You may notice a trend happening lately. Downloadable games are starting to get good, really good. PSN just got Pixeljunk Eden. The 360 got Braid. Now everyone gets Bionic Commando: Rearmed. You may ask yourself, why am I going to pay ten dollars for a reworked NES title? I am then going to ask you, why the hell have you not bought this game yet?

Bionic Commando: Rearmed is the best looking downloadable arcade title I have ever seen. Period. The game looks better than several full titles. The game has some amazing background textures and the level and enemy design are ultra detailed. After you are done gawking at the graphics, you will notice a killer soundtrack. The game features a mix of techno and hard rock riffs that takes you back to the 80’s but its modern enough where you aren’t gonna find those acid-washed jeans.

Players of the original game will notice that not much has changed. You have your helicopter and will have to frequent both. One thing to note: make sure you explore your friendly bases, especially Level 00. There are weapon upgrades there which will make you even more badass. You start off with your trust gun and claw arm. These will undergo some formidable upgrades throughout the game. What those are, I’ll leave to you. You will also notice that there is no jump button, just like the original. You will have to get very good at claw swinging to have a chance to survive. I do recommend playing the tutorial level at Base 00, you get something at the end.

You will also notice that the old bosses are gone and new ones that involve you both shooting and grappling. Again, I’ll leave these as a surprise.  You can hack into the enemy mainframe from the scattered Com Centers throughout the level. Its a 3D mini game where you must move an orb into a green block by tilting the screen. It takes some practice, but is not too hard to figure out. By doing so, you get tips on how to beat the level and the bosses and I strongly recommend you do this. You are often rewarded with energy at the end.

The game offers three difficulties and you will need to play on the hard level to get most of the achievements. There is on screen co-op which adds a fun element. Experts at the game can move through at a fast pace, but people like me who haven’t played the original in close to 15 years will need some time to get used to the controls, especially the grappling hook and lack of jumping ability. There are very few games that I even consider downloading on the arcade platforms, but there are some that you just have to get. If arcade games could be a killer app, this would be it.

Overall: 9.25 out of 10

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