Developed by Software Creations and published by GO! in 1988, this is the ZX Spectrum version of Capcom‘s classic arcade game, Bionic Commando. And it’s not bad, all considered.

The best thing about Bionic Commando on the Spectrum is probably Tim Follin‘s soundtrack, which is an excellent port of his brilliant music in the Commodore 64 version. Note that this is only available in the 128K version of the game.

Graphically, the Spectrum version is detailed and reasonably authentic. The scrolling is push-style scrolling (where the display area moves when you walk toward the edge of the screen), and this does present a problem at times, especially when you fire your grapple hook vertically (because the screen only scrolls vertically a little at a time, so you need to keep firing the grapple hook upward to reveal more above you – until you can see if there’s a platform to hook to, or not). This, I think, could have been handled better.

The general playability of the game is pretty good. Swinging on the grapple hook is fun, and – if you’re good enough with it – you’ll also be able to propel yourself sidewards with well-timed jumps. Enemies can at times be unpredictable and annoying, but they can at least be knocked down with the grapple hook (it won’t kill them, though – you need to shoot them to finish them off).

The levels start off fairly manageable, but from the second level onward it becomes much more challenging. Later levels can become frustrating, because enemy choppers, and large robot guards, will knock you down and out with impunity if you make contact with them, and they can be very difficult to avoid.

I hit a wall on level five, which has electrified poles that will knock you sideways if you get too close, and it’s very difficult to judge how far away from them is safe (it’s even more difficult to get past them in places, because you can’t swing through them).

The Spectrum version of Bionic Commando is well-presented and playable, and it reviewed well at the time of its original release. Personally, I’m split by it. While I do like the way it looks and plays, I don’t much like the push scrolling, or the difficulty of the later levels. It also arguably runs a bit too fast (not in terms of frame rates, but in terms of reaction times), which makes the game even more difficult. To reach the later levels – or to complete the game – you really do have to know the game inside-out, and how best to survive the onslaught. Or how to apply pokes!

More: Bionic Commando on Wikipedia
More: Bionic Commando on World of Spectrum