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      Screens: Mega Man Starforce: Dragon

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Text Box:     Mega Man Starforce:  Dragon (DS)   In recent years, the once cherished Mega Man franchise has sadly turned into an unregarded “game a minute” franchise. These days, due to the fact that there are just so many Mega Man games on the market, the series has lost its value and respect in a lot of ways. However, does this iteration of the Mega Man game release cluster redeem itself for the sake of the series? Read on to find out.  Mega Man Starforce: Dragon is one of three recent releases of a group of Mega Man games all with different subtitles, namely Leo, Pegasus, and Dragon. Each game’s core may be the same, but each one manipulates the power of a different element. Pegasus brings the power of ice, Leo the power of fire, and Dragon the power of the earth. Each game version offers a unique powered-up transformation of Mega Man based on the abovementioned elemental power.   The aim of the game is to progress through two stories in two separate co-existing worlds – the real world, and the virtual world, known as the Wave World. Getting further along in the story of the real world opens up pathways in the Wave World, making it a well thought up addition to just straight out battling. This co-existent story line also really works quite well, as the game has been developed with the creative prowess that was responsible for the popular Mega Man Battle Network series.  The battling takes place against cyber enemies that you need the power of your element to defeat. The battles feature an immersive third person view as you fight your enemies on a 3x5 battle grid.  As the game stays true to its roots, Battle Cards feature a prominent role in the outcome of the game’s various encounters, often making the difference to success in the game. The cards also have their own elemental attributes, so when the same types are used together this can result in consecutive attacking, and when used to your advantage, can completely change the outcome of a battle.  The game also utilises the power of Nintendo WiFi, and thankfully uses it to its full in-game capability. Of course you can verse your friends (up to six at any one time), but you can also exchange battle cards, receive stat boosts and even take advantage of other special WiFi only benefits. You can also show off your personal page where all your progress and achievements in the game are listed.  The abovementioned positives are only then tarnished by the game’s major downfall: text. By text, I mean too much of it. The start of the game, which introduces the story, is extremely long, and will almost put you off continuing. But if you stick with it, you will discover the game’s true appeal.  The graphics are not too bad for a DS game, polygons being evident, but that is almost a given when it comes to the DS’ hardware capabilities.  There are also some nice tunes when it comes to the sound department, being a Capcom developed game it comes usually without saying.  To compare the game to a position on the cricket field, the game would best be described as an all rounder. It is there in the graphics department, story department, gameplay area, and also is pleasant to the ears. It doesn’t do anything fabulously well, but at the same time doesn’t do anything horrible, so doesn’t have a shortfall as such. (except for the large amounts of reading) A definite step in the right direction for the franchise, however if Capcom want to keep the series alive in the future, it needs to wait a while before we see more of Mega Man.  By Matthew Williams  

Text Box:     Graphics: B Polygon’s are evident, but by no means an ugly game.   Sound: B Pleasant scores, cool battle theme music. Futuristic.   Gameplay: B+ A worthy addition to the franchise, and may even bring back some veterans of the series.   Overall: B+   A definite step in the right direction for the series, and a solid, all-round performer. What have you got to say? Say it in the forum, and get feedback direct from the reviewer!    
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