Mega Man 10 Review (Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)

This is one game of soccer that simply isn't fair.

Forget about dusting off your Nintendo Entertainment System.  If you want to relive the good old days of 8-bit in a whole new light, your best bet is Mega Man 10, Capcom’s latest edition of the Blue Bomber’s chronicles.  In this newest adventure, Mega Man’s up against eight new Robot Masters, all suffering from a strange disease called Roboenza.  (His young counterpart Roll is feeling its aftereffects as well.)  It’s up to Mega (and his shield-carrying buddy Proto Man) to stop them and put an end to Roboenza before it wreaks havoc all over the city.  The only question now is what role Dr. Wily is playing in this plot.

Like previous 8-bit Mega Man adventures (including the 2008 release Mega Man 9), Mega Man 10 uses simple 8-bit visuals and sound to bring everything to life.  Floors flash in bright 8-bit-style colors, enemies are made up of simple two-to-three-piece animations, and fun little ditties play in the background, similar to tunes from previous games.  However, it’s the level design that’s a lot of fun here.  Over the course of each stage, you’ll run into a fair share of difficulties, from airborne enemies slamming you with gunfire to spikes laden across the floors to sandstorms that blow you back and forth.  Capcom has done a stupendous job recreating the classic game vibe once again, right down to the slight flicker and slowdown effects you’d get from NES releases.  We’re not disappointed with the way this game looks and sounds at all.

The gameplay hasn’t changed a bit, and we love it.  However, you’re probably going to question the game’s difficulty.  After all, Mega Man 9 is a monster compared to other platforming games, with its high challenge quotient.  Fortunately, 10 is much more forgiving with the introduction of an Easy Mode.  Turning this on will give you some leverage on your opponents, as they fire slower and more randomly than they would in Normal.  Furthermore, several levitating platforms keep you from dying a certain death, whether you’re falling in a bottomless pit or onto a sea of spikes.  The only downside is that turning on this mode makes the game too easy – we coasted through it in a matter of 90 minutes with it turned on.  If you stay on Normal, though, the game is still more beatable than 9 ever could be.

Once you beat the main game with Mega Man, there’s still plenty to do in part 10.  Proto Man is playable, so you can go through the whole game, utilizing his blaster and shield to lasting effect.  Furthermore, several modes are available, including the returning Time Attack (where you try to plow through stages in the quickest time possible) and Challenge Mode.  The Challenges are much less staggering than they were in 9, thanks to a multi-tier system broken down into E rank and above.  The early stages are a cinch, but as you proceed, they’ll get tougher and tougher.  That’s the way we like it.  Furthermore, your best Time Attack and Challenge times post to an online leaderboard once you’ve beaten the minimum amount.  That gives the game better longevity than we could’ve expected, and we’re still shooting to beat the records.  (Granted, we can’t – some of these players are just too damn good.)

See, on Easy Mode, these spikes wouldn't be such a big deal.

As for the Robot Masters, they’re a sheer delight, just like in the previous games.  Commando Man is definitely a beast, and we got a kick out of Strike Man and his fixation for baseball.  However, Sheep Man is just…too weird.  Seriously, do we feel threatened by a sheep that throws “Thunder Wool” at us?  The weapon itself is cool, but, really, nothing’s intimidating about a sheep.  (And yes, this is after we’ve seen the movie Black Sheep…and not the Chris Farley one.)

Mega Man 10 gives you plenty to do, and there’s more where that came from coming in the next month.  Capcom has already confirmed new DLC coming for the game, including the option to play as Mega Man’s buddy Bass, along with three special stages and a new Endless Mode.  Sadly, you’ll need to pay a little extra to unlock this stuff, since it isn’t automatically added on for free.

Don’t let that discourage you, however.  Whether you’ve grown up on Mega Man’s adventures in the past or you’re just checking them out for the first time, Mega Man 10 is a must-own.  The gameplay is as good as ever, the extras provide hours’ worth of fun, and the presentation is so retro-fitted, we were reaching to pull out a cartridge when we were done playing the game.  You simply can’t go wrong with the Blue Bomber nowadays.