Megaman 11 Review (PS4)

It's that time again.  Time to take up your arm cannon, blast some robots, and once again challenge the series that won't die.  This is Megaman 11.

Megaman 11 is the next entry in a series that is easily one of my favorite ever.  Some games are better than other, but they're all robot-blasting fun for the most part.  So, how does this one stack up?  Let's dive in and find out.

Megaman is back to whup some robot ass.

At its base, it's the same Megaman action you've played many times before.  A little shooting here, a little platforming there, you know the drill.  Pick a level, make your way through it, whup the ass of the boss and steal his weapon, then move on to whup somebody else's ass.  As mentioned before, it's largely the same, right down to the difficulty.

Some puzzles are so easy, they'll put Megaman to sleep...

...while others will leave him scared and confused.

You may have guessed, but this game is as relentless as an angry pit bull.  There are beatings and rape waiting for you on every level.  A lot of the challenge comes from sucker punches, like falling into spikes you can't see until you hit them or an enemy stunning you, causing you to get killed by a forest fire or fall into a bottomless pit.  The challenge is further boosted by extremely long levels, terrible checkpoints, and random fuckshit.  It's fair for the most part, though.

Beware of bullshit.

If you take a single hit, the fire will catch up and instantly kill you.

The bosses, on the other hands, are easy by comparison.  You can beat them if you have two or three lives when you meet them (one to get slaughtered while you learn their pattern and another to hand their ass to them).  They're all perfectly beatable as your first pick, even if their levels aren't.

There are eight new asses to kick here.

The game's main gimmick is the new twin gear system, which enables you to briefly boost your speed (by slowing everything else down) or attack power.  This can be useful in tricky situations (like those stone grinder puzzles in Block Man's level).  This system can even affect your special weapon, changing how they shoot.  You can use it from the onset, when you want, as often as the cooldown period will let you.

If Dr. Light's explanation of the Double Gear system doesn't cut it for you...

...you can try it out for yourself in a tutorial.

If you're having trouble, you can always stop off at Dr. Light's Lab to give yourself an extra boost.  You can buy lives, E tanks, parts, and more.  The more hardcore players will probably laugh at such a thing, but newcomers and scrubs alike will be happy it's there.

The shop has useful items for those who are struggling.

Well, onto the little stuff.  The graphics are quite flashy.  It seems to be an update of Megaman 8's graphics, with crisp and cute look throughout.  There are big, flashy explosions that make it seem like Michael Bay had a hand in making this game.  Megaman's appearance (not just his color) changes when using different weapons.  You can also stun enemies with shields, leading to a mildly funny stun animation.  

Special weapons give Megaman the ability to strut down the catwalk as well as new powers.

Even enemies with shields aren't safe from a good ol' charged shot.

The music is among the weakest in the entire Megaman franchise.  In particular, the boss theme blows.  The music isn't terrible or bad compared to other games.  It just isn't up to Megaman standards.  It's still a head-rocking good time, just not as memorable or MP3-worthy as other Megaman soundtracks.  On another note, Megaman voice is irritating when he gets killed.  Seriously, he sounds like Edward Elric having an orgasm.  Just...ugh!

Other stuff includes a challenge mode and a gallery.  Most of the challenges involve going through the main level under differing circumstances.  The gallery is basically an enemy encyclopedia, allowing you to view the enemies in all their cuteness without taking an ass-whuppin'.  It also lets you view the bosses and listen to they lines they spout.  It's all...cute.  Also, it's small, but you now have the ability to leave any level at anytime, even if you haven't beaten the boss.  You won't lose any bolts you've collected or flush lives down the toilet when you want to leave, so feel free quit away.

The Gallery offers a safe look at the enemies, as well as a light description.

Challenges offer new ways to tackle the levels, among other things.

Megaman 11 is neat addition to the Megaman lineup.  It's the same shooting and platforming you know and love, with more flash.  I did like the long levels, but the checkpointing could have been better.  The Double Gear system adds to the formula without changing it.  The music may not be up to par with the rest of the series, but it's still good in it's own right.

Games I Shamelessly Admit I Like

Some games are bad.  Really bad.  Whether its flawed execution, bad design, bad programming, a stupid concept, or something else, some games are a cut below the rest.

Yet there are some bad games that people personally like.  Games deep down inside you know suck.  Every gamer has at least a few of these on their shelve.  These a my top 5 bad games that I enjoy.

1.  Rumble Roses (PS2)

When you think of pro wrestling, big musclemen usually come to mind.  Rumble Roses goes the opposite direction, utilizing a roster of smoking hot women instead.  The roster is pretty small, topping out at 11, but each character has face (good guy) and heel (bad guy) versions that you can switch between by making vows, then breaking them to turn heel or keeping them to turn face.  The game has some neat character themes, though some of the entrances are ridiculous.  The game looks good and the women are genuinely hot.  The gameplay resembles a typical wrestling game, but more barebones.  Don't expect a Create-A-Wrestling mode or anything cool like that.  As a whole, the gameplay is bland and the story is stupid, but it's graphics that make a game like this work.  This one gets passing grades on that front.

2.  Mega Man X6 (PS1)

From the first time I played Blizzard Wolfang's stage, I knew this was a bad game.  Still, I stuck with it for no other reason than that I was a Megaman fan and this was a Megaman game.  While the game never really got good, per se, I did gleam a few morsels of enjoyment from it.  The music is good, the graphics aren't terrible, and the gameplay is intense, as is usually the case with Mega Man games.  Some piss poor design choices, the Nightmare system, and extremely high levels of straight-up bullshit place this one solidly at the bottom of the X series (though that could change once I play X7).

3.  Dead Or Alive Xtreme Volleyball 2 (XB360)

The girls of Dead Or Alive strip down into swimsuits and play a number of games, including volleyball.  Honestly, this game is pretty shitty because the controls are trash.  How bad are they?  Cripplingly bad, especially when playing volleyball.  That's right.  It's a volleyball game where the volleyball is the worst part.  So what's good?  The women in swimsuits, duh.  If you want to drool over the women of DOA and can't grab a copy of DOAX3, this is your game.

4.  Atelier Totori (PS3)

Not a bad game.  A pretty good game in fact.  It's an RPG with a strong time management mechanic.  You take the role of a cute little girl as she travels around a cute little world with her cute little friends, killing cute little monsters while listening to cute little music.  The problem is that sometimes Totori is too girly, sometimes to the point where I say to myself, "I think I'm too old to be playing this game."  It's just an awkward feeling.  But as mentioned before, the game is good.  Plus, Melvia and Ceci are hot.

5.  NBA 2K3 (PS2 & Gamecube)

Here's a real throwback.  This game is 17 years old.  Players constantly miss layup and dunks, sometimes missing as many as five in row.  That is total crap because that would never happen in a real game.  Seriously, just imagine watching a basketball game and watching LeBron James miss five straight dunks in a single game.  How would that look?  Also, there are some AI glitches that happen regularly, like the opposing team inbounding the ball to their point guard, who then decides not to move.  It'll do that for an entire quarter.  It's embarrassing.  Then, sometimes the game will just crash, making this the only PS2/Gamecube (I have both versions) game I've ever played to do this.  Despite all the problems, the game can be fun when it works.  Also, the graphics held up well, with the players and courts still look good.  Against all logic, this is the only basketball game I play on a regular basis.  I've never played NBA 2K19 (2K13 is the most recent one I've played), but I'm still playing 2K3 on the Wii (ah, backwards compatibility) and PS2.  That has to count for something.

And those are five bad games I have a soft spot for.  Four of the five are undeniably bad, but have a level of charm to them.  As mentioned before, Atelier Totori isn't a bad game.  It just makes me feel weird.  So, you could say it's really four bad games and one that makes me feel weird.  Agree?  Disagree?  What are five pieces of crap that you like regardless?  Feel free to comment and have your voice heard.