I have just finished Mega Man X: Command Mission (hearafter abbreviated to CM), so now I feel qualified to post a review on it. It is out on both the Gamecube and PS2, and there are slight differences between the two versions. The Gamecube version has 'treasure tokens' that you can find when you have a Game Boy Advance connected to controller port 2. They are used for purchasing special 'figures' (read models) that you can view in the extras room. They do not appear if you don't have a GBA connected, and they are not on the PS2 version as far as anyone has found that I know of. The Playstation 2 version has a playable demo for X8. Now, I have the Gamecube version, for several reasons. CM has less slowdown, fewer framerate problems, sharper graphics, and shorter loading times on the 'cube. Also, since X8 is due out in November (in the US), it kind of negates the demo on the PS2 version after that. If you have a Gamecube and a PS2, then get the Gamecube version, even if you don't have a GBA. But if you only have a PS2, it's probably not worth buying a Gamecube just for this game. Anyway, on to the game itself. I've read a lot of 'professional' reviews, and they've been overwhelmingly 'average'. Heck, one review I saw stated that the Wonderswan Mega Man games are better than CM. I tried not to let reviews color my opinion of the game. Gameplay: This is a strictly turn based RPG, with one exception which I'll get to in a minute. There are no platforming elements whatsoever. You can't even jump. However, you CAN dash, which is used to break crystal objects that give you items and other various things. The areas of the game is mostly indoors, and is made up of MML style dungeons. When you're wandering around, you can run into random encounters (and the encounter rate is very high in some areas) and combat starts. Combat is strictly turn based, eschewing even the 'phased combat' that most RPGs have had since FFIV. Personally, I prefer true turn based, as it gives a chance to look over and consider all your options. The game has a meter that shows the order of the next 8 moves, both enemies' and your party members. Certain actions can change the order, and the game is very clear about when this happens. The one action element is called an Action Trigger. It's a special move that is unique to each character. The criteria for pulling off an action move also varies, and they range from simply holding down a button to inputing fighting game commands, to gyrations of the control sticks that are bound to leave blisters. Each character has a Weapon Energy meter, which goes down depending on what attacks you use. Secondary attacks usually take up some amount of WE. The regular attack button is always a free action, and always ends the character's turn. You can also defend, use items, restore your life with Sub Tanks, and change into Hyper Mode. Hyper Mode is an enhanced form that the character can go into that changes their stats and armor. Some of the characters have more than one Hyper Mode. In some cases, being in Hyper Mode changes the Action Trigger. You can only stay in Hyper Mode for a limited number of rounds, but you can lay down some serious pain. Some of the characters even become invincible while in it. Once you have the enemy down to 75%, a move called Final Strike becomes available. Basically it's all the characters unloading on the hapless target with a massive amount of overkill damage. Looks impressive, but really only a finishing move. Still, when the target is a healer, it becomes a priority. While the characters look the same unless in Hyper Mode, various effects can be applied by equipping them with Force Metals, everything from increasing stats, to upping critical strikes, to boosting WE the character recovers per round. Each Force Metal has a rating, and if you go over the maximum rating (which depends on the character and his or her level), then you can have problems in combat, such as the character going berzerk as well as other things. Overall, the battle and stats systems are very well designed. The Story: Command Mission is set in 22XX (as opposed to 21XX like the regular games), and sometime in between X7 and CM, an asteroid dropped to Earth that contained a material called Force Metal that enhanced the power of reploids. An artificial island named Giga Island was built near the crash site to mine the metal, and various compounds were built on other islands nearby. A group of Mavericks known as the Rebellion has risen up and taken over the islands and another group called the Resistance was formed to thwart them. So it's the Rebellion who has taken over, and the Resistance is, well, resisting them. The Maverick Hunters have sent several groups to the island, but they were never heard from again. So X, Zero, and a new Hunter called Shadow are sent to check it out. Along the way they suffer betrayal, get separated, meet up with Axl, and meet lots of interesting characters. In case you're wondering, there's no underlying love story, which is a good thing because you can't seem to swing a controller without hitting an RPG with a love story. Since this is a spoiler free review, that's as far as far as I'm going. It's not necessary to have played any of the previous games to know what's going on, it's pretty much self contained. Technical Stuff: The graphics and sound of the game are very good. The characters look like they should, and the character models are much improved from X7. There's actual lip synching! The enemy graphics are also very detailed, and some old favorites make returns. Many of the old sounds are also here, such as X's charge shot, Zero's saber slash, and that ewoewoewo of Axl's Copy Shot. A lot of people seemed to like the opening song from the Japanese version, Capcom has replaced it with some generic techno music. The old song was called Jonetsu Setsuna, which means Passionate Moment. This is OK with me however, because the most passionate moment I've seen in the entire game is when Axl says he thinks that Marino might be falling in love with him because she keeps staring at him, when she's really trying to figure out how to steal his replication ability. No big loss. While there is no Japanese voice option, (you'd better hang onto your seat here) Capcom has ACTUALLY HIRED SOME DECENT VOICE ACTORS! Yes, it's amazing, but X doesn't sound like a preteen middle school girl! Zero no longer sounds like he's pushing 50! Axl sounds decent (much better than he did in X7), and all the new characters are well voiced. Here's hoping they keep the VAs. The Extras: There are a LOT of extras in this game (which both versions share in), literally hundreds of them. Everything from reviewing the cutscenes, to viewing concept drawings, to stage songs, to viewing the figure models and more. The figures can be bought from special vending machines that take tokens and are sprinkled around the hub area of the game. There are literally dozens of figures, and more than one of some, such as the main characters in different poses and so on. You can go back to the various stages at any time to pick up stuff that you missed, and some areas of the stages can only be accessed once you have a key. However, most of the extras come from deploying various gumbies to different stages. After a certain amount of time, they come back with all this stuff that can be viewed in a special room. You can also get stuff by meeting special challenges, such as defeating a certain number of enemies, or using Final Strike a certain number of times, to fighting so many enemies without saving. I will say that the extras are very much worth all the trouble, especially the figures and concept drawings. Some of the figures however only appear in the Gamecube version, and are bought from a special vending machine with the treasure tokens that you find with GBA connectivity. My Thoughts: Since I'm writing this review, I'm obviously a Mega Man fan. So I'm predisposed to like the game. The main story is somewhat short (I've heard of people going through it in 15 hours) but all the extras and going back and getting stuff like Hyper Modes and checking out all the extras really extends the life of the game. You can even keep playing after you've already beaten it, and a certain area is only available after you've gone through the game. The story is good, and the decent voice acting is really a plus. There's even some unexpected twists that keep you guessing until the end. Some people have complained that the game lacks an 'epic feel', but I think the story is a refreshing change from the typical 'kid(s) from backward town/villiage/planet make a journey and save the world' type plots that seem to plague console RPGs these days. The game definitely has a Mega Man feel, even though you don't get to keep the weapons from the bosses you've beaten (well, Axl gets to keep their forms). I do have some issues with the game, however... It's somewhat easy. I can count how many times I died on one hand, though there are optional parts that are punishingly difficult. Also, it lacks the traditional vechicles and ride armor, which would have been nice. The main quest is pretty short, so if you really don't care about the extras, then there's not much to keep you busy. The random encounter rate can be frustrating, because there were spots when I literally couldn't go 10 steps without running into enemies. It is fairly easy to run away, which is a blessing. My recommendation is to get it, it's a worthy Mega Man X game, and the best one that's come down the pipe since X4. I'm hoping that there will be a sequal, as Capcom doesn't ALWAYS make sequals. MM Soccar anyone?
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