Review - Classic Mega Man Powers Up for PSP

The Blue Bomber. For better or worse, he is an icon that will forever be associated with games. From his current incarnations as an anime-styled robot adolescent, to the sort-of pudgy 8-bit sprite that started it all, he's a mainstay that is instantly recognizable to anyone calling themselves "gamer". It should be no surprise, then, that he has made his way onto the PSP in a very unique "re-installment" of the very first Mega Man.

Mega Man Powered Up is the name of the game here and it lives up to its name as it is essentially a remake of Mega Man 1 for the NES that has been powered up in just about every conceivable way. The most prominent change is the graphics and the style in which they are presented in Powered Up. "Well yeah, this is the PSP we're talking about here, of course it's going to look better than the NES", you say, and of course you're right. But it's not just the presence of new graphics that stands out; it's the style with which they are delivered. Sporting a chibi-like appearance, the characters are drawn with disproportionately large heads (think bobble-heads) and are very cartoony in action. Environments of each level, and the various enemies littered throughout, naturally follow this trend. The entire presentation gives the game a very "kiddy" look, but considering most of us who played the original when it first came out were pretty much kids ourselves, it's not a far stretch to accept if you're a fan of Mega. Animations are smooth and look just plain great; overall the game is a wonderful treat for the eyes and one of the best looking titles to hit the PSP recently.

You'll recognize and be familiar with the gameplay instantly if you've ever played any Mega Man title. This is classic side scroll shooting in its raw, unadulterated form - just as it should be because, after all, Mega Man is one who helped define the genre. Levels, while different looking, have pretty much the same layout as the original, thus adding to the familiarity. The big difference in how this one plays comes with a new feature: If you can successfully defeat any boss using just your mega buster you unlock the ability to play that boss as a character in any level. Each boss has it's own set of unique abilities that may or may not help you progress through each of the levels. For instance Cutman can throw his trademark boomeranging scissors and jump off the side of walls (ala Mega Man X), and Timeman can throw out clock-hand projectiles and, you guessed it, stop time. "Wait a second, Timeman?" I suppose I should mention that along with the classic bosses Cutman, Gutsman, Elecman, Bombman, Iceman, and Flameman they added two new ones to reach the now-standard 8 boss minimum: the aforementioned Timeman, and Oilman. One guess as to what Oilman does. Mega Man himself actually becomes a boss now too if you play as one of the unlocked boss characters, replacing the boss for the stage that would have been the character you are currently playing.

On top of it all there are a few other fun additions that do nothing but add to the value of this game. The first is what's called "Construction" mode. This mode gives you a very intuitive system that allows you to create your very own Mega Man levels on which to play. Littered throughout the various levels in normal gameplay are various "packs" to collect that open up new terrain/baddies/obstacles in this mode. After you've created your masterpiece, the wonders of wireless on your PSP gives you the option to upload your level to Capcom's site where others have the chance to play it (and curse at it, depending on how evil you are with your design). You can also download others' creations. The other noteworthy addition is "Challenge" mode. A collection of short puzzles, this mode allows you to choose any of the characters you've unlocked and puts them against puzzles where you will have to use your character's special abilities to complete each challenge. It's a very fun and, dare I say, challenging, addition that greatly lengthens the life of this game.

Mega Man: Powered Up is a solid addition to the Mega Man family that is sure to please hardcore fans of the series and newcomers alike. It stays true to the original's roots and does well improving upon those roots without ruining the formula that made the series a success in the first place. Replay value is high with the addition of playable boss characters and the challenge and construction modes round Powered Up nicely, and at a $29.99 pricetag (compared to the normal $39.99 for new PSP games), you won't want to pass this up.

Gameplay: 8.0
Pro: Classic side-scroll shooting, a tried and true forumla.
Con: Some bosses don't' lend themselves to the level design, though in some cases this is a welcome challenge.

Technical: 7.0
Pro: One of the best looking PSP games to date. Remixed classic Mega Man tracks are well done. Voice acting is on par and not too over-the-top.
Con: The cartoon "kiddy" look might not appeal to some gamers.

Entertainment: 8.0
Pro: With lots of challenging extras this game goes far beyond just the "beat the game" goals.
Con: Maintains the level of difficulty of the original; nostalgic to some, frustrating to others.

Overall: 8.0