Mega Man Maverick Hunter X

"In all honesty, this is the best Mega Man Game I've ever played"

Graphics

Beautiful, just simple amazing. Everything from the original Mega Man X has been so well designed for in 3D. The animations are perfect for X and the Mavericks. You get those anime cutscenes which are amazing, very well drawn. Besides Liberty City Stories and Prince of Persia Revelations, this is the best looking game on the PSP.

Sound

Did you like the original music for Mega Man X? Well, it's back, and better. Each stage has new, updated music for it. Thankfully, this game did not screw up on the music where the Mega Man X Collection did.

Controls

Like every Mega Man game out there, perfect. Reminds me so much of the SNES controller back in my youth. For new players, charging and dashing might be hard, but for veteran players, they'll get the hang of things really fast, as where the controls are easy to get into.

Gameplay

Now here's where everything lies. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is the ported Mega Man X from the SNES. The game is basically the same, a 2D shooter with 3D graphics. The 3D graphics work perfectly with the port, making it more fun to play than the original, or at least that's what I think. Like Mega Man X, the game isn't long if you play a lot of Mega Man games, but once you beat the game as X, you get a new story where you can play as Vile. Vile is like X, shoot, get more powers, except he can not get new armor upgrades. But let's get back to X here. You go around shooting enemies in your path in order to get new upgrades for your armor, health power ups, the energy sub-tanks, and to fight each Maverick that awaits you at the end of each stage. Before each boss fight you get a small scene where X talks to the boss, explaining a little bit more than the original game did. New anime type cutscenes tell the story in a new way, making you say "wow" as you watch it on your PSP screen. Once you defeat all the 8 Maverick bosses, you get to the Sigma stages. One thing that is easily noted is that the final Sigma boss is MUCH easier than the original. Hell, I even heard this story once on G4 where I guy broke his thumb fighting the last Sigma Boss. Music is amazing, controls are great, and the graphics are stunning. This is probably the first game where it shows that good thinking, along with good ideas on past games can really turn out well. I can honestly say that this is the best Mega Man game I've played, and that it is my favorite in the whole series. If you are a Mega Man fan, and own a PSP, this is a must buy.

Overall

Just buy it. 40 dollars seems a bit much for this game, but include the new storyline and gameplay with Vile, the replay value, and the fun factor, 40 seems just right. Like I said before, my favorite Mega Man game, the best Mega Man game, and for hardcore Mega Man fans, it is a MUST buy, until Mega Man X9 comes out.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/03/06