Binary Domain

Is this a case of robot love, or is Sega's shooter best left on the scrapheap?

Global warming has flooded Earth, killing millions. With human manpower severely diminished, the mass production of robotic workers went into full force to assist with rebuilding the devastation around the world. Governmental powers crippled in the wake of the disaster, laws and regulations weren’t properly enforced: in Binary Domain, mankind sits at the bottom of the totem pole. Technological advancement has gone far too far: living, breathing and bleeding humanoid robots known as "hollow children" live secretly among humans, and when a hollow child is publicly exposed, Earth hits a breaking ...

Ironically, for a game about the eradication of androids posing as humans, Binary Domain is itself a form of replicant. It convincingly apes the mechanics and behaviours of the best shooters on the market, but its augmentations feel noticeably forced and artificial. Having said that, shearing through robots in a Neo Tokyo setting makes for a nice change of pace within a genre typically populated by alien antagonists and Eastern European enemies, and in all but name this is essentially the best Terminator game ever made. The voice command and trust systems are interesting experiments that yield...

Binary Domain may look like your standard, futuristic shoot ‘em up but it comes with two distinct features that Sega hopes will set it apart from other shooters.  A little bit Blade Runner, a little bit Terminator, Binary Domain’s game play underwhelms but if you are looking for an interesting and engaging story, you may want to want to check this one out.

If you’re willing to give Binary Domain a chance, an engaging journey awaits. To the credit of the developer, gunplay is a blast throughout. Robots prove to be the perfect fodder for an onslaught of bullets, and also form the foundation for an intriguing narrative. The poor execution of squad-based commands is a disappointment, but it never becomes too much of a problem. This title is screaming out for a co-op campaign, an inclusion that really would have forced people to take it seriously....

Ghost in the Shell, Terminator, I, Robot (the novel, not the movie), Blade Runner, Battlestar Galactica... All seminal sci-fi classics and all clear influences upon SEGA and Yakuza Studio's latest entry into the third-person shooter genre that more people really ought to be playing. Binary Domain hasn't really had much in the way of fanfare in the run up to its release, which is a shame really, as it turns out that it's actually an incredibly accomplished action title with a compelling story ...