Stop robots taking over in this futuristic shooter

Binary Domain is a squad based shooter – a futuristic action game that takes place in the Tokyo of 2080. Humanoid robots have been created that believe they are human, and they have now infiltrated humanity, and must be stopped.

What this means is a cover based third person shooter set in robot infested Tokyo. Binary Domain is frustrating because while it gets some things very right, parts of the game are incredibly irritating an spoil the experience.

The basic gameplay feels quite good. Binary Domain has a satisfying arcade feel to it, and the movement of your character and the weaponry is excellent. When you’re fighting a wave of oncoming robots, it can be easy to forget the flaws of the game, as the shooting is good, and the enemies react well to being shot. Shoot a robot’s legs and it will drag itself toward you, for example. The robots make fun enemies!

Your teammates are what really spoil Binary Domain. Their speach, while well acted, is often nonsensical, and they often get in your line of sight. Unlike in Mass Effect 3, where a teammate will move if you want their cover, in Binary Domain you will just have to go somewhere else. If you have a microphone, there are voice commands, but this doesn’t work great and feels like a gimmick.

The environment and robots look great – boss robots are especially impressive. It’s a shame that the game flows so badly – the artificial intelligence of your teammates just isn’t acceptable for a squad based game in 2012.

Buried here is a good game that plays like it has been released far too soon.