Mega Man X8 (PlayStation 2, 2004)

I knew Capcom would strike back eventually. They finally did and gave us Mega Man X8. After the last X game people started to lose hope with Capcom and Mega Man himself. Now we have no reason to complain about past mistakes because I truly believe they made up for them.

Yay! Good voices and no targeting system! These are the first things you will notice if you played Mega Man X7. Everything in this game is better than X7. Graphics, cut-scenes, controls, voices, music, and story. I don't want to bash X7 but this game is just so much better.

The reploids are still fighting amongst each other so now man has decided to go to the Moon to think up new operations. However, instead of going there by rocket, they are building a gigantic orbital elevator which connects the Earth and the Moon. This is probably to shorten time between sending supplies and data among each other. However, the opening movie reviels not all is well. No more than that or else I would spoil a decent story.

A great thing to note at this point if I didn't already make it obvious is that everybody have fantastic voices. They may not be the best you ever heard but they are the best you have probably heard come from X. Everyone sounds like you would think they should. Now X can sound cooler than Zero and Axl sounds like a GUY. The targeting system from X7 is officially gone so now you are back to manually controlling your shots which is GREAT. X's fully charge blast has excellent size and power, Axl has amazing rapid-fire action and great power for such small and fast bullets and who can still copy his enemies, and Zero is the agile close AND far-ranged fighter(depending on his weapon) with intense strength and fighting tactics. You can easily handle all the characters with ease and will have no trouble mastering them.

The team system is still here but feels so much better than X7. Firing a humongous blast from X and then immediately switching to Zero to hack any remainers to pieces or switch to Axl to quickly and effectively fill them all with holes is now the way you would have ever wanted it. Graphics look much more fluid and resemble cell-shading which is probably why even though the sprites seem smaller but they still look great. Boss fights are fun again with an addictive new tune playing which changes after you beat up the boss a bit and a decent challenge from all of them.

X's armor system has been changed as well.Instead of just finding the parts and not using them until you find them all, you can custimize X's armor by choosing between the two sets you can find. By finding all of a set you get an added bonus. New skills can be acquired from metals you find as well as bosses you beat. As you find rare metals, you can unlock these skills so can upgrade your characters. To get them though you have to pay with regular metals you recieve from enemies. Defeating the final boss with a different character can unlock even more surprises.

Overall, I highly recommend this game for any dedicated Mega Man fan.In fact, I recommend everyone at least play it once. Rent it first if you want but I think it is a buy. I hope Capcom keeps giving us Mega Man like this.