|
Welcome to NAdventures, if we feel that you as an adventures fan will be interested in a game or peripheral, we will give it coverage right here on NAdventures. If you enjoy other genres of games in addition to adventures, then be sure to visit NShooters and NSports in order to get your fill of gaming content. Check out http://hub.ngenres.com for the highlight stories from each genre.
- |
|
Review  Mega Man: Network Transmission
- By Francis Bonnet
[Associate Editor]
Mega Man is one of my favorite gaming series of all time. The Blue Bomber has been there since the NES days and I absolutely love him to death (not in a sexual way). I love how Capcom continually branches this series off into new directions, which includes the original series, X series, Legends series, Zero series, and Battle Network series, which Mega Man: Network Transmission is based upon. However, Mega Man Network Transmission is different than the Gameboy Advance Battle Network series in the fact that it plays like the original series, rather than an RPG. This is an interesting idea and has a lot of potential to make a great game. However, Capcom left the development of this title up to Arika, of the love-it-or-hate-it Street Fighter EX fame. I suppose that’s the first on their list of mistakes.
Gameplay:
As I mentioned, I’m a huge fan of the Mega Man series. I own 30+ Mega Man games on various consoles and I consider myself to be somewhat of a Mega Man expert. So when I say that this game is not only the hardest Mega Man game of all time, but also the cheapest, I think I have some prior Blue Bomber experience to compare it to.
Mega Man: Network Transmission is a side-scrolling 2D game that has you jumping, shooting and sliding your way through levels, which you can select from on a map screen. Much like in the Gameboy series, you must continually “jack-in” to various computers throughout ACDC town. Once you’re jacked in, your buddy Lan, from the real world, sends you battle chips to use against enemies. Once your battle chip meter fills all the way (it takes about a minute or so) you may press the Z-trigger and then Lan sends you another batch of random chips. Although you have the option to select which battle chips are “active” in the sub-menu, for the most part the chips that Lan sends you are all selected by the computer randomly (I guess it depends on Lan’s mood). This is the first gameplay annoyance. I hate having to wait around for my meter to gradually build up in order to get a decent battle chip to use against a common enemy. And forget about boss battles. If you don’t have a full arsenal of powerful battle chips at your disposal, then you’re toast. And it doesn’t help that each time you want to select some new battle chips, your old ones get wiped out. It’s an interest concept, but the execution is poor.
I mentioned boss battles. Cheap, cheap, cheap! Isn’t an intro level supposed to gradually ease you into the game? Forget that. Once you face Fire Man in the first stage, I guarantee you will die. Once you’re lucky enough to get a few decent battle chips and then face him again, maybe then you’ll die less. The difficulty of this game is really a turnoff. I mean, I’m always up for a challenging title (such as Mega Man Zero or Mega Man & Bass), but this game is just cheap. Expect to face bosses many times before you’re able to “luck out” and beat them.
On the plus side of gameplay, the scattered RPG elements of Mega Man: NT are a nice touch. There are tons of battle chips to collect, many of which are hidden throughout the levels. You can also find and purchase power-ups for Mega Man such as rapid fire, charge and armor. The story is a little bland, but still not as bad as the story in Mega Man Soccer (oh, the horror).
Aesthetics:
The cell-shaded graphics look pretty impressive during the cut scenes. However, once you’re actually playing the game, the graphics tend to look a little bland. There doesn’t seem to be much detail on Mega Man or the enemies, which kind of makes you miss the spite-based look of the original series.
As far as level design goes… ho hum. Where are the interesting backgrounds that are found in every Mega Man game since 1988? Sure, the CGI backgrounds of Mega Man: Network Transmission are cool at first, but they get old fast. There’s only so much variety you can have when you’re trying to make every stage look like the interior of a computer.
Sound:
Sound is probably Mega Man: NT’s strongest feature. Characters are voiced in Japanese and subtitled in English, so there are no crappy English voice-overs. Still, it’s kind of strange that they wouldn’t use the English voices from the cartoon show, being that a big chunk of kids who pick up this game are going to be fans of the cartoon (now airing on FOX).
Music has an up-beat techno style to it, with melodies that are very reminiscent of earlier Mega Man games, which is a very good thing. I actually really like the soundtrack in this game – it’s good enough to get its own CD, which would be a good idea for Capcom to release. Most likely, though, if a soundtrack for this game is ever released, it’ll come out in Japan only… then again, if the cartoon show is popular enough, you never know.
Control:
Mega Man controls just as he has for years. The A Button jumps, down and A slides, and the B Button shoots your mega-buster. The X button shoots your battle chip weapon and the Y button allows you to stop the game and scroll through your battle chips and select a new one. The Z-trigger calls upon Lan to send you more battle chips. Everything is straightforward. The play-control itself is fairly decent, however, you may notice that it’s slightly more sluggish than in previous Mega Man side-scrollers. Don’t worry, though, you probably won’t take much notice after a few minutes of playing.
Multiplayer:
No Multiplayer here.
OVERALL:
Mega Man: Network Transmission left a lot to be desired, especially for a game based on the excellent Battle Network series and a game that returns Mega Man to his 2D roots. Part of the reason why I’m being so critical of this game is that I was really looking forward to it, but was ultimately a let down. This game is by no means horrible, but if you’re expecting something up to the quality of other Mega Man titles, you won’t find it here. But hey, if you can deal with the cheapness factor and annoying battle chip system, you may enjoy the game a little more than I did. Rent it first.
The Lowdown on  Mega Man: Network Transmission
| Aesthetics: Average |
Control: Above Average |
| Gameplay: Below Average |
Multiplayer: |
| Sound: Very Good |
Innovation: 4/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 3/6 |
Rating Explanation |
Overall: Average!
"An Average Game"
|
|
|
|
This game is:
Average
|
|
|
|
INFO |
Developer: Arika
Publisher: Capcom
Number of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E
Release Date:
TBA
|
|
IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| Not up to par with other Mega Man titles. |
|
|
|
|
2.gif)
