Mega Man Network Transmission

"Not as Hard as People Say"

Yes this Mega Man game is challenging, but it is not as frustrating as people say. I either have godly skills or those other people are just disturbingly bad at the game.

STORY:8
The events in Network Transmission take place in between Battle Networks 1 and 2. I haven't played those so I can't give you the backstory to them. In Network Transmission, There is an evil computer virus going around that can have a very negative effect on Net Navis. So people are getting their PETs a vaccine. But the vaccine is really a way to hack in to net Navis. So it's up to Lan and his trusty Net Navi, Mega Man, to stop the person responsible for all of this chaos.

GRAPHICS:8
These are the best Mega Man graphics of all time. Even with the upcoming release of X7, these are the best to date. Cel shading couldn't have been more appropriate for this game. It really makes all of the characters look just like the anime. All of the weapons have some awesome looking effects. But Network Transmission can't quite compete with other game on the Gamecube like Metroid Prime in the visual department.

SOUND:8
First of all, I don't see why Arika couldn't have put in an option to switch to English voice acting. I hate subtitles a lot. Reading them can give me a headache. Despite that, the audio is done fairly well. The music is pretty good. It is very, uh how could I say this, happy and quirky. The sound effects are the same way. A shot from your blaster makes a weird, funny sound. It goes bwoop. The audio is good, but it isn't ground-breaking.

GAMEPLAY:9
This game stays true to the other Mega Man games. It's not like the ****** Mega Man Legends games. It is side-scrolling. Network Transmission also plays a lot like the Mega Man X games. It has a bunch of RPG elements in the game. Your weapons are chips. Each chip has a different attack. There are tons of chips in the game. I think there are around 130 chips total that you can get. All Mega Man games in the past have been challenging. There are no changes here, but the game isn't frustrating to play. All of these magazines like Electronic Gaming Monthly are making this game out to be like the hardest game of the year so far. Anyways, there aren't too many of these side-scrolling platformers for the Gamecube. Mega Man Network Transmission is a breath of fresh air.

CONTROL:8
The controls are simple. This is a side-scrolling game so you know that the controls are nice and simple. The control layout is perfect. There are a bunch of custom settings for your controller. But the problem is is that there is no way to duck. In the other games you could. It added more strategy to the games. You also take damage easier since you can't duck.

OVERALL:8
Mega Man is back with a new adventure and it was great. I can't wait for all of the next ones. This game is definitely worth the full retail price. For 39.99 this is a bargain.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/03, Updated 06/23/03