Capcom prepares for more DS Mega Man antics
Mega Man ZX Advent: the sequel to a game we've yet to receive
To listen to Capcom big up its little blue robotic hero Mega Man (or Rockman as he's known in Japan), you'd think he was the next Lara Croft or something. Actually, he's more like the last but one Tomb Raider, because, we're assured, during the past 20 years, more than 26 million Mega Man games have been sold.
The rub, of course, is that those 26 million sales have been spread over a hundred-ish Mega Man releases, and that 25 million of those games were bought by Mega Man's Mum (He means 'loyal Japanese fans' – Ed).
Meanwhile, in Europe we're still waiting for the release of the first proper DS Mega Man game, Mega Man ZX (as all good fanboys know, Mega Man Battle Network 5: Double Team didn't count because it was a GBA remake).
Anyhow, Capcom's now getting all hot and bothered over the announcement of the 101st-ish Mega Man game – Mega Man ZX Advent, the sequel to the game we won't be able to play until June.
At least there's a clean slate when it comes to the game's two heroes, Grey, a 14-year-old male who's a failed specimen from a cryogenic sleep experiment, and Ashe, a 15-year-old female hunter of ruins.
The pair's separate, intertwining adventures – you can switch between them at any point – amid a chaotic war between humans and robots will see them fighting feared boss characters like Pandora and Prometheus, as well as other elemental and animalistic bad guys such as the gazelle-like Deeburn BuckFire and the icy Chronoforce the Tridenroid.
As you'd expect from Mega Man, the action is strictly of the 2D action variety. You'll choose a mission and then head off to wander around until you find the correct area and then take down its incumbent boss.
Using the game's dynamic Biometal system – a character toggling touchscreen affair, which includes boss emulation powers – you'll be able to use the abilities gained when you defeat bosses to change into new forms and progress further. Indeed, the different ways you defeat the bosses will change your rewards. Hitting their Biometal weak spots will destroy them more quickly but result in a lower rank, as well as reducing the quality of Biometal you'll receive.
Two-player co-op and versus modes are supported with two copies of the game, while a downloadable mini-game can be shared with one cart.
Mega Man ZX Advent will be released sometime in late 2007, always assuming Capcom's got around to releasing Mega Man ZX in the meantime.
