Went into it expecting a nostalgic ride through the end; ended up a bit disappointed.
The first thing that threw me off was the story: the previous life of the protagonist before becoming bionic was never hinted at during the original story. It was more of a reboot than a sequel. The new unfolding story was boring, and the twist was half-expected, but completely unnecessary. And the ending...it seemed like the developers ran out of money and could not finish it. This was a big blow to my expectations.
The unlocks from Rearmed were AWFUL! All that work and skill to get the 12 yaichis, just for a stupid room with the original BGM on a radio and some models for the big machine of the game?!?!? Please! The other 2 unlocks (original game suit and prototype weapon) didn't do anything for me. I used them the whole game, but if there was a difference between the prototype weapon and the stupid little sidearm, I did not see it.
The gameplay - it was good, but not great. I can still have more fun swinging in 2D than with this game. The new arm attacks were good, but you are forced to depend more on them than the weapons, which to me was ridiculous. And having any ground troops get close and kill you with a baton was the last straw!
Getting a hang of the swing mechanic took its time, but once you do, the game gets much better. Being able to swing, evade enemy fire, and take out a couple of troops while moving quickly through a city or tree line is very satisfying, but there were a few scenarios where it was very difficult to enjoy, as robots ganged up on me and took me out in a few seconds.
If there is a sequel, I'll be sure to see a demo of it and wait until the jury's out before buying. I'd actually prefer a sequel to Rearmed than to the next gen version.