Note: This summary contains spoilers about the new Bionic Commando game by Grin.

I managed to play through Bionic Commando this week, and I think Grin and Capcom did a fine job of re-opening the original NES franchise 20 years later.

In a nutshell, the game is exactly how I expected and just long and hard enough to not become overly repetitive and unintentionally frustrating.

It was everything I had hoped for since the day I heard Ben Judd and crew were going to come back to the series that I so dearly loved as a child and revamp it for the current generation, keeping the hardcore audience in mind.

There's a couple issues with the game that some people have been concerned about, but I want to assure everyone on the fence about this game that it is worth full retail price. You can wait for a small sale if you like, but chances are you'll be missing out on one of the best single player experiences this generation. If you consider yourself remotely a hardcore gamer, this is the game to get.

The things I like most about the game are 1. zip-kick, 2. dark story, 3. Spencer as a badass, 4. head explosions (in keeping with the original ending of Bionic Commando), and 5. easter egg dialogue changes "...you'll just have to f$@k it!".

Now that I've finally renewed my Xbox Live gold membership I'll be playing MP a lot more.

Overall score: 9.75/10