No
1. There are a few major annoyances that ruin a large portion of the game. The most important annoyance for me was lack of split-screen view. That's right, there is no more split-screen in co-op campaign mode, unlike in the first game. Now, if you are a the first player and your co-op buddy falls behind then he only has 5 seconds to get back onto your main screen, otherwise he dies. I just don't understand the issue with allowing a split screen view. That way, you and your co-op buddy can split and explore the level independent of each other. It is also hard to see what's beneath you and you will find yourself making some leaps of faith, albeit, only to land on a bunch of spikes or fall into a quicksand, etc.
2. Two, the music is horrendous. Some of it is a slight remix from the first game, but overall it is bad, it's annoying, too repetitive and it doesn't offer any good beats and it doesn't give any incentive to nod your head as you play the game, unlike the first game.
It's everything the techno should not be. So I turned it off, problem fixed.
3. The jump option. Yes, that was a bad move. You can play the game without it, but the temptation is too great. Actually no, you can't play without the jump button. The boss GORILLA requires you to jump over his fast moving hands if you want to beat it. I also doubt that reviewers at Gamespot actually beat the game, since they mentioned the jump option. Because once you beat the game, you get the option to play in Retro mode- the hardest mode without the jump option being available.
But yeah jumping does make your life easier, but it also takes away something that made bionic commando so great. I mean it makes sense that a guy with 150 pound bionic arm would not be able to jump.
4. There is no competitive multiplayer anymore for some reason. I was really hoping for one, even if it would only be offline multiplayer, because I really wanted to see more maps to play on. I was also hoping to see a map editor. I really don't think it's hard to create a small confined 2D map to battle on.
5. The controls. I really can't complain about this one because after all, I had to resort to using a controller since this game is only out on PS3 and Xbox. Had it been on PC, I would picked that version of the game. I have the first game on PC and I never had any issues with using my mouse and keyboard to make accurate stunts with the bionic arm. I just don't have the skill nor do I want to develop it for trying to play the game on a controller and ending up missing the platforms, the swing points and such. I mean the game is beatable but still you will probably find yourself missing your swing points a lot because there isn't always a way to tell which way your character is going to start swinging.
Also, in the first game, the only way when you could start swinging whilst hanging on your bionic arm was to shoot a large caliber weapon to create a recoil and once you have done so, you would keep swinging forever. Here, you can start swinging by yourself, but your swings would subside very very fast, so by the time you have calculated your jump, your character is probably already motionless.
6. The helicopter stages. I hated those. I think many people hate those levels in some games where you cannot move and where your only chance of survival is to constantly shoot while in a moving target. I mean, I don't want any of that, I want to keep running around and shooting enemies.
7. No more stages with the view from above. In the first game, sometimes you would have to go through a minute or 2 minute battle stages wherein the 2d perspective of the game changes and you go into the 3d environment. Sometimes those stages were an annoyance and sometimes they gave you an opportunity to get away from the 2D world for a minute.
8. You cannot throw grenades below your level anymore, you can only throw grenades straight in front of you. In the first game, you could easily dispatch of your enemies by throwing the grenade on the level below you.
9. There is no on-line multiplayer, AGAIN.
As for the positive and semi-positive
1. The visuals are stunning as in the first game. There is more activity going on in the background.
2. There are some weapon and skill upgrades sort of enhance the gameplay and give you incentive to go back to earlier stages and unlock some other upgrades and secrets. But it becomes tedious to switch in between them later on in the game when you have to push "select", choose your upgrade and then return to the game. Why should we waste 5-10 seconds on that? There are two plenty of buttons on the controller to allow for a quick scrolling of your available upgrades.
3. The level design is so so, it's challenging so I will give them that but it is somewhat frustrating as well. I found myself falling many times and had to re-climb the same stage simply because of controls, simply because some of the areas that are hard to reach are placed right above the little tiny hole through which you fall and end up back at the beginning of the stage.
4. The boss battles are satisfying, BUT some of the bosses repeat again and again. I really don't get that. The first game got it wrong by doing that so why do it again? Do they really need some creative ideas fetched on how to create a distinctive boss every other time?
5. No more unlimited ammo. That is a very smart move. The original pistol still has unlimited ammo but at least there is an ammo limit on other weapons. The shotgun has 8 bullets, the rocket launcher has 3 - just like in the 3d version of the game that came out in May 2009 (very underrated game btw). Once you got the rocket launcher in the first game, all you had to do was run and shoot it continuously and maul everyone in your path, not anymore.
6. The game only costs $ 15.00 and it's downloadable. No need to waste a DVD or BluRay disc on it.
So I guess there aren't that many positives about the game. I doubt I would be playing it by myself though. I think that the only way you have a chance of enjoying this game is by playing with your buddy.
I can't comment on the story because I didn't care for it either in the first or second game. BUT, there was one major twist at the end of the first game that shook me.
As for the gamesport's review of this game, the only thing I'd like to point is why did they say that the first game was a masterpiece whilst they only gave it a score of 8.0 when it clearly deserved more? Perhaps they were trying too much to compare the second game to the first one as was I. But the first game definitely deserves more than 8.0 - and I would suggest you go pick it up instead of playing this one.