Mega Man Network Transmission

"A new twist to the Megaman series!"

Ah, Megaman, the game that has survived through the ages. As an avid Megaman fan myself, I went right out and bought this game. Here is my review.

Story 7/10

A classic Megaman story, this game supposedly continues after the last boss on Megaman Battle Network 2, after watching the annoying intro, you go to Lan's room. Turns out there's this new thing called the ''Zero Virus'' which deleted navis, go figure. Fight, Megaman, for everlasting peace! Capcom could've done better, but it fits the game, so I'm not complaining.

Graphics 8/10

Although I didn't notice it until about halfway through the game, the graphics are cell-shaded, and the animations are mega-smooth deluxe. This is probably the greatest-looking 2D game ever. The backgrounds fit the game well, and are sometimes pretty neat to stare at for awhile. Lan's room could use a little touching up, but the graphics fit the game, so it works.

Sound 9/10

I love this sound, I couldn't wait to hear Megaman's buster blowing stuff up allover the Gamecube screen. All the sound effects are great, and they have a nice cartoony touch to them, which cell-shaded games seem to use often. I often find myself humming the music while doing stuff, and sometimes I just turn the speaker up and listen to it. The problem is, that the cool music doesn't really come until later in the game, and most people can't get there for reasons which will be explained in the next section.

Gameplay 6/10

Capcom makes up for the lack of creativity in the storyline here. The gameplay is great, it's your classic Megaman 2D-style platform sidescroller, with enemies and bosses that fit each level. This time around, though, Capcom decided to make it Megaman Battle Network-ish. You use a little map and go to the place you want to jack in, and when you go into cyberspace, Lan gives you a choice of five ''battle chips'' and you can use these like the boss weapons in the MMX series, but you have thousands of different ones, and you get them by killing enemies or doing other things. Problem is, they run out rather quickly, so you have to pack down on the enemies to keep a plentiful supply of them. There's one problem with the whole jacking in setup though, YOU CAN'T MOVE LAN. Capcom lazed off and the only real RPG walk around and do stuff type screen is Lan's room, and you can't even move Lan. The only purpose of the outside world is for saving and storyline. Though this may be, I think the real mistake Capcom made here was sticking the two hardest bosses at the beginning of the game. Fireman, having the kill-you-in-four-shots-incredibly-hard-to-slide-under fire beam, and Gutsman having the ultrafast superhard to avoid smash the ground and harm you tremendously while walking into you attack, while you have an incredibly horrible buster, and low health, and crappy chips, and probably the skill of a beginner, most people don't even go past the first boss and pass it off as the hardest game in the universe. After those two bosses, the game gets easier, making the levels the only real challenge, which kinda screws up the point. Other ever so hated level challenges from NES and other games make their returns, such as the Quickman kill-you-in-one-shot-and-smash-the-screen-with-a-hammer death beams, spike traps, the disappearing blocks, and others. SniperJoe and his less-known brother, HammerJoe, are back, as well as many other classic enemies. There are also many other features that Capcom taunts you with as you play through the levels, which you can't get until later, through the use of special chips. After the first two bosses you're bound to have fun playing through this excellent game.

Controls 10/10

The controls are perfect, Joystick moves around Megaman, A button jumps, B button fires buster, Y uses chips, L and R switch chips, and X handily freezes the screen for you to switch chips with no interference, as well as plot out your next move. The only part I don't like about it is the ''Cyberbars'' which you have to hold up to latch onto, and jumping to shoot stuff and then landing back on the cyberbar often fails, sending you into wherever those bottomless pits go to.

Replay

Yes, after playing through it you get a feel of it and know what to do next, offering you a whole new selection of things to do, as well as a secret boss.

Rent or Buy

If you're an avid Megaman fan like myself, and want to complete your collection, then buy it. If not, you should rent it, as it can be beaten in a couple of days.

Overall 8/10

Overall, the good outweighs the bad, the challenges that you hate are so relieving once their done with, and all the game is fun, and isn't that the main point of video games?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/03/03