I remember when I first played Mega Man 9, having nostalgia trips, and raging every time I fell into a spike pit. It was fun, hard, and to this day, I still haven’t beaten it. When I first heard the news of Mega Man 10, I was extatic to say the least.

Mega Man 10 is virtually the same in gameplay as its predecessor. The game is a classic Mega Man romp, downgraded so Mega Man is without his sliding and charge ability. New to this game is Proto Man, who comes with all the bells and whistles; such as his shield, the ability to slide, and the charge shot. The game also includes something the Mega Man series could have used since Mega Man II: an easy mode.

Easy mode does in fact make the game rather easy. I normally suck at most games, but even I found easy mode too easy. Not that it’s a bad thing, at least from my perspective. Too many times have I died, because I didn’t time Mega Man’s jump just right, or been knocked into a pit by a badly placed enemy. There are many needless annoyances in Mega Man games, and Easy Mode helps curve a lot of those, especially for beginners.

Despite being a fun and still rather challenging game, I wonder if some aspects weren’t phoned in. The soundtrack to Mega Man 9 is so catchy, I had to import the soundtrack to listen to the Midi-beats on the go. I can’t think of one; that’s right, one song that stood out at me.

Level designs are still either overly plain, or overly done. The really cool levels always had parts in them that weren’t so much hard, as they were annoying. I don’t want to cross over a river of spikes on a teeter-totter, while this weird axe guy tries to knock me over. This isn’t fun, this is torture.

I wish robot masters didn’t always have to follow a pattern. Not every game needs a fire based robot master, or an ice based one. Or for that matter, an explosives based one. Fighting Nitro Man was like fighting Turbo Man. And the weapon he gives you? It’s almost exactly the same as Metal Man’s. Not to say all originality is gone. Sheep Man and Strike Man almost make up for a rather lackluster Robot Masters roster. Almost.

The Awesome

-Hard, hard, and did I mention, hard?

-Nostalgiaphiles rejoice: Plays like a third generation game

-Easy Mode, for those of us who suck (i.e. me)

-2 playable characters adds a little variety

-Sheep Man

The Not So Awesome

-Disapointing Soundtrack

-Lackluster Level design

-Re-Hashed Robot Masters and Weapons

Verdict

Is this game a step backwards? No, but it’s not a step forward either. Sure, the feeling of glee you had when you played Mega Man 9 won’t be there, but Mega Man 10 is still Mega Man, and how can you not have fun playing Mega Man?

Score: 7/10