Mega Man Network Transmission Preview

Capcom's Mega Man franchise has been one of the pillars of the Japanese developer's software catalog since the blue bomber debuted during the 8-bit era. Before Ken and Ryu were paying the rent, the tiny blue sprite's adventures were a big part of keeping the company afloat. With Mega Man's latest adventure, Mega Man Network Transmission for the GameCube, Capcom brings the little blue one back to a Nintendo console just in time to celebrate his 15th anniversary.

Mega Man Network Transmission continues the story that began in the Game Boy Advance Mega Man Battle Network series. The GBA games offered a new interpretation of the hero, casting him in the role of a virtual avatar for a young boy named Lan whose adventures took place in a virtual-reality cyberspace. The GameCube game draws on the main story elements introduced in the GBA series--namely, a terrorist organization called the WWW is intent on controlling cyberspace and must be stopped. Following its defeat at the hands of Mega Man and Lan in the last GBA game, the WWW has returned, and this time it's armed with a new virus named Zero.

If you're familiar with the GBA Mega Man Battle Network games, you'll have a partial idea of what to expect from Mega Man Network Transmission's gameplay, but not the whole picture. The basic structure is roughly the same as in the GBA titles, but there have been some modifications. You'll still divide your time between adventuring with Lan in the real world and jacking in to cyberspace for some Mega Man action. The biggest change can be found in the cyberspace sequences, which are now focused tightly on 2D side-scrolling gameplay as opposed to the isometric adventuring and grid-based combat found in the GBA games. The combat revolves around the acquisition and use of battle chips that give Mega Man a variety of different attacks and support abilities. You'll load Mega Man up with a set number of chips that can be replenished during a level once you've filled the appropriate meter. If you're out of cards and haven't charged up enough to get more chips, you can use Mega Man's standard blaster, which, while not terribly effective, is useful in a pinch. In addition to engaging in combat, adventuring through cyberspace will require you to track down pass codes that you'll need to access blocked areas.

While Mega Man will face off against a varied bunch of formidable enemies and bosses, some of whom should be familiar faces, you'll be able to upgrade him to better cope with the challenge they present. You'll find new types of blasters, armor, and accessories to enhance Mega Man's attributes on your adventures. You'll come across these useful enhancements by defeating bosses or by carefully exploring cyberspace on your travels.

The graphics in Mega Man Network Transmission are a detailed mix of 2D and 3D elements that give the game a very distinctive look. Mega Man's cel-shaded character model, based on his makeover for the Battle Network games, is crisp and smoothly animated. The enemies you face off against feature the same level of detail and animation, which adds a nice bit of consistency to the game. The 2D elements in the game, such as the backgrounds, have a nice high-res look that adds to the polished look of the visuals. You'll also see some nice transparencies and other visual highlights to complement the game's clean look.

The audio in the game is solid. The music is a catchy collection of speedy tunes that are in the spirit of Mega Man's adventures. The voice work is solid, although a bit sparse in some places, and the sound effects are well done.

From what we've played so far, Mega Man Network Transmission is shaping up to be a solid action game. While the game may not be quite what fans were hoping for--personally, we would have liked to have seen a nice 2D game of this quality featuring the old-school mechanics seen Mega Man's 8- and 16-bit adventures--there's still a lot to enjoy in it. Mega Man Network Transmission is slated to ship next month for the GameCube.