Big robots will always win a gamer's heart.
When Sega announced that they were releasing Binary Domain for the Personal Computer after the game's brief exclusivity on the consoles, I was ecstatic. When they decided to use Steamworks as the primary means of the game's distribution, I was definitely ready to worship Sega as a gaming deity once again. When the game was only being sold for $39.99 compared to the ridiculous $59.99 price point for the console versions, I immediately pre-ordered it. And after I just tested the game this morning now that the game has finally been launched for the PC, I want to kiss Sega on the mouth.
Big Bo loves him some Geisha.
If you are worried about the quality of the game's port, be assured that the PC version of Binary Domain is the best version of the game. After running through the first two chapters of the game, I went to my X-Box 360 and checked out the game demo of the console version. Even though there are very little amount of customization options found in the PC version, the difference between it and the console version is quite apparent. I am able to run the game with everything maxed out at native 1920 x 1080 resolution with my PC setup and the game maintains a steady 60 frames per second except during the cut scenes that are unfortunately presented at 30 fps to give these sequences that cinematic flair. I really rather them stick with 60 fps for the cut scenes for the sake of consistency. On the 360, the game is upscaled to 1080p but the frame rate is stuck at half of what the PC version is able to accomplish. You can see a lot of details on the PC version because of the native high resolution but of course that also means the low resolution textures that can be found here and there in the game becomes more apparent as well. Despite the missing texture reworks and limited graphics customization options, developer Devil's Details did a great job in translating this game for the PC - which should not be surprising because they also did a nice job on the PC version of Sonic Generations. The improved clarity and frame rate makes the PC version feels like an entirely different game.
You know what they say about men with big guns.
Now on to a quick impression of the game itself. Binary Domain is a third person cover shooter, a Gears of War clone with that delicious Japanese twist. It tells a futuristic story of a covert team of soldiers who are tasked to infiltrate Japan to locate a scientist who broke the Geneva Convention for creating robots that resemble humans. Just like GoW, you get to play with computer controlled teammates. You can't play the campaign with human partners online however even though the game does come with online multiplayer separate from the campaign. The game relies heavily on that cover then shoot mechanics and you regain health as long as you are not damaged for a set number of time. One cool thing about your AI partners is that you can choose to use voice command to interact with them. Not only can you use this to give them the necessary battle instructions, but you can also say the plethora of recognizable words to them just to hear their reactions to your nonsense. I had a blast saying "Love you," and "I like you," only to receive my teammates' hostile responses during a heated battle, which is actually a lot more fun than it sounds. There is also a relationship building element to the game where can gain and lose the trust level of your teammates based on your interactions with them. The robot enemies have full body damage modelling and the way that you can chip away at their metal encasing with your arsenal of weapons is extremely satisfying. When you destroy their legs, they will start crawling, and when you destroy their heads, they will then shoot anything nearby so being smart about where to shoot can provide you with a strategic advantage. So far, the mechanics is holding up and it helps that there are constant interactions between the characters and new events seem to show up frequently as well to move the story along.
Robots don't bleed. They shatter.
Binary Domain fully supports the X-Box 360 controller and that is the way that I choose to play the game. The game even has customizable keyboard and mouse controls if that is more of your thing. The only problem that I am having with this game is the SpeechFX technology that seems to have a hard time recognizing my voice input. It probably has something to do with the X-Box 360 wired headset however because I know that it doesn't sound very clear when I use it to talk on Skype so I may have to hook up my USB microphone to improve the situation. I am really loving Binary Domain. So far, it's engaging, action-packed, intriguing, and those robots look stellar. Head to Steam right now and get the game to support Sega today. And Sega, you know what to do. Give us more of your gaming goodness for the PC via Steam please!
Sega's future in PC gaming is looking pretty bright.
FIRST IMPRESSION: 5 out of 5
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