges, quite frankly, the more rewarding it feels to complete them. Now, I’m not a big fan of making a game artificially hard so that hard-core gamers have “bragging rights,” but there are some game mechanics that just aren’t going to be easy to pick up right away.

I remember the first time I tried to “roll a fireball” in Street Fighter II. It must have taken me 50 tries. But once I got it… boy, was it rewarding. I was able to hammer on a single “attack” button in other games but in the end, it was mastering the fireball in SFII that’s the memory I won’t forget.

BC Wallpaper


So for Bionic Commando, we choose to stay true to the game’s roots. We went with a skill-based swing mechanic that will take most players about 5-10 minutes to pick up. But, once you do, you will definitely feel the control. It was a risky choice not to go with “auto-pilot” methodology when it came to the game controls; that is certainly the trend in recent games. But, if you’ve ever played the original game, I think you’ll see that it too required some serious practice before you really ever “mastered” the swing mechanic.

Speaking of which, I have some great news to announce here. Starting today, for a single week, as a promotion for the new Bionic Commando game, we will be lowering the price of Bionic Commando: Rearmed on PSN to $4.99! THAT is a great deal. I remember when Phantasy Star 4 came out when I was a kid… it was 100 bucks! Nowadays you get games with additional modes, costumes, levels, and sounds for 1/20th the price. Heck, that’s less than the price of lunch at a lot of major restaurants… (and it has less transfats too!). BC:R is a great game, but don’t just take my word for, check out these great scores from around the internet.

Even if you aren’t a huge fan of 2D games, you really can’t go wrong for five bucks, so give it a shot. Additionally, don’t forget that Bionic Commando and Bionic Commando: Rearmed have some cross-operable content that unlocks, such as the classic Spencer skin (red hair and cool shades) right from the start if you own both on PS3. There are a couple of other really nice unlockables that are only accessible if you obtain key items in Rearmed and own Bionic Commando, so this is definitely a deal that a true swinger won’t want to pass up…

BC Wallpaper

OK. Enough of the used-car salesman pitching. Now for the bad news…

It was initially our goal to retro-program in trophies for BCR while we were working on them in the 3D version. Unfortunately, the clock ran out and we had to put all our resources on completing the 3D game. I know this comes as a disappointment to a lot of people and trust me, it’s incredibly disappointing to me as well, but rather than giving you a PR-coated response, I’d rather give it to you straight. It was a tough call but with limited resources and time, we had to cut this from the main production schedule in order to make the 3D game the best it could be. Again, personal apologies for not being able to come through with this one.

Thanks for your support and look forward to my final blog entry on 5/21.

Ben

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179 Comments

17 Author Replies

  • hey john d when are we gonna get the demo that was released on the box a couple of weeks ago?

  • Ben don’t scare me with words like final. Please say you will be back to talk about other games.

    Also Now that Bionic Comando is almost out when can I expect the Bionic Comando Rearmed Trophies I heard you guys talk about. I remember listening to your Top Secret Podcast and you guys where saying you would get around to it after you finish Bionic Comando. I bought the game on good faith you would patch it for trophies. Also it is a good game.
    Then at $10 it was a deal now $5 its a steal.

    • We\’ll see! Producing games out of Japan is rough! And I\’ve proven that I can make a lot of mistakes myself but hopefully there is still a light at the end of the tunnel and some people walk away happy with the new games.

  • Do you remember when gamers played games soley for fun?

    Pepperidge Farm remembers…

  • Interesting trophies please! Not just some “first time you move” kind of thing. Those are not rewarding at all :/

  • sorry to hear the no-trophy for rearmed, but it’s still a great game

    can’t wait to get back to my swinger days!!

  • After all this time…where is the PSN/PS3 exclusive Challenge Room for BC:R? Can’t find anything about it anywhere. Does it even exist? I don’t mind about the trophies not being there for BC:R, but I do want to try out the exclusive challenge room.

    I am going to get BC next week though, since I am a fan of the game since the original. That, and I want to see what the Prototype weapon will look like…and destroy.

  • oh snap… john is replying to messages. this will hit 10 pages now lol

  • Hey John… nice to see you around…

    Im sure you’re dying to have this topic put to rest….

    Maybe I’m being overly optimistic… butis the statement regarding the trophies for BCR saying they’re just not going to do them at all?? or are they saying they were never able to get around to them… but will be able to now??

  • This blog post made my balls pucker ;)

  • First of all, for people who do not own Bionic Commando: Rearmed, for the price of $5 (hell even at $10) you should buy it NOW! It is a very fun remake of a classic.

    NOW, with this being said, I understand your reasons for not having added trophies to BCR at this point in time. But if you intend on not added trophies at all to Rearmed, especially since you guys have finished working on the new Bionic Commando game, I find this a really lame excuse. You should have plenty of time now to go back and patch trophies into Rearmed. Several other games have gone back to add trophy support, why can’t you?

    Yes I know trophy support doesn’t make a game and it is just a self satisfaction element. But it doesn’t seem like your explanation for why you haven’t added trophies to the game at this point in time explains why you won’t in the future.

    Now I might be totally incorrect since you didn’t specifically say Rearmed would never get trophies, but your wording makes it sound like that is what you are implying.

  • ok i will say this first bionic commando rearmed is amazing.
    now that being said i am extremely upset i bought this game for 10 dollars on the PROMISE of trophies coming to the game. i would even complete the game again they don’t have to be retro but seriously no trophies at all and now the price is 5 bucks. capcom this is not how you do business. i hate to sound like a person who has new gripes but if i was told that trophies MAY BE implemented i would of held off for a little amd maybe would have been able to get it for 5 bucks. so the trophies boils down to an empty promise to get people’s money. well i will say well played it worked. good day and don’t expect my money for a long time.

  • As much as I appreciate Capcom being honest, this really disappoints me.

    I’m not sure if I’m alone, but after purchasing Bionic Commando Rearmed, I waited for a long time to play so that I wouldn’t have to repeat it again for the trophies. What has all this waiting gotten me? No trophies and a $5 price drop. Thanks.

    To make matters worse, Capcom gave the Xbox 360 an exclusive Bionic Commando demo. Again, thanks.

    I’ve personally spent hundreds of dollars on Capcom games (from Megaman on the NES to Resident Evil on the PSX), but hate that I now have to lump Capcom into the same category of companies that I avoid because they do not support their games. At least Bethesda Game Studios won’t be the only company on my list now.

  • thats a load of BS, BCR is 5 bucks now, so what about ppl that payed full price before the price drop and was promised trophies support. It sound more like it was never even plan for a patch and just a scam to get more ppl to buying it. Not even going to buy any bionic commando, and enjoy your 6/10 reviews from everyone.

  • yay price cut, always good!

  • Wow,,,,bargain for $5 !

  • Mero-Geru-Soildo

    Hey Ben and John, I’m glad 2 be on here after lurking on and off again. I wish we had that trophy patch but i’m glad you gave us that closure on Rearmed.(however budget can always be given back and taken… i.e. DNF) the only thing i want to see from Capcom is Resident Evil HD edition( a.k.a. MT Framework 2.0 Edition) & and play against john in SFIV and play with john in RE5. sorry for the text wall btw.

  • Thanks for giving psn a demo jerks. Its a really good way to lose sales on the ps3 version.

  • Why not leave the price alone and just add the freakin’ trophies ALREADY!

  • @74 Looking at Capcom’s games.
    SF4: 360 is slightly better, resolution drops on ps3 during ultras.
    DMC4: Kind of a wash slightly better frame rate (360) v. v-sync (ps3).
    RE5: Better water and slightly better frame on 360.
    LP: Capcom was appropriately “rewarded” for their effort.

    I’d say they done pretty well with their MT framework. Square hasn’t been able to produce a single PS3 game even after they licensed Unreal Engine 3 for Last Remnant.
    Pretty much all UE3 games are mess as well.

    While I could see how targeted boycott might be useful. Doesn’t a blanket boycott just produce exclusives for the 360 and disregard the hard work of the good PS3 teams produce?

    I plan of passing on this game, but not because of some console warrior stance. But, because of the lack of a demo to convince me that this is a good game.

  • I’d love to have trophies too, but people who are promising to boycot Capcom products as some sort of punishment are only punishing themselves. If you want the PS3 to be the premere development platform for Capcom games, you should earn that privilage by buying Capcom games. It’s no secret that many third party games sell better on the 360 than on PS3. Every single person that withholds their purchase power contributes to lower PS3 game sales thus making the PS3 that much less attractive to invest full developtment dollars into. Support these developers by buying their games now and you just may find that future games will be even better.

  • I might get BCR for $5 because I admit it’s an awesome deal, but I would MUCH rather pay $10 and have trophies been added.

  • We still need those rearmed trphies ya know.

  • looks ok

  • I am a bit of a trophy whore myself, but good games are good games regardless. I am so glad I bought Valkyria Chronicles!! I own about 22 PS3 games and VC is easily in my top 5.

    I grew up with the NES and remember the original. I really liked the demo and at $5 it’s a steal. Good news.

  • No Trophies for Rearmed even though when I paid for the game ? not buying your new game. This is what happens when you do not deliver.

  • [DELETED] demo, I wont be buying the Bonic Commando or any other PS3 games until you start treating the PS3 equally to the XBOX.

  • * any other CAPCOM PS3 games

  • Bionic commando one of the biggest release this month? bah only Infamous and sacred 2 for me this month..
    This game looks bad i prefer spending my money on the many games coming out for PSN

  • I don’t even care about trophies and I find this appalling.

    You have to know that you sold a lot of copies of this game based on telling potential customers that trophies would be coming. Especially because, at that time, trophies were only around for a short time, so you knew they would be a big selling point for the game so you told people they were coming.

    What does it show your customers when you do that?

    Really, you have no excuse for this. None at all. The only way to make it right is deliver on your promises, otherwise this is a big slap across the face of all buyers of this game, not to mention false advertising.

    Low, Capcom. Real low.

  • How dare you make BC:R so financially irresistible. No more excuses from me. Trophies or not, it’s time to make the buy.

  • This was an interesting quote. “It was a tough call but with limited resources and time, we had to cut this from the main production schedule in order to make the 3D game the best it could be.”
    From everything I’ve heard the 3D game isn’t going to be all that great, so I find that statement ironic. Capcom, just release the trophies for the better Bionic Commando game, “Bionic Commando Rearmed.” I’d be happy with that, since I bought the game when it first came out with the understanding it was going to have trophies. It is an awesome game, and deserves trophies and a second or third playthrough to get them even if they aren’t retroactive. I’m sure Grin could patch the game for a relatively small amount of money, and sales of Bionic Command Rearmed would only increase. If people aren’t playing that game, I don’t think there is any way they are going to try out your new “challenging” 3D game.

  • Your sorry excuse(s) for BCR not having trophies isn’t good enough. If you can’t follow through on a small downloadable game such BCR not having trophies, what are we to expect from the full 3D version of one of my favorite games… More sorry excuses. Why did you even take on this project… Because you thought some jornalist had a awesome 1up logo on his card… Lame. Don’t make games for a living if your not in it to win it. With Pixel Junk patching games, and echocrome following suit a “producer” working for Capcom should’ve had trophies done like last year. I have a great “excuse” for not buying Capcom’s 3d remake of Bionic Commando, it’s producer is a idiot and should reconcider his career in making games. I loved the Remake of BC but it hurts me to know that you have just ruined a large part of a game for those who weren’t there when nintendo gave Capcom the opportunity to change gaming. And on a sidenote, Capcom has really lost a lot of respect with the community by letting this happen… Along with their neglect for anyone who owns a Playstation. Good Luck in the future Ben and Capcom, maybe you’ll get your act together and care more about this artform.

  • I just bought Bionic Commando Rearmed. I hope Capcom will support the game with trophies.

  • linebeginstoblur

    Is the Trophies issue something you guys really put thought to, or is this just what Capcom is telling you to do? They promised trophies for SSFIIHDR too, and then they last-minute canceled. I knew same would happen here. Shame.

    Also, I’m kinda disappointed that Reduced doesn’t mean a fully functional PSP version for those who can’t get reliable results from Remote Play. :P

    IF ANYONE DOES NOT PICK UP THIS GAME FOR $5, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES EVER ON PSN/XBLA. Just thought I’d mention. ;)

  • Have all the BC Rearmed unlocks and preoredered PS3 BC. Be thankful I did it Judd. I was REALLY looking forward to a Bionic Commando demo to be released. whether multiplayer or single-player I could care less about trophies not being on Rearmed you should have been working on a psn demo for the new game instead. But I see you sold out to Microsoft’s Xbox 360. I pray that the game does not receive terrible reviews but you did include trophies in the new game correct? WIll we be seeing dlc for Bionic Commando in the near future? or Playstation Home Compatibility/Rewards by chance?

  • It’s not everyday that you see an admission like that from a person in a game company. Unlike some of those complaining, I won’t hold it against you. You did your best and no one can fault you for it.

    However, since you’re here, I only ask that you try to get with Capcom to see if we can get the 3rd and 4th Breath of Fire games. Doing this keeps us from two weeks of Spyro (even if it is a decent series).

  • I’m in hysterics over this.

    BC will fail because of BCR…have you learned your lessons now John and Ben? I might be an ass, but I’m an ass that is RIGHT!

  • Its pretty safe to say no matter what Ben and John say

    1) Despite 18 hour days, Capcom manages to under deliver consistently on Ps3

    2) Capcom is mostly Xbox 360 exclusive, and only ports to Ps3 in order to save face

    3) Capcom doesn’t have a clue about trophies

    4) PR = always wrong, even when they won’t admit it.

    A few lessons well learned. Now hopefully Capcom packs their things up and either ships out or makes a migration to ACTUAL Ps3 support.

  • Ben Judd,
    thank you for the reply, although I feel like you missed the main point of my argument. First, there’s still time to fix this, fans will wait. Second, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, is that even if trophies never come to BCR I’d be fine with it, but I would find it very wrong and very hypocritical if DLC were to come out for BC PS3 without any sign of trophies for BCR, considering the argument of not having enough time.

    So my main argument is that at this point for the Bionic Commando releases, I feel like BCR trophies and DLC for the new 3D version are tied together, you can have neither or have both, but you can’t just release DLC for the new title and expect any reasoning to justify it.

  • I second Breath of Fire III!

  • Krazy_Tazmanius

    Any word on the copy lock protection on Capcom’s PS3 game saves being removed? It is such a pain in the ass when you decide to transfer your game saves to an external device and you discover that not a single Capcom game will transfer. :(

  • Are there any plans to bring out the first Dead Rising for the PS3?

  • I purchased BC:R at launch and it is a great game. Everybody needs to stop whining about trophies. Its pretty sad that these developers can work so hard, and produce such an excellent product (like BC:R)… yet it is overlooked only because it does not feature trophies.

    What do trophies mean? What are there value?

    (Hint: the answer to both is nothing)

  • excuses, nothing more than excuses.

    Buying Capcom games since my old nintendo 8-bit console, I never see a awful bad support with a console how is happening now with the PS3.Lack of trophies for some recent releases ( BCR, S2FHD ), Mandatory ( and BIG ) installs for inferior console versions, lack of exclusives in this side of fence ( Dead Rising , Lost Planet 2 anyone? )…

    Its not only a non-trophy complain in the end at all, there are many things in this case that makes the job of any Capcom´s PR a nightmare.But in this particular case,if the fault is yours Ben Judd, you own me 10 bucks.

  • Capcom/ Ben/ John… Why are you throwing the idea of trophies out of the equation? Is it too difficult to do on a PlayStation? Ben you stated that there are a lot of hurdles associated with making games other than just making games such as money, more money, time, etc. But what about the things that creates success… A well recieved product or service, love for your craft, acceptance from your peers? I am a designer (non gaming) and concept artist I’ve been one for a while and these are what define my success and my failures. When something I create doesn’t fit I don’t just say “ohhh well, live with it” I fix it and make it acceptible. Why is it not the same with Capcom and/or yourself?

    PS: Sony; if another company is responsible for your success or (in this case) failure it’s up to you to make sure you contribute and collaborate more… not just leave things as they are and let down not only gamers but all those who have “money” vested in your production.

  • Hey Ben, rather than a PR-coated response, I’ll give it to you straight. No trophies on this means I’m most likely not gonna buy this $5 remake or any new 3D game unless it’s off the charts amazing.

  • Reading these posts I guess it just goes to show how gaming has changed. Xbox pioneered achievements, steam picked them up, blizzard put them in , and sony did as well. Now they are just expected. I feel like since the xbox version has achievements and the Ps3 version doesnt im almost purchasing a second rate game. Thanks for the price cut though.

  • I’m quite offended at your focus on the word “promise”. I mean, seriously? Is that what it takes for us to be able to believe you guys or for you to follow through with something? You have to actually use the literal word “promise”? Just saying “The game WILL be patched for trophies.” like you did isn’t straightforward and sincere enough to make it a top-tier priority? That is quite insulting. Excuse us for taking your firm reassurance and word as a promise, semantics aside.

  • OK, lemme start by saying I’m a huge Capcom fan and I’ve been playing and loving Capcom games since Mega Man was released on the NES. I haven’t exactly been thrilled with all of Capcom’s business decisions in recent years, but they still make and publish awesome games, so I keep playing.

    Now, on the subject of trophies. Trophies are very important to me — I have about 830 of the little guys so far. I think the biggest issue I have with the BCR debacle is this: how freakin’ long does it take to jam a handful of trophies in a game? I mean, c’mon, you already have the achievements to go off of and an entire staff to do the job! Give me the darn SDK, I’ll have the dang thing patched in like 5 minutes!

    Of course, I’m being a bit sarcastic, but I am very disappointed. Regardless, I purchased BCR tonight and plan to purchase Bionic Commando on day one.

  • Are you saying that now that BC is done its impossible for you guys to go back to add the trophies to BC:R? I don’t get it, wouldn’t it be easier now that you guys have the time without the pressure of working on BC?

    Is there any hope of trophies being re-considered for an update at a later time? Or are you saying it just can’t be done at all anymore?

    Just wondering :)

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