Mega Man X8

"He's back..."

MegaMan is back... again. Yes, everyone's favorite man in blue with a cannon of an arm is back. There are only a few things that can be said about this game. Repetition with new features thrown in to make it look pretty.

Overall, the series has finally opened the minds of Megaman and his friends. I say friends because they have introduced an new playable character and even 3 secret playable characters. Now, I won't go into spoilers, so bear in mind that this game is already quite old and no fan of Megaman will already have.

However, if you don't own the game and are reading this, then you must ask yourself, “Why have I not played this game already?” The game in itself offers new abilities plus some familiar traits of previous ones. Knowing this, any Megaman fan will no that this game offers little to no reason once you beat it, then why play it again. If you think that, then you must at least try the game first. I, myself bought the game although I had borrowed it from a friend and even showed him, what I can do in a weekend of playing the game. If your wondering how much that was, it was beat the game with every character and get %100 completion for everything. The game is relatively easy, but then I played that game pretty much non-stop when I got the game. Yeah, I'm kinda weird like that...

Anyways... The game is similar to almost all MMX games which is Side Scrolling. I say almost, because Command Mission is in the X series as well... It's more of a 3D side scrolling type game since you take corners and if you fire they go straight and not curve to follow the track. Also, it is possible to see the three dimensions of the characters when they move. I'd rate them a good 8/10 because some things just didn't fit the place.

The gameplay was just about one of the best I've seen in a Megaman game... The ability to purchase helpful items as well as weapons for characters. Almost all missions will have to be replayed more than once due to the fact that Capcom decided to add up to four items in one level. Even I cannot collect all items in most items and I just finished beating the game on normal and hard. A feature of it that I like is the intermissions. Intermissions happen when you die lots or take too much time playing the game. I have spent 10:30 hours so far and have only gotten one... How sad. Anyways, I'd give gameplay a 9/10

A nice feature that I liked is the ability to have 2 characters per mission. Mind you, that only one is active at one time... I guess the other one is stuck in limbo. The character choice is yours with Megaman, Zero and Axl having their own special powers so it can be a pain when you choose a wrong combination of characters. The characters are what make the game a challenge since when you fulfill the right criteria you can pull off some deadly attacks. Characters 9/10

I didn't pay much attention to the music of the game since I have already played the game before and realized that it was pretty much the same when compared to other MMX games. So I'll give it a 3/10 because it needs to be better.

The story of the game is interesting and like I said earlier it opens the minds of unsuspecting players. I however wasn't surprised as I pretty much didn't care about the story since it is still similar to the other MMX games. I'm going to give it a 7/10 because of the shocking story line, but it still left it open for another one... Who didn't see that coming.

I may have left a few things out, but being my first review and wanted it to look at least professional. The overall rating of the game would have to be a 8/10. I highly suggest the game to all MMX fans and if you are not one, then I suggest it to be a rent before buy.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/06