[img width=300 height=300]http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/bigboxshots/8/197898_27938_front.jpg[/img]
Well, it's official. I beat my fourth Summer Gaming pick. Appropriately enough, it was
Mega Man X4. And wow. Let me start by saying that the first
X game was, and is one of my all time favorite
Mega Man games. In fact, it would rival
Mega Man 2 and
3 for the top spot as my definitive favorite. Truth be told, I've probably spent the most time with
X above all others. And yet I can say with all honesty that I enjoyed this game just as much. It really brought back memories of how exciting it was playing through the first game. You see strangely, I haven't really played most of the other entries in the
X series. I suppose because of all the talk of the series having gone down-hill over the years. But
X4 is a true masterpiece to me.
Oh, before I forgot I want to plug this excellent article by Alex Reo about
X4. It was published in GameSpite Quarterly #8, and I had just read it around the time I was picking my Summer Gaming list. My friend Flake had urged me to add the game to my list, and upon reading this how could I argue? So here:
http://www.gamespite.net/...ex.php/Games/G8-MegaManX4[img width=300 height=200]http://ui09.gamefaqs.com/2344/gfs_27938_2_70_mid.jpg[/img] [img width=300 height=200]http://ui30.gamefaqs.com/1565/gfs_27938_2_42.jpg[/img]
Now the thing about
X4 is it does having stretch marks from the growing pains of 16-bit moving onto 32-bit. But your own perception will decide what to make of the hilarious voice acting, the need to included anime cutscenes, and so on. I however loved every moment of this game. The silly voices were endearing. The fact that the double agent robot was named Double made me smirk. The music was great, the sprite work to die for and the detail incredible. There were levels where I'd just stop and look at all the little things -- like water trickling -- that just totally showed off the PlayStation's graphical abilities. Remember, we were supposed to believe that it didn't handle 2D games well.
Admittedly, I blew through most of the game pretty quickly. Then went back to look for E-Tanks and other upgrades. But really the bulk of my time was spent on the last stage. I can't tell you how many times I went through that boss-rush. I can only tell you that I can beat all eight robot masters in under ten minutes. Usually without taking a lick of damage. But the last Sigma battle is intense. He takes three (or technically four) forms that get progressively harder. It's not something you can luckily blast your way through. And as frustrated as I got trying and re-trying, it really made me realize how much I loved the game. I never wanted to stop playing in disgust. I just wanted to get good enough to see the end credits. Like so:
[img width=480 height=640]http://i.imgur.com/bKpAkl.jpg[/img]
Chrono Trigger
Dead Or AliveDuke Nukem: Total Meltdown
Mega Man X4Metal Gear Solid
Mr. DrillerMyst
Ridge RacerR-Type Delta
Silent Hill
I'm not sure which game I'll focus on next. Probably
Chrono Trigger,
Metal Gear Solid, or
Duke Nukem as those are the three I've spent time with already this Summer.
