G4TV

Since computers and machinery are intrinsically linked with numerical values, configuration and arrangement, and blowing things up, Capcom’s hard-working robots Mega Man and Zero seem fairly well-suited to statistic-heavy RPGs. And with a big, evil robot that plans to rebel and take over the world, the storyline is perfect for a few dozen hours of gameplay and a few thousand random turn-based fights. As X-Play takes command of this group of clockwork freedom fighters, we’ll tell you if Mega Man X: Command Mission can command your attention past its slick graphic flair.

Commanded to Crush

Command Mission is really structured like a traditional RPG, but it’s taken one or two small steps toward a more progressive, streamlined future. During fights with hostile hardware -- and believe us, there’s no shortage of fights -- the actions you’ll use most often are accessible with single button presses. You don’t have to select ‘fight’ from a menu every time you want to use a basic attack or sub weapon. Instead, you tap a button to launch a missile and slap another to cut loose with your main weapon. Cutting out this intermediate step helps you feel like you’re actually taking part in attacking the enemy and makes the battles feel ever-so-slightly livelier.  You can’t avoid choosing things from a list forever, though. You’ll still need to pick and choose some of your options as you would in any other RPG.

Every time their turn comes around, the colorful and quite vocal members of your robo-destruction gets their chance to do their thing, and passively accumulate weapon energy. Once it hits a certain level, this energy can be unleashed with an action trigger. Every RPG needs its strangely named systems, after all. The name actually makes good sense in this case, since these powerful techniques require a bit of action on your part to succeed and you press a trigger (on the GameCube controller, anyway) to activate them. You’ll input directional commands, twirl sticks, match-up slots, and even play a quick hand of poker to determine just how much mechanical butt is about to be kicked -- or pampered, in the case of nurse-bot Cinnamon’s healing hearts of robo-love.

The final strike is the last of the techniques. It’s not quite as involved as the individual moves, but it can be pretty fun to do. When one of your characters takes out all but a tiny chunk of an enemy’s remaining energy, mashing the heck out of the buttons lets the entire team lay into them with everything they’ve got. The resulting flurry of hits and explosions is extreme overkill in a lot of cases, but it’s great for polishing off gigantic rhinoceros robots or wiping out several gimpy enemies in one desperate flurry of pyrotechnics.

Robotic Pacing

Like most traditional RPGs, everyone patiently waits their turn, steps up to the plate to deliver some damage, and gets back in line. Some attacks are so slow moving you’ll wonder how they could chase down a tit mouse, much less a high-powered combat robot with jet-thrusters. Luckily there are enough strategic options to consider, like customizing, counter attacks, item thieving, and the difference between armor and shield ratings, to justify your spending some time on your decisions. But don’t expect the pace to pick up outside of battle. The gears in Command Mission actually turn kind of slowly overall.

Most areas in the game are quite large, and are painfully lacking in shortcuts. Though robots of the future have completely eliminated low-tech stairs, they seem to actually prefer ramps over elevators. Maybe they don’t like to see other machines working too hard? Most areas of good guy HQ are separated by long, boring corridors of dead space, making it a real chore to walk around the base and talk to people. Other than purchasing supplies from shops, there’s rarely any reward for offline chat anyway.

Hostile territory is another matter. The areas are quite large, but you’re frequently drug into battle by random enemies. Even if you plan to run, you still have to wait for a separate battle screen to load where all the combatants meet up on the field. Again, it’s standard stuff for this kind of game. If you’ve learned to get over other ridiculous aspects of RPGs, this won’t seem so far-fetched.

Technical Support

It’s a capably constructed RPG, to be sure, but it’s hard to explicitly recommend Mega Man X: Command Mission to anyone who isn’t already a fan of Mega Man or RPGs.  If you’re a little bit of both, chances are you’ll dig it immensely. But in the final computation, it’s revealed that some aspects of the game are long past their prime.