Mega Man X5

"Living DC Generators, Cheesy Dialogue, Robots and Hair Spray"

Here we go again.
Yes, Capcom has released yet another chapter of the Mega Man X series, the so called ''Episode 5''. Filled with Living DC Generators, Cheesy Dialogue, Robots and Hair Spray, but no body fat-compression system ala Double in X4. Dang. What a way for someone to start off his first review.

Gameplay: 6.75/10 (If you are still a freaky, highly religious fan, then 10/10)
The gameplay here is the standard Mega Man platforming formula; the same one that's been around for 20 years... nothing has changed. There's the mandatory eight robot bosses to defeat after playing through the introduction stage. One may choose to play with either Mega Man X, now with 75% less Helium in his voice, or that haidresser's nightmare, Zero, with the ability to switch between them after completing stages.

Starting the game with the Blue Bomber's futuristic counterpart lets you use the Fourth Armo(u)r throughout the game. This is the same fully-upgraded one from X4, using the Plasma Buster instead of the 4-Shot X Buster.

Starting with Clairol Man (aka Zero) earns you his blaster from the earlier X games, the Z-Buster. Why anyone would want to use this, I don't know... the energy released from this pistol of doom couldn't kill the cockroaches in my kitchen. The programmers should have just let the Z-Buster shoot out old A-Track tapes, or something. It would be funnier, and would do more damage to the enemies.

Fortunately, Zero still has his Z-Sabre, the deadly short-range weapon with the awesome ability to fund the Duracell company. However, I suggest starting the game with X, since his Armo(u)r is well worth it, and Zero has his Z-Sabre anyway.

During the course of the game, capsules placed by good ol' Dr. Light can be found in the stages. These capsules contain pieces of armo(u)r used for the upgrading X and Zero's abilities and defenses. Additionally, whenever a boss is beaten, its primary weapon is acquired, as always, and items which upgrade your abilities are made for equipping alongside X and Zero and some of their armo(u)rs.

The weaknesses of the various enemies in-game are, of course, exploited by the weapons received from bosses. The bosses may be defeated in any order, each displaying a weakness to a certain weapon.

Each boss has a ''Level'' (similar to those found in RPGs) of difficulty. The longer it takes to go through the game, the higher these levels are (up to a maximum of 99). Mini-bosses also have level meters. So, as we can see, there are some new gameplay features for this instalment of the series, but not many. Overall, the game is fun for hardcore fans of the series, or those who want a quick old-school platforming fix, although not much new is to be found here. The control blends in quite smoothly as well to fans of the series, and will most likely be comfortable for most platformer fans as well.

Story: 7/10

Oh my God man, I can't believe this. Sigma is back to kill everyone!! Didn't I use that Anti-Virus scanner on him?

Anyway, the story is pretty standard Capcom stuff. Sigma returns and has diverted a space colony known as Eurasia into a crash-course with the Earth, and it's up to X and Zero to stop him once again. However, the Sigma virus is released all over the Earth, and infects Reploids worldwide, causing them to turn Maverick. A fellow by the name of Dynamo with no relevance to the story whatsoever fights you throughout the game (perhaps his purpose is revealed to us later on in the series).

This chapter does however clear up some of the past occurences in the X series, most notably the creation of the Maverick/Sigma virii. I won't reveal anything more after this point, so go play the game and find out for yourself. But don't call my house to find these plot elements out, I might go insane and start to smash things.

(Note that when you see the ridiculous boss names, you will want to go and smash things yourself.) The manual contains a lot of wrong information, most notably spelling and names of bosses and weapons. Some of the spoken dialogue is also so bad that it makes me want to view the intro to Zero Wing for the Genesis (which is funny anyway, but the dialogue in this game is cheesy and not funny by any means). For great justice.

Graphics: 7.5/10

The visuals aren't much different from the ones from its predecessor, Mega Man X4. The graphics engine runs on a slightly modified version of the one from X4. The art is a combination of both pre-rendered and hand-drawn, and is pretty detailed. So, the visuals aren't mind-blowing, but aren't bad by any extent. What I didn't like, however, was the use of static screens to advance the plot. FMVs, like the anime cutscenes from X4, should have been used, rather than this dull, lazy method.

Sound: 7.5/10

I found the music to actually be quite good at some points, yet some pieces were rather repetitive and/or mundane. The music is a combination of synth-rock and adrenaline-pumping (well, some of the time) techno which will either make you want to hum or kill, depending on your tastes. Even though the music isn't bad, it lacks the trademark catchy beats the Mega Man series once burdened. Oh yeah, and one music track (Duff McWhalen's) is a remix of the Bubble Crab music from Mega Man X2. Oh, joy.

The sound effects are mostly from X4, with new voices for X and Zero. X seems to have lost his trademark Helium voice (oh, man), and Zero sound like dark NINJA... stalking in shadows. Aside from the standard yells and cries from our heroes, there is no voice acting. What budget did Capcom have for this game anyway?

Replay: 7/10

There is a very good chance of returning to this game every once in a while and playing it for hours, for that quick gaming fix, or simply to kill time. There is the novelty of defeating the bosses differently, getting all the upgrade capsules and whatnot, and then doing it all again. If you don't have a life, you will probably play indefinitely until you pass out from starvation.

Overall, I suggest renting this game first, to see if it suits your tastes. You might be able to beat it in that time period, anyway, as it is a fairly short game. If you think you will keep coming back to it, buy it, and please remember not to cut your hair like Zero's if you want to survive in this world.

Overall: 7/10

Super Gameplay Tip: Eat your Wheaties, and move 'zig'.

Thank you.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/01, Updated 03/11/01