
Whom I -would- recommend this game to:
Gamers of any age group looking to burn a couple hours on a weekend before Monday rolls around.
Whom I would -not- recommend this game to:
Anyone expecting something either 1) different, 2) involved, or even 3) time-consuming--for Mega Man X8 is none of these things.
However, that doesn't mean X8 isn't fun, nor that anyone who is a fan of the typical Mega Man formula should steer clear of the final installment of their favorite series (and please, no arguments about whether or not it IS "final"). Per the usual, X8 involves your favorite heroes X and Zero, plus the newly introduced Axl from X7, battling a set number of Mavericks who are causing trouble in their respective stages. Each Maverick boss, once again, has a particular weakness, and because of that, once you get your first power-up, the rest will likely fall like dominoes.
HOWEVER, X8 is, according to my experience with the series, one of the more difficult ones to break in. Introducing slight nuances of novelty, Capcom invented "Retry chips" instead of lives (which makes even less sense, in my opinion), and trust me, you'll come to hate them. I have nightmares about them, in fact. Even on Normal, you'll run out of retry chips allll too quickly, and very soon do levels and the tiny surprises that kill you become extremely aggravating. For that reason, know that no one judges you if you play through your first time on Easy (which will mercifully afford you infinite retry chips).
Besides these minor aggravations (okay, so they're actually major aggravations), the game is fun. Once you break it in and get your first power-up (good luck with that), the music's good, the voice acting is a DEFINITE improvement from X7 (speaking of nightmares...), the visuals are pleasing, and the controls are smooth. Learning from the many mistakes of X7, particularly in handling and maneuvering of the characters, X8 learns its lessons and reverts to a side-scroller once more. Thank goodness.
++My favorite part of the entire game?++
The partnership feel you get from playing two characters per level. While X7 first introduced the idea of taking two guys along instead of just one with many lives, X8 hammered out the glitches and added something new. L2 lets you switch off or call in your buddy if you get stuck or grabbed, and R2 provides you with a group attack timed session that both looks cool and helps a LOT. Unlike classics such as X4 when you pick a favorite and go the whole thing solo, X8 introduces situations in which tag-teaming is the only way to proceed through the level. It's much more fun, and, let's face it, you feel a lot cooler. PLUS, while you'll probably rely most heavily on your favorite character (X, in my case), you'll still find yourself using your second pick often, too--unlike other games that attempt to provide you with many useful characters but fall short (view Killer7).
Overall?
++Handling: 10/10++
DIRECTLY after playing X7, X8 played smoother than warm butter.
++Visuals: 9/10++
The cutscenes' 3D graphics looked blocky to me, and I'm required by law to dock points from anyone who manages to make X look unattractive from time-to-time; but, other than that, of course the scenes, characters and levels are incredibly colorful, original, and clearly the product of hard work.
++Replay value: 8/10++
If you've got the guts to play it through again on a harder level, you have my sincerest admiration. However, I think that if I were to blow another Friday afternoon on this one (and, really, it only takes about 5 hours to get through on Easy), I probably wouldn't do it on Normal. With all the frustration those stupid retry chips cause me, the open window beside my infuriating PS2 is just too tempting.
++Overall: 8/10++
All of that said, it's pretty good - but I've played better.Get more detail about
Mega Man X8.