How bad is Bionicle?
Bionicle is a platformer developed by Argonaut, yes that Argonaut, and released on 6th generation
game consoles in 2003.
For those unaware, Bionicle is a system of Lego, which looked to expand the aging toy
line's appeal back in 2000.
The world of Bionicle leans in the science fiction direction, and is populated with half
robotic, half organic creatures.
Expanding the Bionicle franchise were direct-to-DVD movies, further fleshing out the Bionicle
Universe.
And of course, you can't have a toy and movie line without a videogame, which leads us to
Bionicle: The Game.
Predictably, Bionicle was met with negative reviews.
PC Gamer stated: "Bionicle's horrible controls and confusing camera angles make it a terribly
frustrating experience."
GameSpot scored the game a 4.7 out of 10, noting: "All the wonder of the Bionicle universe
has been bled dry by a vapid design, an atrocious camera system, and one noteworthy bug."
Finally, IGN gave the game a 3.8 out of 10, proclaiming: "You're thrown from one seemingly
random instance to another strung along by a thin storyline.
This is simply a case of trying to stuff too many gameplay ideas into a game and dumbing
it down way too much for a kid's audience."
So, how bad is Bionicle?
Let's dive in.
First, it's worth mentioning the intro video has no audio.
I can honestly say in the hundreds of games I've played over the past few years, I have
never come across this before.
It's very odd…
Anyway, the game opens with some CG clips, which I assume are from the movie Bionicle:
The Mask of Light.
Already, a second problem immediately presents itself.
It's pretty much impossible to figure out what's going on.
You see, nothing is introduced properly.
Either the developers assumed only Bionicle fans would play this game, or they never got
a chance to fully flesh out the cut scenes.
In any case, I'm just going to simplify the story for the sake of making it coherent.
There is a bad guy named Makuta.
He, along with some other bio-mechanical beings are terrorizing an island filled with other
bio-mechanical beings.
You play the role of the six Toa, who are trying to rescue the good guys, from the bad
guys.
But you have a mask, which belongs to a seventh Toa.
But you don't know who that Toa is.
But you do know this seventh Toa can take down the evil Makuta.
Honestly, playing through this game twice, I didn't get the story at all.
I had to read a summary of the movie to put it all together.
Between a narrative filled with nonsensical words, and seemingly random CG clips, it's
impossible to figure out the plot, without assistance.
To be fair, the game does offer an encyclopedia feature, but this too is just overwhelming
and confusing.
The first Toa you play as is Tahu.
His level acts as a tutorial of sorts, showing off most of the game's features and controls.
Basically you can run around, jump, and double jump.
Surprisingly, the controls are really good and navigating the world and jumping on platforms
is a seamless, drama free experience.
The combat on the other hand, is a little less traditional.
Your main weapon is an energy blast.
It locks onto nearby enemies and works like you would expect.
Using it however, will drain your energy bar.
To refill the lost energy, you need to use your shield to absorb enemy fire.
Alternatively, the energy will slowly refill automatically, or you can hold the X button
and refill it manually.
Again, the whole thing feels a bit half-baked, and mastering the shield mechanic is almost
never required.
So, after making your way through the level, rescuing a preset number locals, we finally
make our way to the first boss.
Here, the camera actually locks onto specific targets, making the combat a little smoother.
After a few minutes of basic patterns, you win and move onto the next Toa.
Kopaka actually plays totally different.
This stage acts as the obligatory snowboard level.
There are a few different sequences, sometimes you're racing down the hill.
Other times you're being chased by a boulder.
And finally, sometimes you have to use your shield to stun an enemy, and then attack it.
The controls work well enough, but there is also nothing here that hasn't been done dozens
of times before.
The third level, starring Gali is where Bionicle finally shows some promise.
First, the entire level is far more interesting, featuring a lush tropical environment complete
with actual stuff populating the local, like bridges and boats.
Gali's special ability is swimming.
Moving through the water is easy enough, although you can't make her dive deeper.
In order to get deeper into the water, you have to jump from a higher height.
She also has a blast attack, which can break open these prison cells.
The stage is also a lot less linear, requiring you to actually do things, like locate switches,
which move obstacles, allowing you access new parts of the level.
Gali's level also requires you do some exploring, collecting 13 of the locals.
It's nothing you haven't seen in other games, but it's refreshing to play something a bit
more substantial.
Unfortunately, the boss is a repeat of the first boss encounter.
Only this time there is so much crap on the screen it's impossible to tell when you are
hitting an enemy or worse yet, when an enemy is firing at you.
Still, it's easy enough.
Level 4 has us controlling Pohatu.
This level also starts off promising, with some rich looking rocks and a temple.
After making your way towards the entrance of the temple, everything collapses and turns
into a mine cart level.
You can speed up, slow down, jump, as well as lean left and right.
Capturing green spheres will keep your energy up, and you can use your attack to take out
obstructions.
Level 4 also has no boss, so once you flip all of the appropriate switches, this level,
is over.
Onua is next, and he has the amazing ability to, push rocks.
But of course, this is implemented very clumsily, and you'll be walking back and forth trying
to get rocks onto their designated platforms.
Still, there are a few moments of some nice platforming, but not enough to make this level
anything but tedious.
Even more disappointing, is the boss encounter, which is just more rock pushing.
Mercifully, Bionicle saves the best Toa, for last.
Lewa has the ability to glide, which works surprisingly well.
This stage has you bouncing from platform to platform, using both the double jump as
well as the gliding ability, to traverse the level.
Everything is logically laid out and the camera does a nice job pointing you in the right
direction.
Mix in vine swinging, and some of the better grinding sequences I've played in a while
and you find yourself having some good ole' fashion, fun.
Of course, the developers did screw things up with this bird section.
Basically, while following this bird, you have unlimited glide.
Fall off the birds trail, and you die.
Needless to say, this part isn't fun at all, and ruins what is otherwise, a fairly competent
level of platforming.
On the flip side, the boss too is enjoyable, requiring you to shoot out the platform underneath
the boss to send him to his death.
Finally, we arrive at the seventh level, and back with the first Toa, Tahu.
Your first instinct might be to play this like the snowboard level, by ramming your
shield into the enemy.
But, you’d be wrong.
This is actually a race.
You can slow your opponent down by shooting him, and will also need to shoot down some
obstacles, similar to the mine cart level.
Again, the controls here are fine, and maneuvering around the lava field is a smooth experience.
After winning the race, we move onto the final boss.
But first, we get to discover who the seventh Toa is.
It turns out, this weird little dude who shows up now and again, is in fact, the last Toa.
And it is he who is destined to take down the evil Makuta.
He is also the most powerful Toa, having unlimited energy, a quicker attack, a very high double
jump, and the ability to glide.
The final boss battle takes place in a rotating circle, much like the Sonic Rush series.
First, you have to defeat a wave of enemies you've already encountered throughout the
game.
After this, the second part of the fight begins.
Here, you have to jump on the marked platform to drop Makuta's shield.
After ricocheting some of his blasts back at him, you beat the game and Bionicle is
over.
The final cut scene shows a door opening, but you never go through the door and the
game ends rather anticlimactically.
Queue, those credits.
Much like the opening video, the end credits feature no sound.
Before finishing up, let's take a few minutes to talk about the technical aspects of Bionicle.
Graphically, the game struggles a bit.
The game world features decent color, and the texture work is solid, but at times the
world feels very empty.
Worse yet, anytime there are any particle effects on the screen, the frame rate dips
quite a bit.
For a game this simplistic, I would expect a constant silky smooth 60 frames per second.
Finally, the animations are pretty sloppy.
While in game movement is serviceable, the victory pose is laughable at best.
The audio does fair a bit better.
The music is well composed, helping the game feel alien and atmospheric.
I'm also a sucker for any videogame music incorporating classic stringed instruments,
so it has that going for it, which is nice.
So, with the gameplay and technical bits out of the way.
How bad is Bionicle?
It's pretty lousy.
If we break down the game's 7 levels, there just isn't much here.
There is a tutorial level.
Three mini-game levels, snowboarding, minecarting, and lava surfing.
And then a boring level where you push rocks.
There are just two levels in the entire game that offer a decent platforming experience.
What a shame.
Bionicle is also plagued with little issues that really aren't excusable for a 2003 release.
For example, falling in lava kills you, this makes sense.
Dropping into water doesn't kill you.
Again, this makes sense.
However on this level, where you can clearly see the water is a foot deep, and clear, the
water kills you.
I hate crap like this.
Next, the camera is pretty dated.
I'm tolerant of camera issues as well, and the camera in Sonic Adventure has never really
caused me problems.
But in Bionicle, the camera code is obviously not done.
Flying enemies are the worst, as the camera points towards the ground, rather than the
enemy.
As the attack and shield buttons are mapped to the face of the controller, rather than
the triggers, you can't attack and adjust the camera at the same time.
This makes combat far more clumsy than it needs to be.
The camera is even sluggish when moving through tunnels, letting you walk right into an ambush
before you know it.
Other times, it just seems to have a mind of its own, offering no logical viewpoint.
The reason I say it probably wasn't completed, is because sometimes it wor's flawlessly,
following a boss, or pointing out the next location.
Bionicle also lacks any real replayability.
You can collect these white gems, but they are just used to unlock some bonus videos,
which are hardly a reward.
About the only thing Bionicle has going for it, is the lack of BS moments.
Other than trying to follow this bird, everything is pretty smooth going.
In the end though, this is a bad game.
The story is disjointed, uses a different language, poorly mixes in clips from the movie,
and offers virtually no cohesive narrative from beginning to end.
Bionicle also offers very little in the way of fun gameplay mechanics.
It's like there was a check list, and half the items were checked off.
Snow level, check.
Tropical level, check.
Fire level, check.
Desert level, check.
And hey, while we're add it, throw in some surfing and a mine cart, everyone else is
doing it.
The game is just devoid of any sort of unique concept letting it stand out from the competition.
And what is here isn't executed in a way where I'd give it a pass.
While the Lego games have traditionally represented a high point in mindless fun, Bionicle just
misses the mark completely, and quite frankly, I'd like me three dollars back.