Bionic Commando Rearmed, the sequel to the original Bionic Commando for the Nintendo, was recently released on Steam, a digital content download service. I jumped at my chance to buy it for a small price — $10 — and it was worth it.

The game starts with a retro-style introduction, telling you about the previous game and what it’s all about. Eight-bit style music greets the nostalgic fan, giving homage to the previous game. After going through the intro, a menu pops up, doing exactly what a menu does — lets you play the game.

You have the option of running through a quick tutorial. This tutorial takes place inside a simulation — retro graphics and all. The first thing I noticed was the amazing animations that were put into the game. It’s much easier to notice this in the simulation, since it has outlines and not actual characters. The animations are fluid and seamless, showing off the incredible work the team put into this game. The tutorial was simple and straightforward.

After the tutorial, you have the option of single-player gameplay or co-op gameplay. I chose single player. I was sent to the world map, which you navigate via helicopter. Stages are “areas,” numbered bricks on the world map. What’s interesting about this is that the areas are not numbered chronologically. It went from Area 00 to Area 01, then to Area 04. You can go to any area you wish at any time, though you must have the right equipment to break barriers blocking entrance to some areas.

I played through a few missions and right off the bat, I realized a few things: the first being that this game is difficult. Playing on normal, I died numerous times. You will want to collect as many lives as you can — though they are scarce and hidden. The second thing I realized is something that strikes me as a glitch. It takes longer to turn left, while crouching, than it does to turn right while crouching. The final thing is that the hook is extremely hard to use. Using the hook key — I chose the “S” key with which to do this — requires aiming, which sometimes makes you fall off narrow platforms. It defaults to diagonal if no aim is chosen. To swing, I was to tap the “S” key, and once I was latched onto a platform was to let go of the “S” key, hold right or left, and rinse and repeat. All too often, I held “S” for just a bit too long and ascended too high to be able to swing.

The music is in the style of original Nintendo music, remixed to make it sound modern. A lot of the music is from the original game, with some new tracks added in. All of the music is fantastic and great to listen to. I would buy a CD of songs from the game.

After playing for a while, I blew something up. I was, to put it simply, amazed. The graphics in this game are superb! The explosion was simply amazing: An awesome mix of shaders and art make it simply breathtaking. This doesn’t just go for explosions, either — every visual effect shows that time was put into it, whether it was for lighting or a simple bullet. Every character also has the same treatment. Tanks, bosses or simple grunts: I love the graphics in this game.

There are a variety of weapons to be had. I was able to obtain the normal gun, the plasma rifle, grenades, the shotgun and the bazooka. I’m sure there are more, as new equipment is awarded each area cleared. They’re inventive, too. I got iron boots, meaning that any enemies I swing into are pulverized.

Mixed throughout missions are a few communication rooms, where the Commando contacts HQ to get access to doors. There’s also the option of hacking into the network, which provides useful information on how to defeat the boss of the area. To hack in, you must move a ball must in three dimensions toward an exit. It can only move in six directions — left, right, up, down, forward and backward — and once it starts moving, it cannot stop. There are obstacles and teleporters to help achieve the goal.

It thoroughly annoys me that getting to at least one of these communication rooms is mandatory. Sometimes they are hidden, and it takes a while to find them. After finding them, the door to the boss room is unlocked.

The story stays faithful to the original. It follows Nathan “R.A.D” during his first mission. Unfortunately, it’s not too involving. Cutscenes rarely reveal anything about the story, and it feels like a simple arcade shooter with deep gameplay.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed — and was frustrated with — Bionic Commando Rearmed. It’s worth the $10 on Steam. It’s a well-polished, addicting game that I spent more than six hours playing in one play session. I highly recommend picking up this title as soon as possible.