Originally Published: June 28, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

EAT YOUR HEART OUT, JOHN CONNOR

Binary Domain boils down to a futuristic sci-fi shooter against sentient robots, akin to something like Terminator, but there is so much more going on with this game that just grabs you by the balls and yells “PLAY ME!” The controls for one felt very natural for a shooter and the game itself had a very polished, cinematic look already going for it. “The team is really dedicated to the look and feel of the game. And that’s one of the things they really concentrated on graphics wise was to give it a different look and a different texture. Something different, but still giving it a shooter look and feel,” said Dan Gallardo, part of the Marketing team for SEGA.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the integration of the RPG-elements, like squad selection pre-mission and path selection once you move into the mission. This adds replay value to the game as each mission could be done multiple times and play out differently each time. For example, do you want a demolitions expert to blow a hole through a wall to get to your objective, or a sniper to provide cover fire while you try to sneak around back? When taking on the boss of the first level, a giant bi-pedal robot laden with turrets and missile launchers, I chose to use my heavy machine gunner to draw the big bot’s attention while I ran to the roof of a nearby apartment building and took fire at its barely exposed weak point on the top of its head. Lots of guns, lots of options, and a sci-fi feel all make me very excited for Binary Domain.