Even if you aren't a fan of the Mega Man games, you will still be hooked on its addicting, if challenging, gameplay.
User Rating: 9.2 | Irregular Hunter X PSP
Since the days of the NES, Mega Man has been a part of our life, for better or worse. There are numerous spin-offs since the original; Mega Man X, Mega Man Zero, Mega Man Battle Network, and Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge. There was one thing that they all had in common, though: none of them appeared on the PSP...until now. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is NOT a new addition in the X series or a new series altogether; it is a remake of one of the best Mega Man games of all time: Mega Man X. It has been 12 years since the first X game came out. Many of the Mega Man games have only appealed to the hardcore fans, but this is the first time in a long time that we have gotten a great Mega Man game that appeals to everyone; that's right: great AND everyone. The big draw on this edition for fans of the series is that you get to play as X's arch enemy, Vile, and you get a demo of the next PSP Mega Man game, Powered Up. Even if you aren't a fan of the Mega Man games, you will still be hooked on its PS2-quality graphics, remixed soundtrack, and addicting, if challenging, side-scrolling gameplay. The 3D graphics, combined with the PSP's widescreen display, show just how great a Mega Man game can look. Sure, most of the handheld Mega Man games have looked great, but this is the first time that anyone can call a Mega Man game beautiful, especially after the ugly X7 and X8 on the PS2. The color pallete is vivid and clean; a positive as you will be looking at the environments around you, both pre-rendered and interactive. There are some slowdowns that might detract from a little bit of the beauty, but not enough to make it a bad game. The soundtrack, as I mentioned earlier, got a modern redux for the PSP's crisp speakers; another good thing seeing as how the original game was on the SNES. The voiceovers are pretty decent, but after hearing quality acting from King Kong, it starts to be more campy and cheesy instead of cool and serious. The sound was redone so that they could support one of the coolest unlockables: the Mega Man X anime, The Day of Sigma. If you can skip this minor audio complaint, your ears are in for a big treat. But graphics, audio, and unlockables alone don't mean a thing if you don't make one thing excellent: the gameplay. Fortunately, Capcom has learned enough from their recent Mega Man failures to appeal to even the most jaded of gamers. The only character you will be able to play as is the cover boy: X. We are spared of the horrible Axl (a positive to both lovers and haters), but they also didn't think about adding the excellent Jedi-esque Zero (a negative to both lovers and haters). Otherwise, the gameplay is flawless. The action is constant, addicting, and, dare I say it, fun. None of us were expecting to be impressed by a game involving the blue bomber in this day and age of Splinter Cell and Grand Theft Auto. Thankfully for us, they took an excellent concept (a.k.a. remaking Mega Man X) and executed it to its fullest (a.k.a. remaking it on the PSP). At a crucial point where the DS is going to once again win the handheld war, Mega Man Maverick Hunter X saves the PSP from its inevitable death. It may be on the short side, but we dare you not to be hooked on it. Congratulations, X, for proving us wrong once again. 
