It’s easy to forget how much you take for granted. The first half hour or so of playing Bionic Commando Rearmed is very frustrating – but it’s through no fault of the game. Why won’t he climb over that barrel? Why won’t he just jump over to that platform? Why doesn’t he do what he should be doing?

You can lay the blame firmly at Mario’s door: it’s his copycats that dominate the genre, good and bad, and so we’ve come to think that certain abilities come as standard. Because of this, Bionic Commando Rearmed is as fresh as its predecessor was over 20 years ago: games since have used grappling hooks, but none has dared to build the entire experience around your ability to time a swing.

It takes a little while to get used to: but once you do, that first half hour is forgotten in some of the most graceful movement you’ll ever find in a platformer. Nathan Spencer’s arm can shoot out diagonally, straight ahead or directly up: from these basics the game teaches you, slowly at first, how to scale structures, cross gaps and negotiate tight spaces. Taking your first steps is daunting, but once realisation hits that you shouldn’t really be walking anywhere the game transforms into a quickfire pattern of glorious arcs, momentum-fuelled attacks and gravity-scorning last-minute saves.

The level design plays a major part in this, alternating between the more straightforward (but no less well-implemented) fights against the Imperial forces and free-swinging environmental challenges. No location is particularly huge, but some clever backtracking and variation in the challenges belies the source material’s age – and on that note, Bionic Commando Rearmed’s levels are mostly unchanged from the NES version, apart from sections which exploit some new abilities.

As well as the singleplayer, there are a number of other modes and challenges that are significant additions rather than filler. Prime among these is the challenge mode, but the multiplayer options come a close second. Co-operative multiplayer works extremely well, with lives shared between the players and no umbilical cord keeping both on the one screen, and the AI of certain enemies altered to suit the challenge. Four player deathmatch is well implemented, although perhaps not suiting the core abilities as well as co-operative play.

All that aside, the very best thing? Capcom may have had to get rid of the Nazi enemies, but there’s a nice surprise waiting for any fan of the original right at the end. That’s the measure of Bionic Commando Rearmed: it’s a game that could have been just a promotional tool for its bigger brother, given some spruced up graphics and pushed out. It’s the opposite: a labour of love. The core of the game might be a remake, but the features and polish applied move it beyond the realm of simple cash-ins to one of the finest games to grace PSN or XBLA yet.

Verdict: 8/10