Home » Reviews » Review: Binary Domain
Reviews

Review: Binary Domain

I almost feel the need to apologize to Binary Domain. About five minutes into the game, after having no luck with voice recognition and dismissing the game as a Gears of War-slash-Mass Effect clone, I was about ready to put it away.

I’m really glad I hung in there for about fifteen minutes more and realized just how wrong I was.

Sure, from the control scheme, it’s easy to put Binary Domain down as a Gears clone. You control big, hulking heroes that roadie run from cover to cover, blasting away as many enemies as possible. The Mass Effect likenesses come from the often-advertised voice commands you’ll be able to shout to your teammates…when they work, that is.

The similarities end there. It’s pretty easy to spot a hollow title straight away; it became clear quickly that Binary Domain wasn’t one of them. The game has its storyline to thank for that; you’re dropped right into the middle of an international incident involving members of society who believe they’re human rather than slightly homicidal robots. You control Dan Marshall, a member of the multinational Rust Crew, as they descend into a futuristic Tokyo to find the makers of the dangerous faux-human machines and and stop their nefarious schemes.

Don’t get me the wrong; the game surprised me, but it’s not without its flaws. I literally just finished up with the Mass Effect 3 demo before I played Binary Domain; while I could ask Liara to use a singularity via my Kinect, Binary Domain doesn’t even support the peripheral.

Worst yet, the game has a trust mechanic that means you can’t progress in the story until you speak some positive or negative quip at your teammate when prompted. Digging out a headset fixed  that problem…but a new one emerged when I found myself repeating every command about four or five times before it was recognized. Now, my Canadian accent was definitely the issue, but if the game is going to promote that it can understand Japanese, English and four other languages, it should be able to handle a North American speaker.

The trust mechanic of the game seems interesting, but falls ultimately flat. You’ve all game to either treat your teammates nicely or otherwise; your choices should (in theory) impact the ending of the game. I was a jerk with each choice I could make and still managed to have my team completely in love with me. At the end of the game, I was left wondering why I even had to bother at all.

Whilst the plot is fairly tight, the characters in Binary Domain are walking stereotypes. The French member basically screams, “sacré bleu!” at any chance he can, whilst your English comrade is as Cockney as you can get. It detracts from the whole experience quite considerably.

As far as multiplayer goes, it’s fairly hit and miss, depending on the type of gamer you are. Binary Domain has standard multiplayer fare in the form of free-for-alls and deathmatches, plus a Horde-style set of challenges. They’re competent if you’re into that type of thing.

Otherwise, the game is impressive. As I progressed from level to level, I found myself staying up just that little bit later than planned to see how everything would turn out. It plays a bit like Gears, but the controls are more fluid and quite polished in comparison. Occasionally, you’ll be thrown into a driving sequence or a close-range defense situation, and those are far better than anything Gears has ever thrown at you. Fighting robots never gets stale, as there’s quite a bit of strategy involved in dealing with situations effectively; sometimes, it’s best to destroy a baddie’s arm so it drops its gun, and other times it’s better to go for a headshot. Weapon-wise, there’s quite a variety of short and long range options to experiment with, and a rich upgrade system means you can tweak your (and your comrades’) weapons in an endless multitude of configurations.

Now, back to that apology — I’ve changed my mind. I don’t need to apologise to SEGA or Binary Domain itself; I think they need to apologise to me for the timing of this title. It’s a shame that Binary Domain is coming out now, because I fear it will be greatly overshadowed by Mass Effect 3. Don’t put on your gaming blinders, people — this game is definitely one that fans of shooters should pick up. Make sure to give it a go.

Tags

This article may contain affiliate links, meaning we could earn a small commission if you click-through and make a purchase. Stevivor is an independent outlet and our journalism is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative.

About the author

Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.