Mega Man X7

"X and Zero meet a new mysterious reploid, Axl!"

Introduction-

This game was released for the Play Station 2 in 2003. Mega Man X7 brought the Mega Man series into 3-D. This game allowed you to play in two different views of the game. Sometimes you would play in a 3-D environment, and sometimes you would play in 2-D.

Capcom had some catching up to do. Their latest Mega Man X releases were not well liked by the public. Capcom was losing support from their fans, and they needed to get the fans back on their side. For some, this game did exactly that. For others, it didn't. This game was either loved by the owner, or despised by the owner. Capcom hadn't quite gotten the result it wanted with this game.

Nonetheless, I was impressed by this game. I think that some people couldn't find fun in this game, mostly because they were still complaining about the last releases. This game was unfairly viewed by many. This game features a new playable character, Axl. He gets a lot of X's moves, but he has to guns instead of an X buster. Axl is an overall good character, and one of my favorite as well.

Gameplay-

There are many complaints about this section that I don't have happen to me. I have heard that cheap shots coming from off the screen can kill. I don't believe such tales as they have never happened to me.

This game has fairly good controls. You were allowed to do most of your actions without experiencing many problems. However, a few times it seemed like your jump was not responding well, and you end up making a bad jump. This seems rare, however, and it does not seem to ever be too crucial to your success.

The difficulty in this game is pretty reasonable. Some of the stages seem to be too easy, and a few probably could have been toned down a notch. Capcom seems to be trying to make certain stages too hard so they are giving out a challenge, but they went a little overboard a few times.

This game was very fun to play through, and it really didn't lose any of the fun level throughout the entire time. I liked the ability to take two characters into each level, instead of choosing one between each mission. It gives the game a new style of gameplay, so you can get through certain obstacles with the characters that are better at it.

Overall Gameplay: 32/40

Story-

After X decided to retire from the Maverick Hunters, due to its violence, the world went into chaos. An illegal group of hunters that called themselves Red Alert started taking down the Mavericks. The leader of Red Alert was Red, and one of his best workers was Axl, a Reploid with a mysterious ability. Suddenly, Red Alert started to change. Axl left Red Alert, and his friend Red, to become a Maverick Hunter. But Red Alert wants Axl back. Now Red Alert will stop at nothing until Axl is back under their control. What is really happening at Red Alert?

I thought that this game featured the best Mega Man story of all time. I really liked the entire thing about introducing a new character as well. I don't think that Capcom had any problems in this category.

Overall Story: 20/20

Graphics/Sound-

This was the first game in the series to feature 3-D graphics. The graphics were displayed very well in both the 2-D and 3-D format. The stages were fully 3-D in look, regardless of whether or not you were moving in 2-D. Mega Man's journey into the world of three dimensions was brilliant.

The sound in this game was good when it came to music. When it came to sound effects and voices, I think it could have been improved. One of the bosses constantly chants out an annoying phrase that could drive you insane. I also didn't like Zero's voice, as it was far to deep, while Axl's voice was strange as well. X had a good voice actor. I believe that there could have been a tune up in this section.

Graphics/Sound: 15/20

Play Time/Lasting Appeal-

This game is relatively long, therefore creating a good playtime. This game has a save system that can be used. Each stage takes a while to defeat, and there are quite a few of them. This games many stages allow for a great play time.

In this game, you can work on getting some items after beating the game, but, other than that, there is nothing else to do. You may want to go back and play through it again, but you might not find that fun to do. I liked playing through the game, but there is only so much you can do. I think they could have added a little more here.

Play Time/Lasting Appeal: 16/20

Overall Score-
Gameplay: 32/40
Story: 20/20
Graphics/Sound:15/20
Play Time/Lasting Appeal: 16/20
Total Score: 83/100 (about 8/10)

I would definitely recommend buying this game. It provided me with hours of fun, and I still play it today. Good luck finding a copy, though. (You can probably get one on eBay)

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06