Main Review:

Key Facts:

Publisher/Developer: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Everyone for Violence
Number of Players: 1
Available For: Gamecube

Story

MegaMan and Battle Network pal, Lan, are in trouble again. It?s only been a month since the evilWWW terrorist?s attempts to hijack an important military satellite was shut down. And, yet, Cyberspace is about to be hit by an even more resilient, never-seen-before-now virus, code-named ?Zero?. What is this new strain of virus that dares attack? Who is at the root of this new evil? It?s up to you, Lan and Mega Man to terminate this seemingly impermeable and decidedly relentless new enemy! (Taken from official website.)

Gameplay - 8/10

The gameplay is an interesting hybrid of the original Mega Man series and the recent GBA series, Battle Network. I?ll try to explain exactly how it all works. First, so you know, the whole game takes place in a 2D manner. Much like the classic platform/action games of yesteryear, your goal in the main levels is to get from point A to point B, defeating any enemies in your way, to eventually reach the level boss, finally, defeat the boss. Lather, rinse, repeat. New to the series are the RPG elements of the Battle Network franchise. To aid you in overcoming your enemies, you use Battle Chips, each having a different attack or purpose. Any time you defeat an enemy efficiently you receive their battle chip, and add it to your collection. You can also create Program Advances by selecting certain chips in a specified sequence, thereby giving you access to a much larger and more powerful attack. There are also several upgrades for Mega Man.EXE to collect. If the gameplay sounds simplistic, that?s because it is! It?s a blessing to those who enjoyed the original Mega Man or Mega Man X series. However, don?t fool yourself by thinking simple means easy. Much like the originals, this can be anything but easy. Generally I?d welcome difficulty with open arms; however, dying at the boss?s hand countless times can be irritating. The problem doesn?t lie in its difficulty per se, but rather the fact that you?ll need numerous powerful chips to win, and the way you receive those is entirely luck based. That?s the biggest fault in a game with otherwise great gameplay.

Graphics - 8/10

The graphics are quite smooth, many nice graphical effects. The game uses the cel-shading technique, which is usually a love or hate thing. However, reviews aren?t about opinions. They did the cel-shading fairly well, and I find it fits the game well. The backgrounds are generally good, however, they do get repetitive and boring.

Sound - 7/10

The sound is basically your standard Japanese fair. Fitting with the Mega Man Battle Network line, the music is a rock-techno that deserves points for being addicting. The sound isn?t really spectacular, but no complaints. And the voice acting, pretty much the typical Anime voice acting, in Japanese I might add. In my opinion, the voice acting is really annoying. All in all, the sound gets the job done.

Longevity

The levels are fairly short in general, but some levels and most of the bosses, are insanely difficult. Depending on your skill (and luck) it may take a while to complete. I?d say 10-15 hours for most people. Though there?s no real benefit, there are many upgrades and chips to collect. And you can fight any bosses you?ve already beat before, to gain chips and set records for speed and efficiency.

Appropriateness

- Violence - 8/10

As all Mega Man games before it, the game revolves around jumping from platform to platform and shooting basically everything in sight. However, you don?t kill anything other then robots, and even then, it?s all computer data. The way you dispose of your enemies isn?t realistic either. Pretty tame as far as violence is concerned.

- Language ? 9/10

Lan says ?jerk? a couple of times, and that?s it as far as I can remember.

- Adult Content - 10/10

Nothing.

- Occult/Supernatural - 10/10

There?s a ?data graveyard?, but I wouldn?t consider that anything to worry about.

Overall (not an average)- 9/10

All in all, I rather liked Network Transmission, being a throwback to old-school gaming, and a nice change of pace from modern gaming. Compared to most games on the market, the morality isn\'t much to fret about. It\'s not the best game ever, but I\'d recommend giving it a shot. Overall, 9/10 to Capcom\'s most recent Gamecube endeavor.