"X is back"

Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is a remake of the classic 1993 side scroller that started the X series. This is not just a graphical update. It is comparable to Capcom's other series starter remake, Resident Evil on Gamecube. It's basically the same game but plenty of stuff has been added to make it not only appealing to new comers but also to the people who have been playing it for 13 years.

Gameplay: 10/10
Awesome is the word that comes to mind when asked to describe the gameplay. The wonderfully simple gameplay has barely changed from the original. You run to the right and shoot everything in your way. At the end, you face an animal themed boss. When you beat this boss, you gain the ability to use one of his weapons, which coincidently is one of the other bosses weakness. Each move you gain is unique and most have their own use outside of boss battles. In the game there are 8 heart containers you can find to increase you maximum life. There are 4 sub-tanks which when filled up will restore your life. Last but certainly not least, there are 4 upgrades to your body armor that give you enhanced abilities. To keep old players from just cruising through, the locations of the upgrades have been shuffled around. One new thing is that you can now unlock the ability to play as Vile whose game plays out quite differently from X's game. Enemy placement is different, and he doesn't gain moves from boss battles in the traditional sense. Instead, he gains upgrades to his own weapons that can be placed in 3 slots on his body. For example. Vile starts off with a basic shoulder mounted laser cannon. Beating a boss might give you a stronger laser weapon or allow the cannon to perform a slightly different function. The weapons you take in with you must be chosen before you enter the stage. So a bit of strategy comes into play where you need to decide what weapons will help you most in what level. Overall, the Gameplay is fun. Old fans will love the traditional gameplay and the fresh new take on an old classic that Vile brings to the table

Story: 10/10

One of the best parts of the game in my opinion. The story is greatly expanded from what the original game had, which had a grand total of 5 short dialogue scenes. Now you get high quality opening and ending FMV for both X and Vile. New cut scenes that better explain the character's motives are present. Also X and Vile talk with each boss before battling them. Basic story is this. X is the first of a new series of robots named reploids who have the ability to think and feel. However not all is good. Sigma, one of the most powerful reploids has gone maverick (the term given to a reploid who has betrayed his creators) He and 8 of his minions have attacked the city and it is X's responsibility as one of the few Maverick Hunters (the robot police) who hasn't sided with sigma, to stop him. Upon beating the game a 24 minute anime movie “The Day of Sigma” is unlocked which serves as a prequel to the events of the game. Overall, the story is good and told very effectively.

Graphics: 7/10

The game looks good. It looks very good. The backgrounds are highly detailed, the enemy models are fantastic, and the effects are gorgeous. So why the relatively low score? Some of the models look really blocky, X in particular. It's noticeable during the main game if you stop and look but otherwise you won't notice it until the screen showing X getting his new weapon, when you see him jumping around and using his new weapon up close. Then it becomes very apparent. Also, the slow down which was in the original, and fixed in the X collection is now back in full, in most of the same exact spots too. If you played the original you're probably used to it, but that's still no excuse for it to show up here. At times, it feels like you're watching the bullet time sequence from The Matrix. It really is that bad. Other than those complaints, there isn't much else to say. The FMVs are absolutely gorgeous and clear. Overall, it's an impressive showing graphically except for those two sore spots.

Sound: 7/10

Mixed bag. This coming from a fan of the original. All of the tracks have been remixed to take advantage of the newer technology. Many of them came out sounding better but a lot also came out sounding worse. This complaint obviously has no meaning to someone who never played the original, but if you have, you should be ready for a shock in some instances. The only thing that saved this from a 6 is the better than average voice acting. The acting here is seriously good. X and Vile's actors in particular are perfect. The dialogue is delivered in a believable manner. Same goes for the Day of Sigma movie.

Control: 9/10

The game controls very well, everything is responsive. Much like the gameplay, the control is simple. The jump button and the shooting button will make up 70% of your button presses. Another 28% will be the dash button, which is mapped to a rather uncomfortable default spot (Map it to R and your fingers will thank you.) Vile controls a bit differently. One of the buttons is his jump button while the other 3 face buttons use one of Vile's weapons. The only real complaint I can come up with control wise is that the pressure sensitive face buttons will sometimes cause you to unleash a charge shot before you planned on it. Other than that, everything works great control wise.

Replay: High

The game is short. If you've never played the original you will likely clear the game with both X and Vile in about 10 hours, about 6-7 if you've played the original. But much like the original, the game is very fun and you will likely keep playing it over and over again.

Rent/Buy/Ignore: Buy
This is a very well made game that remains faithful to the original while adding enough new stuff to keep old fans happy. The addition of Vile mode increases replay value, and you have that nifty 24 minute movie to watch. Not a bad deal for $30.

Final Average: 8.6

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/06/06