The new Bionic Commando has some large arm grapples to fill, not only did the majority of the SNES players love the original but Bionic Commando: Rearmed was one of the best examples of an XBLA update. So it was with a little bit of sceptism that I approached the demo, how would a game which always suited a 2D plain make the transition in 3D. Well I’m happy to report that all is well with Swedish Grin’s take on the classic swinger.

Gameplay is fast, visuals are vibrant and this titles interpretation of swing mechanics is the most fun since Spider-man 2. You swing with the right trigger and let go as you grapple onto to another piece of the scenary, its all about keeping the momentum whilst making your way quickly to the target. As a result the good players are incredibly hard to hit while those struggling with the grapple become easy fodder. Scoring is also subtly different from your average multi-player bolt-on as the points you score change depending on how you dispatched your victim for example if you snipe them while they are in the air you gain a x2 multiplyer, or if you kill multiple targets in quick sucession.

The demo only offers 1 game map and it is very small, a good showcase for the swing mechanic and fast paced combat. Hopefully the retail release has some bigger maps because it can feel constricting at times. The map is small but it serves the purpose of bunching the small 8 player base together, which makes for some excellent battles between multiple individuals. Fights also look extremely cinematic when players fully utilise the grapple and swing scenery. As opposed to Lost Planet when players could only grapple onto certain materials, in Bionic Commando you can grapple onto anything including weapons and players, so it rewards players who know what they are doing with their left arm.

The demo also showcases a short trailer for the story mode which, at this stage, looks drastically better than the multi-player mode. Cut-scenes, theatrical score, and some impressive set pieces give the impression that this title is shaping up rather nicely for its June release date. Demo’s are supposed to convert nay-sayers into pre-orders and this one completely did a number on me. If you have even the faintest interest in Bionic Commando, this relatively small download will provide a good few hours of entertainment and will make you decide if this re-imagining is for you.