Mega Man Maverick Hunter X

"Offers enough for fans and for those new to the series."

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is another remake/port of an older game. Based on Mega Man X for the SNES, and more recently ported to the Playstation 2 (Cube and Xbox as well) in the Mega Man X Collection. No clue why I wanted this game. I've beat it on the SNES about 10-15 times and I've completed it once on the Collection. However, enough is added to this game that for the right price it's worth it.

Mega Man X series started simple, not much of a plot but when the series hit the Playstation it some how gained a plot and has become kind of tangled and seems unfinished and not likely to be finished any time soon. As it stands the series is at title number 8 and it also had a RPG based on it. Anyway, X is a Maverick Hunter, he hunts down the reploids that have started to cause destruction. Sigma has gathered 8 reploids and turned them into Mavericks. It's up to X to save the day. I know it sounds simple and to be honest it is but the little bits of dialog added between X and the Mavericks is nice, and adds just enough to keep things fresh. yes, some of it is corny but that's part of its charm. Also included as an unlockable is a 20 odd minute movie that details us with what happened before this game. It really gives us a lot to chew on as it cleared up many things. You also learn about Vile, so his character doesn't seem out of place like it did in X and X3 on the SNES.

Graphics wise Maverick Hunter turned me off at first. It's uses 3d for it's levels but maintains the 2d playing field. I was surprised by the first level because not only were things moving about behind X but cars were also moving in front of him, but not hurting him. This doesn't happen at any other time. After the beginning stage I found myself enjoying the lush visuals. They aren't the best around but they are colorful and I really like how some of the stages change when you beat another stage. It almost makes you want to revisit the levels.

Props to Capcom for redoing the sound in this game. We got some nice music, a techno feel to it but I don't know what to really call it. It fit the mood of the game and still made the game sound like it use to. Sound effects are good. X shouts out the name of each attack, things give off small booms and rumbles, glass cracks, fire crackles. Sounds nice. The game also features full voice acting and it's actually good! I actually enjoyed the voice work in this title, some is a bit odd but it's better than the voice work found in Mega Man Powered Up.

Control is spot on. It's easy to pick up and play, as X anyway. Vile took some time to get use to because he plays completely different than X. Control is tight and responsive and while I had trouble tapping forward twice to dash, circle does the same thing without any problems, oh and so no one is confused, you only have to hit it once.

Those who have played the X series or even the regular Mega Man series should know how Maverick Hunter will play. The game starts you on the standard beginning mission. This is move from start to finish, as all of the levels are. However, the starting level is very straight forward. There isn't any jumping to cause fits of anger. Things crumble under you and you need to be fast. Falls kill you. You start with a small life bar, being hit takes away the life. It's all standard stuff.

Once that beginning stage is finished is when the game becomes fun. You have the 8 Maverick locations open to you. You can go in any order that pleases you but each maverick has a weakness. You'll need to beat one without it's weakness and then figure out rest of them as you go along but to sum it up you kill, let say Chill Penguin. Now you have the Ice Shot, this will kill lets say Boomarang Kawanger. So you would go to his stage next and defeat him. The game doesn't force that on you and each maverick is defeatable with the X Buster.

As your adventure continues you may come across upgrades for X. These will let him dash, break rocks with his feet, or head, take half the damage or charge his X Buster further. These make the game easier and are hidden in specific stages. They aren't needed to beat the game though. There is also a heart tank in each Maverick stage. Find this and you get more health. There are also four subtanks hidden in the game. Any life you pick up from dropped enemies while having full health will go into these subtanks. You can then use one to refill your health all the way. Don't use it if you're barely hurt because it will use the entire thing. I must say though, spikes are instant death but they aren't featured that often in this game.

As for the bosses they get harder once you finish off the Mavericks but the trick is to learn their moves and weaknesses. The same for the 8 mavericks. I found the last boss to put up a good fight until I had figured everything out. The game changes one thing though. You can access any of the final levels once you beat them. Meaning, if you run out of lives you don't have to redo all of the stages again. This is such a great thing because it lets you work at figuring a boss out without having to rehash through a bunch of stages.

Replay Value is actually decent this time around. There's a hidden move in X's game. Upon beating the game you unlock an anime movie that was made just for this game. You also unlock an entire new mode with a new character and it really plays differently because he has three attacks you can use at any time. It changes the game play drastically and is fresh enough to warrant another play through. It also has a different story so it's worth playing through. Also, X fans will want to pick this title up just for that extra game.

Is Maverick Hunter worth picking up? I got it for my birthday and loved every moment. It does have some really nasty slowdown at times but that is fixed by killing the enemies so they don't all bunch onto the screen. I do have to take a point off for the slow down because there really shouldn't be any. The game offers a good amount of replay and it's a solid title all on its own. However, if you're trying to pick between Maverick Hunter X and Powered Up, I say go with Powered Up because it has so much to offer.

Story - 8/10
Graphics - 9/10
Sound - 9/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 7/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/06