Rated CBAM!: Mega Man 10 (Review)

Mega Man 10 (Nintendo WiiWare)

Rated “E” For “Everyone”

Attempting to continue with its retro charm, Capcom releases a new 8-bit Mega Man with the latest downloadable, Mega Man 10. With all the praise that Mega Man 9 received, will 10 be able to replicate that same praise or is it yet another example of Capcom churning out a similar game like it does with most of its franchises?

=====Story=====

In the year 20XX, a new virus is spreading infecting a variety of robots. That virus is called Roboenza. Roboenza infected robots started to go against their programs and have started causing havoc across the city. It is up to Mega Man to once again take down 8 more powerful Robot Masters. With help from Proto Man, Mega Man charges forward to restore order to the city while the villainous Dr. Wily “helps” to find a cure for the dreaded Roboenza.

=====Gameplay=====

Just like its 8-bit predecessors, there’s not much in the ways of playing Mega Man. You shoot, you jump, you sometimes fight a mid-boss, you learn how to maneuver your way through rooms and do it again in the next harder version of that room, you fight a Robot Master, you gain a new power, and repeat. There isn’t much a difference in how you play the tenth Mega Man game and the first Mega Man game.

You do get to choose between Mega Man and Proto Man off the bat. Just like his DLC self in 9, Proto Man can charge his buster, slide, use his shield (when jumping), and takes more damage. A small change of strategy might need to be implemented when using the yellow scarfed robot.

=====Difficulty=====

Dr. Wily never slouches when he’s out to take over the world and he still has a few tricks up his sleeves after so many years. Each level and Robot Master will provide a challenge fitted for Mega Man. Whether it is the level design or the Robot Masters, there will be plenty in your way to drain your clips of energy until you turn into a blue fireworks display.

With a lot of voicing/crying over the difficulty of Mega Man 9, Capcom added Easy Mode. This is for those who wish to complete the game with out all that unnecessary challenge getting in the way. From reducing the amount of enemies in a level covering up pits and spikes to lowering the AI of the Robot Masters, Easy Mode deserves being called easy. Playing this mode easily cuts game completion time in half.

=====Content=====

So you get a new story, 8 new Robot Masters, 8 new weapons to try out, Proto Man as a playable character from the start, and another Wily castle to topple. What else is there?

The achievement system is still around. Simple tasks such as reaching the level’s boss are there as well as very difficult tasks such as completing the game without getting hit once. The range of achievements is ridiculous.

Add to the achievements the challenge mode. Challenges have you completing various objectives with possible restrictions. Challenges include Jumping Challenges (tests your platforming skills), Weapons Challenges (using certain weapons only), Enemy Challenges (taking out hordes of set enemies), and Boss Challenges (fighting mini-bosses or bosses on certain difficulties).

DLC is available again. Upon release, you can tackle a few special stages, be masochistic with Hard Mode, or try a third playable character in Bass. All this content will add to your play time as the robot of your choice.

=====Final Thoughts=====

Capcom did succeed in making a new Mega Man game. Was it the best one to date? Probably not. While some may love playing a retro style game, the flavor that 9 brought is not as tasty this time. The music isn’t as catchy, some levels aren’t as cleverly put together, some new Robot Masters appear lackluster, and there just wasn’t that wow factor of playing a new 8-bit game this time.

Each of those negatives isn’t a horrible thing, but it is hard to keep the Mega Man formula fresh and fun every time. The game is a solid Mega Man title and offers a few new things just like previous installments tried. Retro gamers will love to get their hands on yet another Mega Man game. There are a few nods to past blue bomber adventures that will delight those raised on this series. Newcomers now have 10 original Mega Man titles to pick and choose to play from. It’s not too difficult to pick any of the better ones since you have a choice.