Bionic Commando

It has subtle visual cues to guide you; enemies that are divorced more distinctly from their surroundings at distance, objects that shimmer if you're able to interact with them, and a crouched defensive posture for the game's hero, Nathan Spencer, to alert you to nearby danger if you haven't been tracking the radar. It has subtle visual polish to complement its stunning environments; just the right level of motion-blur when you zoom and turn, and a swan-dive animation for when you leap from a rooftop with nothing but a pistol in hand.

It has multiplayer, which immediately distinguishes itself by applying the swing mechanism to a competitive shooter; players can easily trace your movement across the level thanks to the flamboyance of grapple movement, and watch where you land, but equally you can evade people at a speed unavailable to Halos and Calls of Duty.

It will reward mastery of the grapple in multiplayer, but balances this with attacks like the 360-degree spin sweep that threatens anyone who needs to get up close to pull the trigger. It allows moves like the zip-kick to cross over, allowing you to tackle online enemies physically, and forcing you to perfect your responses and instincts for grapple timing when you're thrown from a platform to your potential death

It promises deathmatch and capture-the-flag, but also bespoke modes, and its developers' poker faces are too unpractised to dissuade us from our belief that a race mode will make it into the final game, giving grapple experts a competitive outlet. It will have proper community functions - a website with in-depth stat-tracking, and group match-making facilities, in a move that puts Capcom ahead of its Japanese rivals.

It has, in producer Ben Judd, an affable lifelong fan of the NES game that inspired this 21st century reboot, who handpicked Swedish developer GRIN - veterans of PC versions of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, and the brilliant-but-forgotten PC game Ballistics - and who enforces the hopes of the original game's followers with humility, grounding the story, weapons and gameplay mechanics in themes that expand from, rather than betray the simplicity of the original game.

It understands that Judd's intentions and GRIN's dedication may not be enough to satisfy everyone, and will be pre-empted by Bionic Commando Rearmed this July - a re-imagining of the original NES game as an Xbox Live Arcade, PC and PSN download that revisits the 2D perspective and resuscitates the strengths of the 3D game's inspiration, augmenting them with additional challenge levels and sexy new visuals. It has firm ties to that game, allowing players who have bought it to access a character skin closer to the original, and promising unlocks based on progress in the download game.

It has more to show us: Adrenaline moves, most notably.

It has an instant appeal. Your first steps with the bionic arm's grapple are like the first time someone pushed you on the swings; the subsequent half-hour you spend coming to terms with the physics, and the need to be patient before reaching for attach points rather than flailing as you soar, is a gaming education that feels as urgent as anything we can remember Capcom doing.

And by the time all this has crept upon you, you've embraced it, engorged on its promise, and can't wait to get your hands on the finished article.