Mega Man X7

"Bad to awesome in four hours flat!"

Well, it has been a long time since this game was announced, it is finally here... Was it worth the wait? Yes, if you are patient. I have read a lot of reviews from various magazines and websites (like gamespot) and the reviews have been nasty! I have to agree with the about 7/10 scores it has been getting, but if you play the game longer than 4 hours, you will KNOW it deserves better. This game mixes Side Scrolling (2d mode) with 3ed person view (3d mode). Parts of the levels are 3ed person, while the other half is side scrolling. You also get to character swap during game play like MegaMan Xtreme 2.
Another great thing about this game is that Axl. He has the ability to copy his enemies body after he kills them. But the only problem is that is one person per level (some times 2) so I don't think it has been fully tapped into.

Graphics 8/10
Ok, the graphics are good, nothing special, but good. When Axl or Zero die, there explosions are weak though, unlike in X4, where particles of energy shoot everywhere when you die. That is the only real complaint I have. The enemy explosions are quite nice and the 2d segments look awesome. The 3d parts can be even better, and some times even worse. like, in some areas you just want to stop and look around because it is very detailed, and some times you will just get bored. On thing that boost the score up is the frame rate, it is very very smooth, but during boss fights, it can show down, a lot. The cut scenes in this game a very nice too, they are one of the first games to use Cel shaded graphics in detailed cuts scenes, and the result is magnificent.

Sound 9/10 the sounds in this game is great, the techno music is great, the sound effects are great, and the voice actors are good. All though Zero's voice actor doesn't fit his character, he still does a very good job. Just remember, this is a MegaMan game, and MegaMan is all about techno. One really good feature is that you can change form English voice actors, to Japanese with subtitles, for you people who prefer Japanese acting. Oh, and for the most asked question, Yes, X FINALLY sounds like a guy!!!!

Gameplay 9/10
Here we are, this is the part that really matters. When I started playing this game I was going to give it a 7/10 because the gameplay was annoy, but after playing for about 3-4 hours, BAM! It got UBER fun! When you start out, you will notice that when you get knocked down, you will stay there for about 5 seconds, which will piss you off, But after about 2 hours of playing, it will be a lot easier to dodge. The 2d and 3d parts just insanely fun, but some of the 3d parts can be repetitive, yet after a few hours of playing, all the boring stuff will be out of the way. This game isn't for people who are looking for an easy game to play, it is hard, but I don’t mean annoying hard where the enemies are just insanely cheap and the stages have enemies that will kill you because they won’t let you up. *cough* mega *cough* man *cough* X6 *cough*

The new character, Axl, puts a brand new twist on things. He has the ability to hover after he jumps (buy holding down the jump button), And he also has the Copy Shot, which enables him to copy the enemies he defeats. He can only copy about 8 or 9 people though in the entire game, which is sorta a let down.

Yet another new feature to this game is new weapons! After Zero or Axl defeat a certain boss, they may acquire a different weapon! I won’t spoil anything but I will give you an example. If Zero defeats an enemy he could get a plasma axe that has more attack power, but has less combos. And for Axl, he could get a rifle that is stronger than his pistol and shots out everywhere, but doesn’t fire as rapidly..

In the game, you will find various injured reploids who need your help, if you find them, they will give you upgrades. Some will give you extra health, while others will give you power ups. Just remember though when your playing, they can be killed, and once they die, they don't come back.

Controls 8/10 This is what will make you want to quit playing the second you start, but unlike some games where they just stay awful, you will get used to these and start to enjoy them! The target lock system gets annoying, but makes you work harder to get the enemy which I like. you can’t lock on and walk around them like in Zelda, when you look at them, the target appears, when you look away, it target disappears. This will make you think about how you want to move, instead of just side stepping to dodge them. I have heard a lot of complaints about the camera, but I honestly love it, can’t find anything wrong with it, ohh well, After .Hack, any camera movements are easy ^_^.

Overall 9/10 This game isn’t that good at the beginning, but if you can withstand being weak for about four hours (your characters), your reward will be a awesome game that gives you everything the MegaMan fan would ever want.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/03