“We know what we are, but not what we may be.”
― William Shakespeare
Binary Domain is essentially a squad based third person shooter where robots are fun to shoot at. It’s the latest creation of Sega and if you read nothing else in this review then please memorise the following sentence. All the faults and drawbacks of this game are immediately forgiven once you start killing things. Got it memorised? Good, now if that’s all you really wanted to hear then go and get yourself a copy. If not, please continue.
Sega’s latest offering is the illegitimate love child of East and West game design, one of those rare titles that emerge when the eccentric execution of the East overlaps with the crunchy, but not mundane, combat of the West. The result is a very familiar but enjoyable gaming experience with a plot which, for our older readers, will lovingly echo Ridley Scott’s classical Blade Runner.
The year is 2080, and as expected the world has moved on from the days of fossil fuels and dry land. Unfortunately in the near future the water levels are going to rise and the majority of us are going to drown, so keep that in mind next time you pass on a free swimming lesson. So with must of us dead the world had to rebuild, and to do so they needed labour. So in come the robots along with a reworked Geneva Convention that outlined what is ethnically acceptable in terms of robotics. Then when something goes wrong, as it always does, and an ambiguous Japanese robotics enterprise is to blamed and they send in the RUST crew to deal with them.
From here you take control of one Sergeant Dan ‘The Survivor‘ Marshall, second in command of Rust and typical all round yank as the other protagonists like to tell him. RUST has been deployed to prove that said evil robotic enterprise are to blame for the creation of Hallow Children, robots marching around in synthetic skin with human emotions. These robots are completely indistinguishable from humans, and the world leaders all agree they’ve got to go. While some plot twists are practically telegraphed the campaign is a very enjoyable medley of action, mystery, suspense and humour that will carry you on a roller coaster journey through from the ruins of the old Tokyo to the glistening streets of the new model.
Many third person shooters suffer from the universal problem of damage feedback; getting the enemy to react realistically to getting shot. Amazingly, despite being a staple of the Western world, Binary Domain is one of the very few games I’ve played to get this perfectly right. Once the robots start to appear you’ll quickly discover how much fun it is to pick off body parts. Remove a leg, it will adjust to balance on just one. Remove and arm, it’ll pick up a gun with its spare. Remove the head? It’ll turn around and blow off its buddies for payback, since they can’t tell friend from foe in this state of delirium. This offers a variety of tactics, albeit simple ones, that can turn the tide in an instant. For example if you find yourself getting flanked you could start popping everything that moves in the knee and soon you’ll have a sea of arms crawling towards you, makes for an interesting watch and also gives you time to breath. The game rewards you for being tactical, giving you credits to spend for the more damage you inflict to an opponent before they cease function. Giving added weight to tactics you use in combat.
Weapon wise there is a lesser impressive array of options. Each character has their own weapon which is upgradeable at shops which also serve as nano-machine vendors which will enhance your party member’s attributes when equipped from the status screen. Dan is unique only in his ability to collect and carry a second main weapon while also being able to use his side arm. However apart from a small choice of assault rifles, sniper rifles, shotguns, launchers, enemy specific weapons and sub-machine guns there are no real attention grabbers.
Visually Binary Domain breaks no boundaries but is definitely nothing for the graphical geared gamers to scoff at. Cutscenes are very neatly done, and while our lantern jawed heroes may not be the most visually unique of characters their models are crisp and so is their battlefield. A key thing to note, however, is facial animation. It’s pretty awesome, and that’s pretty much all I have to say on it.
The key thing here is voice recognition software. You know, the technology that allows you to talk in a headset and convert it into a command prompt? Pretty cool on paper and more times than not it’s pretty cool in game too. For example, by yelling the word charge your team mates will jump out of cover and hump it across the battlefield towards the enemy in full auto mode. When it works, it really works. However, despite recognising six different languages, Binary Domain is particularly picky on punctuation and you’ll commonly have to repeat yourself until any of your team will understand you.
This function isn’t just limited to orders, however, as you can also compliment or scold your team individually as part of what is billed as a consequence system. Do a great job then everyone loves you and you all get along great. Your team members may even suggest effective strategies suited to your current predicament. However if you don’t perform well then your team will quickly lose faith in your abilities and will go as far as disobeying direct orders just to let you know you’re in the bad books. But this system will do nothing for you if it can’t comprehend you, so if you do plan on playing with a microphone I suggest spending a few minutes tinkering with the options prior to getting too far into it. If it all gets too much you can use a controller, as in one notable event I lost patience with a boss fight and the voice recognition decided to work again just as I dropped the four letter f-bomb, resulting in a universal loss of trust from all three members of my team. The touchy bastards.
Despite the occasional communication lapse Binary Domain’s campaign is enthralling and will last up to eight hours or more depending on difficulty along with the usual re-playability perks such as collectibles and time attacks. Outside the campaign you have multiplayer options such as survival co-op and a variety versus modes, with a pretty standard rank and challenge system thrown as well in case you get too bored. In contrast to the excellent single player experience the online is more of a bare bones add on than complete package, offering nothing in the ways of creativity. Invasion can be fun with friends but only in small burst and the competitive can be said is nothing more than obligatory but at leasts comes with the usual thrills any competitive multiplayer would offer. The only positives you can take from the online is knowing that it is at this time unbroken and is perfectly playable, but that is the only positives.
While not the sort of great game Sega was once known for Binary Domain is as an excellent step in the right direction, with its mundane multiplayer being the only major sour note in an overall enjoyable experience. The campaign demonstrates both sombre and exciting set pieces that will just as likely send your heart rate soaring as it will make you seriously question the requirements for being human while the great, but not quite exemplary, gameplay makes it all very easy to enjoy. It’s fitting that the plot should touch on the Frankenstein complex, because it is itself a well crafted recipe of inspirations. Yet while familiar, it doesn’t feel like anything I have ever played before.
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