Bionic Commando: Rearmed is a game that I’ve been looking forward to since I saw the first trailer. It actually made me less interested in the real Bionic Commando sequel, because this one just looked so much better. So after about half a year of waiting, and a couple months of delays, it was finally released yesterday on XBLA (today on PSN), and it was well worth the wait.

BC:R is a $10 remake of the original Bionic Commando that came out on the NES, but you really can’t tell, because the production values are so high in this remake. The graphics and music are amazing, the menus look nice, and everything is just one step above pretty much every other downloadable game out there. And thankfully, the gameplay is just as good as the presentation.

The controls are simple since you only have shoot, grenade, bionic arm, and switch weapons, but they manage to make the game pretty complex. Using the bionic arm is tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be able to do really cool maneuvers. Nothing is more satisfying than blocking a shot with your bionic arm, then swinging over to the enemy and taking him out.

And if a fantastic remake of a classic game wasn’t enough, Capcom added a co-op mode, a multiplayer mode, and a bunch of challenge rooms. The co-op is self-explanatory, but the multiplayer mode is a little more confusing. It feels similar to Smash Brothers because it’s played on a smallish level with lots of platforms and lots of powerups. There are three different game types in the multiplayer mode: Deathmatch, Survivor (think stock matches in SB), and Don’t Touch the Floor. The multiplayer is fun, but where the game really shines is in the challenge rooms. The challenge rooms are designed to make you use everything you know about the bionic arm. The correct path through the levels is not always clear, and finding the path through the level is generally as fun as getting through the level itself.

I haven’t played a whole lot of this game, but everything that I have played has been fantastic. I’ve beaten tough challenge rooms, defeated awesome bosses, and even won a few matches in the fun multiplayer modes. The only problem that I’ve encountered with the game so far is that it has the dreaded “HD Font Syndrome”. I can barely read the text on my 22″ (or so) SD TV. But that’s a small price to pay for a game that’s already so cheap.