POSTED 9/4/12


BINARY DOMAIN

SEGA
PS3 (also on Xbox 360, PC)

We shot some bots, we shot some bots for you. Yeah, they were all hollow...

It’s 2080. After all manner of ecological catastrophicarnage, robots are everyday and the Yanks rule the world. Groovy...

But yeah, the robots. They’ve actually infiltrated life more than most suspect, for somebody’s been all nefarious-like and defied the Geneva Code which agreed upon not making them seem human. These humanobots are known as “hollow children”, and as a member of the famed Geneva international stereotype squad (or something) you’re shuffled off to Japan to, erm, “look into” the situation. Yes, there will be gunfire.

We could just type “Gears of War remixed” then fuck off and get drunk, but we’re made of sterner stuff. Plus we’ve already downed a skinful. Hic!

BD follows the blueprint though: third-person shooter, squad-based, hiding behind crates, guns and ammo strewn about with random abandon (try saying that one time fast), weapons-a-go-go, B-grade humour... you get the drift.

Additionally, some will find the addition of voice commands a neat-o addition, additionally. Not only can you bark orders at your squaddies, you can also feed their flaccid egos with reassuring quippage. In fact, it’s encouraged. Our constant stream of “Harden the fuck up!” didn’t necessary yield the desired results. But when they continually amble into your hail of robot-directed gunfire, your patience does tend to wear thinner than anorexic cotton.

A penchant for overlong cutscenes is typical nowadays, so we’re wasting our finger-strength whining. Still, when you’re just getting your vibe on, and have just snagged a humongo-mofo kill-cannon only to have it ripped away in order to open a roll-a-door, it’s hard not to be bummed.

Meanwhile, boss battles are imaginative and rarely pushoveristic, although online feels more tacked on than Eeyore’s tail.

A quite thought-provoking Philip K Dickian affair, Binary Domain backs up the Sex Pistols’ prediction of 01001110011011110010000001100110011101010111010001110101011100100110010100100001.

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