Mega Man 10 is not all about nostalgia, as it thrives on clever levels and great challenge
The adventure begins when a disease starts infecting robots all around the world. Roboenza is its name, and the virus causes many of the robots to misbehave. When it gets to Roll, Dr. Wily appears claiming that he created a machine that could produce the cure for the terrible disease. However, things went wrong when a group of robots destroyed and stole different parts of the equipment. After hearing the news the blue bomber is quick to act and, as he usually does, he jumps into action right away in order to defeat the robot masters who are holding the tools to not only save his friend's life, but to cure his peers from all over the globe.
As far as gameplay goes, Mega Man 10 holds little to no surprises for those who have already experienced some of the traditional series' past installments. Eight different robot masters lurk at the end of eight distinctly themed stages, and it is up to the player to choose the order on which the robots will be tackled. Each boss has a different weakness and by defeating a robot, the hero will acquire the right to use their weapon with limited ammo. Figuring out the Achilles heel of all the bosses is a matter of some logic mixed with trial and error, but the reward is a much easier battle than if you used an ineffective weapon. The weapons are quite creative and diverse, and if players take their time with the game they can end up figuring out great smart ways of using them. However, the fact that the game is naturally action-based means that all of those clever uses are not mandatory since there are almost no puzzles.
The game plays in pretty much the same way as its predecessors. By using just two buttons players can jump and shoot, with movement being handled by the WiiMote's extremely precise D-pad. The big addition in this field is that now instead of having to go through a slow menu to switch weapons players can simply press either the A or B button in order to quickly make the change to the next weapon of the list. Unfortunately, due the B button's position in the control some inadvertent exchanges are bound to happen, a frustrating fact due to the game's frantic and challenging pace. Had the switch command been implemented exclusively to the A button that problem would have been avoided.
Yet, no odd control behavior could possibly tarnish the fact that Mega Man 10 is delightfully entertaining, and one of the biggest reasons behind this is its amazing level design. Most of the game's stages are built around one or two nice gimmicks that are explored from their most basic level to their toughest possible layout by the developers. Nitro Man's stage, for example, has a series of fast moving vehicles that are ready to run over the hero if players do not pay attention to audio and visual signs that warn of their approach. Meanwhile, Commando Man's level features constant sandstorms that can improve or diminish your ability to jump based on the direction in which they blow, aside from totally blocking your view of the nearby platforms. It is this series of amusing trials that keeps the game, and the series as a whole, so fantastic even if some of those gimmicks are more fun and exclusive than others.
This time around Mega Man will not be alone on his quest to overcome evil, as Proto Man will join him on his quest. At the beginning of the adventure players can choose between both characters, Proto Man can use a shield, slide and power-up his shots, but so much firepower has a drawback which is his reduced defense. The addition of another character gives players a bigger push to go through the stages all over again by using different abilities and experiencing ordeals that have been altered by the character's features.
Mega Man 10 is not all about taking concepts used on the series and dressing them in a new coat of paint. The game offers some new modes that add many good hours to an adventure that can last about six hours on a first playthrough. First of all, the game has an easy and a hard mode. The former features platforms humorously placed on top of deadly spikes, and enemies with reduced intelligence, while the latter powers up the existing foes, adds new ones and creates even more traps without altering the design of the levels. The easy mode will certainly make the game more attractive to more inexperienced players, while the game's toughest level will offer a nice alternative for those looking to finish it twice. After all the fact that Mega Man's stages are conquered by trial and error, and memorization is slightly removed from the equation when the stages suffer minor tweaks.
Secondly, this installment brings back the challenges introduced in Mega Man; however, this time around the structure on which they are presented is slightly different. Instead of working like achievements, the challenges are now set up as small stages and it is up to the players to unlock most of them during the regular adventure. The way on which those challenges were set up makes up for a much better experience for gamers who attempt to clear them all. For instance, instead of going through an entire stage just to try and beat a robot master without getting hit it is now possible to simply press a button and face the robot master right away. Some may say it excludes part of the difficulty, but truth is it actually takes frustration away from the title.
Visually there is not much to say, as Mega Man 10 is an 8-bit title that takes advantage of its limited space to create charming visuals, enemies, backgrounds and character models that take players on a big trip down memory lane that begins right as the game's plot is presented by still frames and text boxes. Needless to say, the menus follow the same archaic presentation. The series has always been famous for its tunes, and Mega Man 10 absolutely keeps this trend alive by featuring a very good soundtrack that may not feature as many catchy themes as fans of the series are used to. However, lack of catchiness by no means implies lack of quality and even if Mega Man 10's soundtrack is not as shiny as the one from number 9 it still is a quite remarkable array of compositions based on beeps and noises.
The blue bomber's latest adventure is extremely successful in mixing old-school values with new little ideas that take the experience one step further. It is not as hard as Mega Man 9, but that doesn't make it an easy game as it keeps throwing challenges at the screen. Clearing the adventure for the first time might take up to six hours, add the time avid gamers will spend clearing challenges, playing as Proto Man and beating the game on other difficulties and you have great value for a ten-dollar game.
Actual Score: 8.7