Mega Man 9
What Is It?
It's funny, there used to be a time when people cringed at the very thought of another Mega Man game. It was an on-running joke; everybody knew that Capcom's wellbeing relied heavily on the sales of Mega Man. Yet here we are just a few years later and everybody is suddenly excited about this brand new Mega Man game. Talk about a strange world. Of course, there's a reason for these people to be excited. This isn't just another Mega Man game; it's the first "8-bit" Mega Man game in almost 15 years. Mega Man 9 does exactly what it sets out to accomplish, it provides you with the same kind of experience you would have had on the Nintendo Entertainment System twenty years ago. There are no fancy graphics here; there is just carefully crafted levels, fun bosses and 8-bit imperfects (sprite flicker, etc.). Of course, this kind of game isn't for everybody. If you weren't a fan of the original Mega Man games then this isn't going to change your mind, this was made specifically for those people that grew up loving Capcom's adorable blue robot. This is yet another fantastic downloadable game coming from Capcom this year.
This is without a doubt the best playing Mega Man game, though that may depend on which format you decide to buy it for. Instead of taking everything that was introduced in the first eight games, Mega Man 9 takes the series back to the basics. By doing this the game feels a lot simpler, almost clean. Some may complain that there isn't enough in this game, but it's hard to deny its appeal.
Is It Worth The Money?
While it's not the second coming of The Summer of Arcade, the last two weeks have been especially strong. No matter which version you buy, Mega Man 9 is good old-fashioned fun. Just be warned, the game is incredibly difficult. We're talking about control through the TV hard. With plenty of cool levels and some nice replay value, Mega Man 9 is definitely worth your $10. I can only hope that this is just the beginning of 8-bit sequels, I wouldn't mind seeing the next Contra or Castlevania done in this style.
This Week in GameTap
Okay, so I missed last week's big news because I was in San Francisco playing Saints Row 2. Apparently GameTap was bought by another company, which means that I'll continue to cover this unique download service. Oh, and they also uploaded a couple of games that I didn't get a chance to play. Last week GameTap offered paying subscribers Fallout 2 ... which I could have sworn was already on the GameTap service. But don't worry Fallout fans, even if you aren't a GameTap subscriber you can still go back through the original Fallout for free. These are both top notch games, so make sure and bone up on your Fallout history before Fallout 3 blows your mind.
Unfortunately this week's line-up isn't nearly as exciting what I missed last week. This week we go from Fallout to ... Dancing with the Stars? Oh you have to be kidding me. I am not going to use this retro article to talk about Dancing with the Stars. What's next, a Joe Millionaire game? Moving on we have the dramatically named: RIDE! Carnival Tycoon. As a fan of these sim games I'm excited about this one, even if I fear that it's going to be nothing more than a Theme Park rip-off. Oh, and did I mention that paying subscribers also get Secrets of Great Art? It's not exactly Halo 3, if you know what I mean.
On the free side we get Sacred Gold, which at least sounds more exciting than Secrets of Great Art and Dancing with the Stars. Seriously, Dancing With the Stars? I can't wait to see what lame reality show gets uploaded to GameTap next week (I have my fingers crossed for Glam Gods with Vivica A. Fox).
Page 2 of 2
