XBOX 360 - REVIEW - MEGAMAN 9

Capcom’s Megaman 9 is the latest game in the long running Megaman/Rockman series which originally made its debut on the NES all the way back in 1987. Considered as the follow-up to Megaman 8 released nearly twelve years ago (excluding its numerous spin-offs), the game’s engine has been built from the ground up to recreate an authentic experience fitting of the 8-bit machines of the past. Background music throughout is appropriately MIDI sounding with its sound range limited to the five channels of Nintendo’s original hardware. Graphical restrictions are also in place with a limited colour palette and even a faithful recreation of sprite flicker, widely prevalent in other titles you would play around this era of video gaming.

If you are a newcomer to the Megaman series, or if you’re too young to remember any of the classic 2D platformers from the genre’s hey-day, then prepare yourself for a shock. This game certainly won’t provide you the comfort zones of similar titles such as Super Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog. Indeed, calling the game “hard” would be a gigantic understatement.

Megaman 9’s story has you set against a plethora of rampaging robots which have mysteriously been let loose to rampage across the world. It’s down to you as protagonist Megaman to destroy these monstrous machines and at the same time to prove the innocence of your incarcerated friend Dr. Light.

There are a total of 8 Robot Masters in the game of which you need to destroy, each one compromising of a themed stage before the actual boss fight itself. Which order you decide to fight these Robot Masters in is left entirely down to you and is easily selectable from the main screen. Managing to defeat a Robot Master will award you with that particular guardian’s special weapon which one other Robot Master will be especially weak against. This throws up an element of strategy in your game progression or alternatively can provide you an extra level of challenge if you want to try to complete the game with just Megaman’s default blaster.

This may all sound straight forward enough and with each stage clocking in at only a theoretical five minutes to finish, you could indeed be mistaken for thinking this game is nothing than an hour long cakewalk. Unfortunately for you in Megaman 9 you will die.., you will die a great deal.

Making it past a single screen can be a horrific trial and error process sapping hours of your time to just arrive at the Robot Master’s lair. This isn’t to suggest that the level design is bad, just that the game doesn’t afford you to make any lazy mistakes in your timing or mid-air recalculations in your platforming. Landing or even briefly touching a bed of spikes means an instant death, there is also no double jump or post-jump float meaning a misjudged leap will lead to nothing than a grizzly demise and prompt level restart. Throughout the levels you are given the opportunity to pick up bolts (the game’s currency) which post stage completion can be used to buy extra lives and energy packs. This is all fair and well if you can actually finish a stage, until that point you’re stuck with what little you have at the commencement of the adventure.

Outside the core game, Capcom have added thirty or so additional achievements to obtain at your leisure. These achievements range from trifling challenges such as killing 500 enemies to the devishly impossible “complete the game without taking any damage” which only the hardest of the hardcore could ever have any remote possibility of obtaining. If you’re considering purchasing this game purely for gamerscore points then you’d be well advised to focus your attention elsewhere. Another additional feature of Megaman 9 is the speed run option. At the main menu you’re offered the option to perform a timed speed run on any stage of your choosing, all weapons unlocked and readily available. The resulting time (providing you don’t get killed) is then uploaded to the XBL leaderboard, here you can compare just how inferior you are at this game in contrast to everybody else worldwide and to compete against your friend’s times.

Megaman 9 is a game which will be equally loathed and loved by the 360 community. It is far too difficult for most gamers weaned on the Ubisoft philosophy of “everyone should be able to finish” to stick with, even as far as completing just a single level. On the other hand, those who relinquish a gaming challenge will diligently work away at a complex section, ultimately walking away with the satisfaction that they managed to complete one of the toughest games this side of Ninja Gaiden.

The very fact an original game of this kind was able to be released at all stands as a testament to XBL’s ability to distribute online content in an affordable and profitable manner for the development studios. We can only hope that other long-abandoned franchises of the past are soon revisited in a similar fashion. Until that time, providing you can stomach a challenge, Megaman 9 is a fantastic 2D platformer. Exquisite presentation and a multitude of extra features make it a must have arcade purchase alongside Castle Crashers & Braid released this Autumn.

Paw Rating: 4/5
Good: Challenging, worthy addition to existing series, plenty of replay.
Bad: Unwelcoming for beginners, controls don't map well to analogue stick.

NINTENDO DS - REVIEW - APOLLO JUSTICE

Apollo Justice is the fourth game of the semi-popular 'Phoenix Wright' or 'Gyakuten Saiban' as they are known in Japan.

While the original 3 games with the limited exception of the final case in Ace Attorney were ported from the GBA, Apollo Justice is entirely built ground up for the DS system making it a first for Capcoms franchise.

Incase you are unaware of the concept of Ace Attorney games, you play as a defense attorney named Phoenix Wright (or in this game) the new rookie Apollo Justice. The main crux of the gameplay is a somewhat updated version of what a point and click adventure would have been 12 years or so ago. Proceedings always start with being introduced to an accused client through your mutual friends who bring with them a complicated back story and an always bizarre unwillingness to tell you what actually happened. You then after a bit of back story proceed to investigate the alleged crime and start piecing together what happened, why it happened and most importantly why your client is innocent.

You achieve this goal through pointing out prosecution contradictions and mistruths in a court room setting by pressing witnesses and presenting evidence. This is all done on the DS via the touch screen and using the microphone to yell 'Objection' or 'Hold It' which adds an extra layer of fun to the proceedings.

Although the game sounds serious and does indeed deal with various grizzly murders, it's anime style presentation and goofy comedy makes it come across as more of a fun amateur detective romp than any serious CSI style crime drama. That being said though the cases can really grip you and some of the twists can really catch you off guard.

Following the conclusion of the 3rd game. Main protagonist Phoenix Wright is no longer an attorney due to losing his license for Perjury. So for this game you play his protege as it were, the oddly named Apollo Justice. This isn't to say Phoenix isn't in the game, infact he's a central character throughout the entire plot, some other characters from previous games make cameo's but for the most part it is an entirely all new cast. This is probably a smart move as a 4th appearance from some of the more annoying cast members (notably Lotta Hart & Larry Butz) would have been borderline tedious at this point in the series.

Maya & Pearl are replaced as comic relief tag along partners by Phoenix's adopted step-daughter Trucy Wright. Not that she's any more normal, you're pretty much exchanging some bizarre druid style sisters for a wannabe trainee magician. Still she converses with you and the people you meet, offers advice and proves to be an important part of the overall story.

There's 4 cases in the game (the usual amount for the series) and they all end up tying together. Some interesting use of the DS technology is involved during events, some that's been seen before in the additional 5th case for the Ace Attorney with some completely new tools such as an X-Ray machine and a sound mixing board.

The games puzzles for the most part are very logical and there's only a few instances of frustration. Notably having to investigate a fairly generic and seemingly unimportant door in a BG to move the game forward and also having to present a specific item of evidence when two pieces in your possession would prove the same point.

There is also some rather daft story twists which are a bit /too/ silly for their own good. Such as a panty thief and a noodle stand vendor who talks endlessly about his uhum 'salty broth'. That being said, some of the low-key ingame humour is actually quite amusing. There's a gangster boss who looks the splitting image of Marlon Brando, a prosecutor named Klavier who spouts lines from classic rock tunes at every opportunity and Mr Hat, who really defies all explanation.

The game is a good length and will take you at least 15-20 hours to finish. There isn't any replay value with this sort of game however so you should take that into consideration when deciding how much you're willing to pay.

For a long time Phoenix Wright fan. This game still has everything you loved about the series since game one. Apollo is an equally endearing protagonist as Phoenix ever was and his own special skill of 'Observation' brings something new just as Psyche-locks did with the second. While some fan-favourite characters such as Miles Edgeworth are MIA references to past ingame material such as the Steel Samurai are still included and worthy of a chuckle when they crop up.

For new-comers although the game makes an attempt at putting the previous games into the past, it still really isn't a recommended starting point. The main theme that runs through Apollo Justice is the events of Phoenix Wright in the past and without experiencing his back story it'd be hard to care exactly why he was wronged the way he was.

As a DS game the presentation is handled fantastically with clean, well animated characters and snappy expertly penned dialogue. The music isn't quite on par with previous games but as it proves quite vital in a murder at a rock concert during the story it still manages to perform its function. The save at anytime function is still present which makes the game easy to play on the move (albeit a little easy if you want to use it to cheat via trial and error).

Overall it's a fantastic game and it'll be interesting to see what direction the Ace Attorney series goes off into next now it's new leading character has been fully established.

Paw Rating: 4/5

Good: Gripping story, witty dialogue, top notch presentation.
Bad: Lack of replay, adult themes 'kiddified' on occasion, save system lowers overall difficulty.