Talk about scoring a movie license. The Wachowski brothers' ambitious vision of the Matrix storyline extended beyond the constraints of a movie trilogy, and in addition to contracting several animated shorts (The Animatrix) to add to the saga, they also asked for some video games. Shiny Entertainment landed the herculean task of developing their first game idea: Enter the Matrix, released simultaneously with the theatrical release of The Matrix Reloaded.

As any Matrix fan should know, the Matrix's appeal revolves around two key themes: philosophical storytelling and bare-knuckled action. Enter the Matrix retains these ideas - while the storyline included in the game may not be as thought-provoking as the movies', it's an original plot, developed to run parallel to Reloaded's. And in playing EtM, it's clearly evident that the focal point of the gameplay is to, quite simply, kick ass with a combination of martial artistry and gunslinging.

The story of EtM begins as a quest to retrieve a disk left in the Matrix by the crew of the Osiris, a fallen rebel ship (the story behind this is told in the Animatrix short "The Final Flight of the Osiris"). Once the disk is found, the information is relayed to the other rebel captains (as portrayed in Reloaded) that the machines are digging towards Zion with a massive army of sentinels. From there, Enter the Matrix takes two roles - explaining things that happen in Reloaded, and inventing new story events of its own. The two main (and playable) characters of EtM - Niobe and Ghost - are led around to many areas shown in the film, some by the film's accord and some by their own. They both meet the Keymaker, the Merovingian, Persephone, and the Oracle (who enlightens them with some very interesting information). The game's story concludes at roughly the same point as Reloaded, in just as much of a cliffhanger, albeit in a different situation. While some of EtM's story is told with in-game cutscenes and dialogue, a considerable portion is told in cinematic cutscenes (an hour of extra footage was filmed during the making of Reloaded explicitly for use in the video game), which can be re-watched again and again. To put it simply, any Matrix fan owes it to himself to unlock the story of Enter the Matrix.

Whereas the storyline is a must-see, the gameplay aspect of the game is more of a mixed bag. There are three types of levels in the game: third-person kung-fu and shooting (the majority of the game), driving a vehicle, and rail-shooting levels on a driven vehicle. Niobe and Ghost, as unplugged rebels and powerful hackers of the Matrix, have an edge on people in the Matrix in two ways: not only are they more skilled in martial arts and gunplay (for which there are dozens of weapons ranging from pistols to machine guns to grenades), but they also have the ability to Focus. When a player focuses, the game slows down, and the player is capable of achieving more (and more powerful) fighting moves - whereas non-focused combat might consist of kicking, punching, and knocking someone off his feet, focused combat could allow you to jump straight into the air and kick at two enemies in two different directions at once. Focus also allows you to run up walls to a limited extent. A player can use Focus as long as the Focus meter shown on screen lasts - using focus depletes the meter, and not using focus slowly refills it. Similarly, the health meter is slowly regenerated over time when not in the midst of combat. The fighting overall is fun and simple to control (revolving mostly around two or three buttons and the directional stick), and the enemy AI is at most times competent, but a downfall of the third-person levels is their usually uninspired level design. A player may all too often find himself wandering aimlessly around a labyrinthian room looking for the proper exit.

The driving levels invoke similarly mixed feelings. The actual act of driving is made more interesting than most driving games by the fact that the vehicle is going so incredibly fast - however, the level design is in some cases drab and in others downright confusing. The final levels of the game will put you inside the Logos, Niobe and Ghost's ship, and attempting to control it is barely possible. Shooting from vehicles is much more fun, as it takes away the challenging task of steering your way through obstacles at high speeds and instead simply asks you to destroy anything that happens to be in the way. As particularly exemplified in the driving levels, Niobe and Ghost's levels in the game are usually different from one another (Niobe does the driving, whereas Ghost is almost always relegated to the shooting). Their third-person stages are often different as well, taking place in different sections of the same general area.

The graphics of Enter the Matrix are simultaneously impressive and not. Many aspects are well done - character models are well-detailed, and when a character talks, his mouth moves very well with the dialogue. However, the overall appearance of the game looks like something from a few years ago. It's designed well, but provokes the feeling that it could have been done better. Sound effects are very nicely executed, and the voices from the game are taken directly (when applicable) from the movie cast. Music is also taken directly from the movies, so all the soundtracks are both fitting to the situation and pleasing to the ear - except in rare instances where the ambient sound engine goes berserk, and the music continually loops a dramatic score even when nothing is going on.

All the missions in the game can be replayed, though there's no motivation to do so in the majority of instances. However, there is another little segment of the game which will hold a player's attention a bit longer: Hacking. The Hacking feature of Enter the Matrix places you in front of a DOS-style terminal with scant direction, and from this you are able to unlock a short text adventure-style game as well as some nice extras. Though the "story" of Hacking is by no means long, there are commands that can be used here to play FMV cutscenes from the game's storyline, and view data files on things like guns, cars, and characters from the game. Finishing the "story" also unlocks a (very limited) multiplayer fighting mode. There are cheats for the game for things like infinite health and infinite focus - these are entered through the Hacking interface. And while many believe that the rabbit hole ends at multiplayer, there are some who hold fast to the idea that we have not yet seen all that Hacking has to offer...

Enter the Matrix is conceptually great, and it had the capacity to be as such. However, there are enough flaws in the game (dull atmospheres, awkward control moments, a flawed saving system, even occasional glitches) to bring it down to mediocre. The story is good, as is the fighting, and these are the key points of the game. But the rest could likely have been done better if Shiny hadn't rushed the game out the door to coincide with the release of Reloaded. If you're a fan of the Matrix and/or of slow-motion kung-fu, pick it up; but otherwise, you'd probably be better off exercising some caution with this game.

Progress: Complete

The tactical RPG genre is regarded by many as the pinnacle of video games, dwarfing other games in sheer complexity. TRPGs in general are difficult to grasp, but possibly as a result, extremely satisfying to master. When Square made Final Fantasy Tactics, it was a great merging of two worlds - Final Fantasy and tactical RPGs. This magic would not be replicated until six years later, with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

To say that FFTA is a port, remake, or even sequel would be foolishness. It is an entirely new game of its own, with a brand new (if lackluster) story and massively different gameplay mechanics.

The story of FFTA is rather juvenile - in a nutshell, the main character (Marche) and two friends (Mewt and Ritz) come upon a magic book which, unbeknownst to them, grants wishes; the introverted Mewt wishes for a dream world with nothing but happiness for him; and everyone is taken to this world. Marche becomes the head of a clan as he tries to figure out how he got to this strange place, and the majority of the game is spent trying to return to reality by destroying the dream world. As the game progress, the story is told in an increasingly interesting way, but the basic plot remains pretty hokey.

Fortunately, though, a lack of epic story potential is made up for with gameplay systems that could probably be described as "FFT on crack." First of all, FFTA isn't nearly as story-oriented as FFT. The game flows through missions, accepted in a town's pub; some missions require the dispatch of a party member for a length of time, some require a battle to be won by the party itself. Unlike traditional game progression wherein side-quests are an interruption to the main story, in FFTA, a story-progressing mission is an exception. Of the game's 300 missions, only 24 are in the actual storyline. In a related difference to FFT (and just about everything else), in an odd twist, locations are unlocked by mission progress - and the decision of where to place a location, be it town, forest, mountain, cave, et cetera, is in the hands of the player. Yes: the game's overworld map is customizable.

Random battles in FFTA aren't exactly random: they're wholly avoidable. These battles are represented by roaming clans on the overworld map, which appear at a random location at a random time, then vanish after seven days of moving around. Running into these clans initiates a battle, but the roundabout map allows for plenty of opportunities for escape (unless you're surrounded by multiple clans). Battles themselves are similar to FFT's: characters take turns based on speed, can move across the battlefield terrain, can act based on their abilities, and battle progresses until a goal is met or missed. An unusual addition, though, is Law - every day has a set law arrangement (more laws are active simultaneously depending upon game progress, from one at a time in the beginning to three at a time in the end), and acting against these laws (which outlaw things such as using certain weapon- or magic-types) earns you penalties, even prison time. Expendable items known as Law Cards can set or anull laws when used in battle.

Perhaps the biggest draw of FFTA's core gameplay is in the job and ability set. FFT had one race and 20 job classes (which were taken largely from Final Fantasy V); FFTA, in comparison, has five races (human, moogle, bangaa, nu mou, viera) and 34 job classes - some crossing multiple races, but most restricted to one. FFTA's jobs are mostly different from FFT's, and many present welcome and fun new sets of interesting abilities. Customizable abilities remain mostly the same, with a main ability set for a job class, optional second set from a previously-learned class, a reaction ability for coming under attack, and a support ability for passive empowerment. There are also selectable combo abilities which, when learned, can be executed by multiple characters within attack range when one of them uses the Combo skill. Combos deplete JP, which are not Job, but Judge points in FFTA (summoning totema - unique summons affiliated with each race, summonable regardless of class - also uses JP). Which leads into perhaps the most aggravating difference between the two games: contrary to FFT's system of learning abilities for a job class based on Job Points (attained from successful actions, just like experience points) from using that class, FFTA's class abilities are learned by equipping certain weapons and earning ability points (which are doled out only at the end of a battle, and are independent of the actions taken in said battle). Not only does this make earning the points required to learn abilities more time-consuming, but the matter is further complicated by the rarity of many ability-teaching items.

Graphically, FFTA is pretty good for a portable screen (some effects in particular look wonderful even when enlarged with a Game Boy Player). A large annoyance in a related department, though, is that unlike the original FFT, FFTA's battlefields cannot be rotated - and it's not uncommon for something (a location or even a character) to become hidden entirely behind something in front of it. FFTA is musically pleasing despite handheld sound limitations, with a number of addictive tunes, and the sound effects (even some of the death cries) are well-executed.

Replay value is big in FFTA. Not only do races, job classes, ability sets, and (tons of) items make for a wide array of customizability, but there are also lots of things to do. As mentioned earlier, the game has a total of 300 missions (many of which can be replayed). There are five secret characters to be earned after beating the game. Each location in the game can be "freed" to become "Clan Turf" (which unfortunately comes under near constant attack). And the basic game, just playing through, could easily last around 50 hours. Some estimate that FFTA has up to 300 hours hiding within it, just waiting to be exploited - the game is far from over after its "ending."

FFTA has a lot of new ideas: some of them hit (clan wars, new classes, new abilities, extended game length), and some missed (clan turf, law, ability learning system, story). It would be difficult to claim that FFTA can measure up to the original Final Fantasy Tactics, but nonetheless, it is a good and innovative game. If you're a fan of FFT, or any tactical RPGs, you should play FFTA.

Progress: Complete

Final Fantasy IV (II on the Super NES) is somewhat heralded for its innovation, and its American successor Final Fantasy VI (III on SNES) is frequently praised for its variety and polish. But between them - and not released in North America until the Playstation compilation Final Fantasy Anthology - is a game which not only bridges the gap between them, but also stands on its own as a memorable RPG.

Final Fantasy V is an evolution of a game in and of itself. It begins, in almost every way, leaving much to be desired - but by endgame, it's more than made up for itself. So if you decide to play FFV, don't get discouraged early on; it gets much, much better.

Final Fantasy V was the last Final Fantasy whose story revolved around elemental crystals. Its predecessor had a total of 17 crystals by the game's end; but FFV has only four, consistent throughout the game despite major changes along the way. It begins with Lenna, the princess of Tycoon, going to search for her father (who flew off with his dragon to find the cause of a sudden stop in the wind). The game's main character, Butz, comes upon Lenna in the wild and beats up some goblins to save her. Nearby, a meteor has fallen, and inside is an old man with amnesia; then the three travellers go forward to try to find King Tycoon, and are ambushed - by pirates. The story is somewhere between ridiculous and stupid in the beginning, and takes a while to improve; but through a series of interesting plot twists, earth-shattering changes, and surprisingly deep character developments, becomes rather enjoyable. In the end it all comes together, and is presented beautifully.

Perhaps unfortunately, FFV's gameplay follows the same pattern as its story. To begin with, you have a small party (four characters, never more, sometimes less; a fifth character later on, but only to replace one of the others which dies), and their abilities are limited to attacking, defending, and using items. Eventually, party members will be able to change jobs (these are what inspired the job classes of Final Fantasy Tactics: Black Mage, Time Mage, Dragoon, Samurai, Ninja, et cetera) - but these jobs are earned gradually through the story, so you can't become whatever you want right off the bat. The ability system is designed so that a character can use his main job's abilities in addition to one previously-earned subset of skills, but the job points required to earn these abilities make them impractical within the scope of most of the game. However, this system comes into its own as the game progresses; earning abilities becomes easier with more job points earned from battles, and the available job classes become more enticing. It's hard to see from the beginning, but there's quite a lot of variety in what your party can eventually do, especially with summons and some magic spells earnable through sidequests. Be warned, though - this game can get difficult, quite so at that.

The vicious pattern repeats itself even in music. While the sound effects are consistently passable, the soundtrack early on can make the game seem like a flaky cartoon. However, a number of impressive tracks later on enhance the overall presentation greatly. Graphically, FFV lies perfectly between its prequel and sequel - the characters and environments are small as in FFIV, but more detailed, and the environment itself is often active (with churning gears and machinery, something which FFVI excelled at).

If you enjoy the game, FFV has a lot of replay to offer. In typical Final Fantasy fashion there are a slew of optional sidequests, most of them very rewarding (powerful items, powerful spells, even some job classes). Through sidequests, and through mastering job classes (it's possible, though grueling, to master every single job), the gameplay experience can really be as short or as long as you want it to be after the game's basic 20-30 hour length.

Unfortunately, it's hard to give Final Fantasy V an excellent score because of its rough beginning (and miscellaneous rough spots along the way). But this initial awkwardness is rectified as the game goes on with massive improvements. Don't give up - wait and see.

Progress: Complete

Final Fantasy IV (as it was known on Super Famicom, but released as Final Fantasy II on the American Super NES, then eventually title-corrected in 1997 is regarded by some as one of the fathers of the modern Final Fantasy. While much of it was built on top of establishments from the previous Final Fantasies, it introduced some concepts which were to set the stage for games to come.

Time marches on, and FFIV is now little more than a primitive relic of bygone days. But there are some who still swear by it. Through rough plot points, through translation gaffes, and through an antiquated presentation, there are still some things in FFIV worth playing.

One of the greatest killing points of Final Fantasy IV is the story. The plot is fairly primitive; the evil Golbez has taken control of the castle town of Baron, and is using Baron's forces to collect the four elemental crystals. At first, you have to stop him - but as the game progresses some ridiculous plot twists occur, eventually leading to a total of 17 crystals, two moons, a Big Whale, and coincidental family relations that put Star Wars to shame. Though there are one or two moments of competent writing, if there was one word to describe FFIV's story, it would be 'cheese'. It also has a lot of mistranslations - but this tends to enhance the experience through humor more than it hurts.

If you were looking for a classic game experience, you've got it. A handful of special abilities aside, combat revolves around the basic formulae of physical attacks and magic, along with equipment both purchased in towns and found in dungeons. There is, of course, the ATB (Active Time Battle) system - today's alternative to turn-based fighting - which, for the time, was brand new; but this aside, there's nothing but straightforward, traditional, linear gameplay.

FFIV looks like an old NES game. The graphics (both in resolution and color) are horrible, sometimes even disgusting. The sound is along similar lines, more like squeaks and bleeps than sound effects. The only redeeming factor of the game's presentation is that some of the music has a nostalgic feel.

Even with a basic game length of around 15-20 hours, FFIV has little replay to offer. There are some rare items to be earned by fighting monsters over and over again for a random chance at them, there are a scant few sidequests, and you could just keep leveling up, if you really wanted to - but there isn't much else here.

Certainly, Final Fantasy IV is far from great, even far from good. However, despite all its problems, there is one thing that makes the game worth it (two if you count funny mistranslations): its simple gameplay. There's no real reason to go out of your way to play it, but the simplistic attack/magic battle system at least is fun, and there are just enough special things (like summons and short sidequests) to keep it afloat if you're motivated to play.

Progress: Complete

Released early in the Game Boy Advance's life, Golden Sun filled a void at the time for handheld Role-Playing Games. RPG fans were so desperate for satisfaction, they were able to put aside the cliched, cut-short story and bare-bones battle system, enjoy what GS had to offer, and make it a huge success.

Golden Sun puts you in control of four kids with the power of Psynergy, a rare and arcane power essentially equitable to magic. Of course, these kids must master their control over the elements to save the world from a shadowy force that threatens to destroy the world.

Golden Sun's story is fairly unremarkable. A flashback introduction shows the town of Vale, where the main character Isaac lives, under attack by a rogue boulder. The town's elite psynergists try to hold it back and save the town, but to no avail; in the aftermath, Isaac's father, and his friend Jenna's family, are lost. Years later, Ivan goes on an investigative quest into a mountain shrine, and because of some less than noble intervention, inadvertently releases the four elemental Stars. The bad guys want to use the stars to light the four elemental lighthouses, so that they may release upon the world the power of alchemy. While a few plot twists are involved, it's little more than a base "find the four elemental somethings" storyline. Although even that isn't quite true - Golden Sun contains only half of the game; the other half is in its sequel, The Lost Age.

The gameplay is little more than the simple attack/magic/defend/item foundation of RPG battle systems. That little more, though, is an interesting twist: throughout the game, you collect little creatures called Djinn, seven of them for each of the four elements. The Djinn can be set to a character to improve his or her statistics and magic power, and different combinations of set Djinn will change what spells a character can use. A Djinn can be "Unleashed" from a set character in battle - each Djinn has a certain attack or effect when unleashed, and unleashed Djinn can, in turn, be used for summons. Up to four Djinn of a certain type can be used to summon a powerful attack for each element, in a variety of combinations.

The Djinn abilities also come into play outside of battle. Psynergy must be used in the overworld to overcome obstacles (like watering a plant to make it grow into a climbable vine) and solve puzzles. Log rolling and block pushing are given new life in Golden Sun, and while none of them are incredibly difficult, the puzzles do add at least some element of strategic thinking to the game, what with its cut and dry battles.

Golden Sun's graphics are amazing for a handheld game. The overworld is nicely polished, perhaps slightly better than Super NES quality, and battle scenes are done in 3D. The camera movement is directed so as to emphasize each side of the battle when it attacks, and the movement of characters and the background makes for visually impressive battles. The sound effects are okay, nothing particularly special, and the music, while good for an early GBA title, isn't very noteworthy.

Golden Sun is around 20-25 hours in length. It has some respectable replay value in collecting Djinn, finding rare items, and doing one major sidequest, ended with a powerful pirate boss. And because of its length, Golden Sun is easy to revisit, too.

While not groundbreaking by any means (other than merely by being on the Game Boy Advance), Golden Sun is a basic but sufficient RPG. It's simple enough for newcomers to the genre, and still doesn't completely alienate its aficionados. There are better RPGs, but in the end, Golden Sun isn't too shabby.

Progress: Complete

The Super NES Super Mario RPG was, and is, highly acclaimed for its blending of minigames and platformer elements into a well-crafted RPG. Its Nintendo 64 successor, Paper Mario, went even further, so much that it seems more like a platform game with RPG elements. Mario & Luigi has brought the best of both worlds into what is, arguably, the perfect combination of platformer and RPG.

Don't think that M&L has simply borrowed from its predecessors, though. It's inherited many of its charms, but Mario & Luigi also has a number of them all its own.

Mario & Luigi's story, thankfully, takes a break from the simple classic of "Bowser has abducted the Princess!" Instead, the witch Cackletta, impersonating an ambassador from the neighboring kingdom of BeanBean, has magically stolen the Princess's voice to use in a sinister plan that promises doom. The plot thickens and twists along the way as well. Certainly not what you'd expect from a Mario game (along the same lines as Super Mario RPG), though, thankfully, it doesn't skimp on the humor.

M&L's greatest and most prominent asset is in the amazing depth of its gameplay. While walking around, the basic game plays like an overhead platformer. At first you can only jump, but as the game goes on, you learn more moves such as hammer thwomping and magic hand attacks. However, you're not just Mario jumping around from ledge to ledge; your brother is in tow (and you can switch them around, putting Luigi in front and Mario behind, with a tap of the Start button). The rear character follows the front one, but they act separately - if you want to get over a ledge, you'll need to make both brothers jump. The front character performs an action with the A button, while the rear acts with the B button (and their chosen actions can be changed with R and L, respectively). The brothers also have an assortment of Bros. Moves they can learn, including a high-jump, flattening each other with hammers, and several other bizarre things you'll need to use for solving the game's platform puzzles.

Don't think that the battles are underplayed, though. Taking a note from Paper Mario, battles can be initiated to your advantage or disadvantage based on how you encounter an enemy party (which appears on the field as a single enemy). Jumping on it will do an initial damage to the enemy party, unless it consists of spike-topped enemies. Hitting it with a hammer will stun the party for a short time. However, if the party encounters your rear character instead of your front one, said rear character will be unable to move until his turn. Why does this matter? - every single enemy attack is avoidable. Whereas in previous games, timed button-presses could only be used to increase attack damage or decrease damage taken by defending, in Mario & Luigi they can actually allow you to evade, and in some cases counterattack, enemy attacks. The type of evade/counter action (jumping or hammering) is chosen automatically by the game according to context, and pressing the A (for Mario) or B (for Luigi) button at the right time will enable you to beat your foes at their own game. And of course, timing is also crucial for attacks, allowing Mario and Luigi to drastically increase the damage they dish out.

But wait - there's more. As mentioned before, the brothers will learn many new moves in their travels; but these moves are rarely limited to the field. Though they begin with only basic jumping attacks, these are quickly followed by hammer attacks and magic hand attacks. What's more, Bros. Attacks (which require both brothers, and a sequence of timed button-presses) use a combination of abilities and Bros. Points to deal even more damage to the enemy. The sheer variety of moves you can carry out, moves you can dodge, and moves you can counterattack is astounding. And the game world itself is fairly interesting too - there are several key areas to visit and revisit (through Warp Pipes), and almost every field screen holds a secret of some sort. There are beans you can collect to brew coffees at the castle town's café, there are side-areas which offer nostalgic challenges for items, there are several puzzling minigames, and the game is made that much more interesting with the fact that there are no inns - you're going to have to rely on your items (which you can find or buy at a select few item shops) and your dodging abilities to survive the game.

Graphically, Mario & Luigi is drawn in a similar style to Paper Mario, though not with its flat paper gimmick. It's nicely done, and everything looks crisp and clear (even on a Game Boy Player, for which M&L offers the additional perk of Gamecube controller rumbling). The soundtrack is well-composed, and the music tracks add to the ambient feeling in their respective areas. Sound effects are great, often laugh-invoking.

Mario & Luigi isn't an epic replay offering, but it does have a myriad of special and powerful items that you'll likely miss your first time through. And while it isn't terribly long, it's not short either, easily lasting 15-20 hours even without getting everything.

Put simply, M&L is one of the greatest and most enjoyable games ever made. It has just the right combination of proven old-school greatness and new and interesting ideas, to create one of the best adventures Mario has ever embarked upon.

Progress: Complete

The final three games of the classic (not X, not Battle Network, but just plain Mega Man) series were curious cases. While the previous six were released for the NES, as well as five alternate games on Game Boy, Mega Man 7 made the move to Super NES, and Mega Man 8 jumped all the way to Playstation. The next, and currently final, game in the series - Mega Man & Bass - returned to 16-bit, yet managed to take with it some tricks from the Playstation.

RockMan & Forte was released in Japan for the Super Famicom in its waning days, but never made it to Western shores until more recently, when it was ported to the Game Boy Advance. The games are essentially identical, aside from the fact that the GBA version automatically saves at checkpoints in case of battery problems, and the Super Famicom version is, quite obviously, only in Japanese. Also, as should be implied, the SNES has certain performance advantages (graphical resolution and sound quality) over the GBA.

As is the norm with most remotely-modern Mega Man games, MM&B begins with an introductory stage. Set in the Robot Museum, the player (as either Mega Man or Bass) comes upon a robotic disturbance of sorts, and discovers that the robot King is trying to steal robot plans in order to create the world's most powerful machines. King is bent on destroying humanity for the sake of the robots, even if he must get rid of Mega Man, Bass, and ProtoMan (repeatedly) in the process. Of course, King has eight robot master minions whom you must defeat after going through their respective stages, using their powers against successive enemies until finally gaining access to King's fortress and confronting the menace himself.

Mega Man & Bass is rightfully classified as part of the classic series, retaining the gameplay that has been shined and polished through it, but also adds Bass into the mix for a surprising amount of variety. In the beginning, the player chooses a character to play as - Mega Man or Bass - and plays through the game as that character, going through robot master stages and confronting the bosses at the end, as usual (rather than the old password standard, however, Mega Man & Bass has four saved game slots available). Mega Man can do all the things he's learned in his previous games - jump, shoot, charge a shot, slide, take a robot master's power, call his faithful robot dog Rush (among other robotic helpers), and collect bolts to purchase powerups from Auto. But Bass brings some interesting new moves to the party - he can't shoot while moving, but he can fire in seven directions while standing still or jumping; Bass can't charge his buster either, but he can shoot it very rapidly; he doesn't slide, but he dashes (can't move under obstacles, but goes faster); and he can double-jump, a rather neat trick. Bass can also take the robot masters' powers, and collect bolts to purchase upgrades (though some of his are different from Mega Man's). His own robot dog, Treble, can merge with Bass to become a powerful flying super-robot. But aside from their different abilities, Mega Man and Bass play identically, as they go through all the same stages (intro stage, eight robot masters, and a three-part final fortress), differing only slightly in the routes they must take at some points.

The graphics of Mega Man & Bass are quite impressive. You mightn't think that the Super NES would be capable of such smooth, eye-pleasing animation. Every character, enemy, projectile, environmental element, and background is drawn nicely and cleanly. The sound effects are great, and the music as per the Mega Man standard ranges from good to surprisingly addictive.

There are two key bits of replay in MM&B - playing through as both characters, and finding the data CDs scattered throughout the game. There are 100 of these CDs, and each one when viewed in the Database contains a picture and short details on a character from the Mega Man series. IceMan, Dr. Wily, Terra... it's hard to think of a character from the series that isn't here. Some of the CDs are near-impossible to get, but finding them all is quite an accomplishment and something else to do in the game.

Speaking of near-impossible, though, there is one important note to make - this game is frustrating at many points. Not necessarily because of challenging enemies or level design, but because of, for lack of a better term, the cheap factor. Oftentimes, enemies are placed in precisely the right location to get across a cheap shot, which will cause you to fall onto a spike trap, or drop into an endless abyss, or some such thing; basically, it can be a frustrating venture. The bosses range from simplistic to cheaply irritating themselves. Overall though, despite some moments when you might wish you never started playing, Mega Man & Bass is a solidly enjoyable game.

Progress: Complete

The original Mega Man series (mostly for NES) produced eight or nine games; the X series (mostly SNES/Playstation) has produced seven so far; and a handful of other Mega-series (like the original Game Boy games) don't exactly come short on sequels. With a record like that, you'd think that Capcom might prefer churning out more titles in an established franchise than making new franchises altogether - and even in the latter case, typically making new franchises very similar to the old. You'd only be partially right.

Mega Man Battle Network is a testament to the spirit of innovation that remains at Capcom. It is to other Mega Man games what Final Fantasy Tactics is to other Final Fantasy games, sharing only names and conceptual elements; it otherwise stands completely on its own. It is new, it is different, and it is great.

However, like most Mega Man games - especially first-in-series games - the story is rather scant. MMBN is introduced with an overview of the 'current' world. Robots have, in a way, overtaken the globe. Almost every device is electronic and semi-sentient. People carry their PETs (Personal Electronic Terminals) wherever they go, and use them to communicate over the Internet. They often use programs called NetNavis to navigate the 'net, and in many cases, electronically fight viruses. Herein lies the plot of MMBN, with the main character (Lan) busting viruses with his NetNavi (MegaMan.EXE) in a time when the power of a secret terrorist organization (the WWW) is coming to light, and viruses are running rampant.

Battle Network's gameplay isn't quite like anything Mega Man's ever seen before. There are two overworlds: the real world, where you control Lan and move from place to place, to "jack in" to electronic devices; this leads to the virtual world where MegaMan.EXE takes the stage. In this second overworld, random battles, not-so-random battles, and puzzles are commonplace. The overworlds are viewed from a fixed overhead 3/4 perspective. The battle screen is set up like a perfect turn-based grid system, with a 3x3 grid for Mega Man, and a 3x3 grid for his enemies; but it is not turn-based. Both computer control over enemies and player control over Mega Man is in real-time, moving from panel to panel and launching attacks against the other side. Though Mega Man can fire his classic buster, and charge it up with the proper upgrades (which are bought or found), he'll probably be more reliant on Battle Chips. These chips execute routines that can attack, defend, heal, or cause any number of alternate effects. Some chips can even alter the battlefield, weakening or destroying panels. At the beginning of a battle and after time delays of no less than ten seconds, you're given the opportunity to download battle chips to Mega Man; the game uses a (somewhat complex, though easily learned) multi-tiered system to determine what chips you can choose. The immense variety of actions and events that can be carried out in battle make it something you just need to experience.

MMBN's graphics range widely, some elements mediocre and some beautiful, but it rarely, if ever, looks "bad." The sound effects leave something to be desired, and though the music themes seem very bland and repetitive, they can (sometimes) grow on you. Summarily, MMBN's presentation could be better, but it could also be worse.

Battle Network has slightly more replay value than you'd expect from a first-of-its-franchise title in today's day and age - enough to keep an interested player coming back for a while, but nothing incredible. Beyond the realm of the standard game, there are a few areas of the Internet that remain unexplored and unconquered. There's also a total of 175 different kinds of battle chips to collect, and netting them all, as is to be expected, unlocks a final, special chip...

Don't come into MMBN expecting another Mega Man title. Come into it expecting something innovative and fun. You'll be pleased.

Progress: Complete

After the first two games of the Mega Man X series, the concept of playing as X's shiny red counterpart, Zero, was introduced. Needless to say, with his dashing good looks and nifty beam saber, playable Zero was a hit. Years later, a game would be released on Game Boy Advance - Mega Man Zero - focused solely on the long-haired blade-wielding Maverick Hunter.

The atmosphere of MMZ is a bit different from the X series, flung further into the future and into very different circumstances. The game combines the side-scrolling goodness of Mega Man with Zero's powers and a number of RPG elements to produce a story-driven, action-packed adventure.

Mega Man Zero takes place over a century after the X saga. In the game's introduction, a group of reploid soldiers and a reploid scientist run through a swamp being pursued by gun-toting robots with less-than-friendly intents. The scientist, a female reploid named Ceil, and the last remaining soldiers stumble upon a laboratory hidden in the swamp, and enter to find - much to their surprise - Zero, the legendary heroic reploid. Zero is inactive, slumped over and supported by a few cables in the decrepit laboratory room, but protected by a forcefield; so Ceil sacrifices her accompanying cyber-elf, Passy, to destroy the seal and resurrect Zero. Zero proceeds to blast through the enemy forces in the lab and take Ceil back to the reploid base in safety. Here we discover that MMZ is set in a world dominated by the forces of Neo Arcadia, a safe haven for humans, but headed by an unlikely leader - X - who strives to hunt down and destroy all reploids, believing them to be Maverick and ill-boding for the remnants of humanity. The game's missions are story-driven, some of them tying in with one another to a degree (i.e. one mission, to gain control of a factory, is followed by a mission to defuse a hostile situation in that same factory). Every mission has a purpose in the resistance effort against Neo Arcadia, in which Zero is the reploids' last and most promising hope.

As previously mentioned, Mega Man Zero is mission based. Unlike the Mega Man and MMX games, MMZ's stages are laid out by means of a comparatively non-linear mission selection system. After an introductory mission or two, the player is presented with a handful of missions to select from. Completing a mission will replace it with another choice, and so on until all the missions are depleted and it's time to take on the final stages of the game. It is possible to fail a mission, in which case you may either restart from your last save and keep trying, or move on and never return to it. Several missions, as mentioned in the factory example above, take place in the same enviroments - and many of these environments are directly linked to the game's reploid base "overworld" of sorts, meaning you can return to defeat enemies and get items you've missed, but not to replay mission content.

Besides the story-driven mission-based play, another key difference between MMZ and the other games of the series is the weapon system. Zero begins with one weapon (his Zero Buster, which is more like a handgun than a gun-hand), quickly gains a second in the introductory stage (his Zero Saber beam sword), and later on in the game gains two more (an extending spear of sorts and a shield which doubles as a boomerang disc). Each of these weapons can be leveled up - using them to hack away at enemies gains weapon experience, and with new weapon levels come new abilities, like charging up the Z-Buster further or an aerial spin attack for the Z-Saber. There are also no heart tanks or subtanks in Mega Man Zero - but in their place are cyber-elves, which are found scattered around the game's stages (there are over 70 of them in all). Cyber-elves, like Passy in the intro sequence, sacrifice themselves to execute special abilities. Some elves' effects are temporary, like restoring some health or paralyzing enemies; but some are permanent, including increased health in the forms of a larger energy bar and subtanks. Others have more impressive effects, like the ability to remove spike traps from the game.

There are other features too, like elemental chips which give charged weapons an extra effect, and energen crystals which are largely used to feed immature cyber-elves to bring out their powerful potential. Outside of the weapons, elves, and missions, though, MMZ plays mostly similar to the Mega Man X games. Zero can charge his weapons, he can dash, he can slide along walls, he can kick off walls, and every mission has a boss to face.

The gameplay graphics of Mega Man Zero are something of a combination between Mega Man X and Metroid Fusion. Zero runs, shoots, and slices smoothly; enemies are well-animated, and destructive effects (like slashing an enemy in two and watching both halves briefly drift apart before exploding) are finely executed. Character portraits in text boxes and hand-drawn stills are done in an anime-influenced style, and look very nice. Sound effects are well done, and though the soundtrack is a bit limited (there are more missions than there are music tracks), the tracks are pleasing to the ear.

Aside from collecting all the elves, which can net you a final, secret elf, there is a rather large (if you're interested) element of replay in the ranking system. When completing missions, the player is scored based on time, damage taken, number of enemies killed, number of cyber-elves in effect, and so on to attain a certain number of points for that mission, and over the course of the game these points are averaged for an overall ranking (S, A, B, C, D, F). It'll take more than a bit of work to get a high average ranking, as the rank qualifiers are strict. It's an extra challenge, but easy to ignore if all you're concerned with is collecting all the elves, a more immediately rewarding goal.

Mega Man Zero is a remarkable blend of story-driven missions and intense side-scrolling action. Fighting bosses and enemies is a joy, as is simply roaming through the base, jumping off walls and otherwise abusing Zero's fantastic powers. Perhaps the only complaint one could lodge on this game is that it's short, offering only a few hours' worth of play to complete a first time; but those few hours are filled with action. While it may break some time-honored Mega Man traditions, it's often for the better.

Progress: Complete

After the phenomenal success of GoldenEye 007, Rare announced that it was making another game based on the same engine; however, it would not be another Bond title. Rather, it would be an original creation of Rare, and in addition to the classic GoldenEye thrills would sport a slew of new things to do. This game was Perfect Dark.

Perfect Dark follows the first assignment of novice - yet very skilled - Carrington Institute agent Joanna Dark. Joanna earned the nickname 'perfect' through her excellent training exploits, and the game will make you live up to these expectations in conflict with the ominous Datadyne corporation, along with whoever's backing it...

Perfect Dark's story is fairly deep for a shooter. What begins as a simple response to a distress signal raised from within Datadyne becomes a very involved plot, the scale of which far exceeds a simple fight between the Carrington Institute and Datadyne. Between in-game events, pre- and post-mission cinemas, and supplemental information available from the Institute, it's apparent that a great deal of thought and care (and more than a little humor) went into the development of PD's storyline.

To live up to gamers' expectations after GoldenEye, Perfect Dark would have to deliver a lot. Like its 007 predecessor, PD has three difficulty levels for each of its 17 missions: Agent, Special Agent, and Perfect Agent. Higher difficulties offer more and more challenging objectives (as well as more and more difficult enemies). The gadgets from GoldenEye have been significantly upgraded - rather than being a rare occurrance, Joanna will routinely need to use special visors, camera spies, door decoders, and several other espionage devices to infiltrate enemy compounds. Perfect Dark's "Combat Simulator" multiplayer is also leaps and bounds ahead of GoldenEye, the most notable addition that of simulants, or artificial-intelligence bots. Games can have up to four human players as well as up to eight simulants playing at once. There are also more arenas (as well as a few remakes of classic GoldenEye arenas), more play modes (including King of the Hill and a modified Capture the Flag), and more options (specific weapons, simulant AI, and a number of others) to make designing the perfect match just as much fun as playing it. Plus, characters from multiplayer (both their appearance and their statistics) can be saved for later use.

Of course, all these play modes would be worthless without the game's real shining point: weapons. There are 34 weapons in Perfect Dark, all of which have secondary functions, as well as eight single-function unlockable guns which are resurrections of classic GoldenEye arms. The basics are covered - pistols, machine guns, sniper rifles, shotguns, rocket launchers, knives, mines, a laser - along with a sundry assortment of more interesting choices: a tranquilizer, a crossbow, a fly-by-wire missile launcher, an x-ray sniper rifle, even a gun with a cloaking function. This massive arsenal keeps the game fresh no matter how you play it.

Perfect Dark's graphics are a step up from GoldenEye's, but are not without fault - undoubtedly the biggest failure of the game is that having too many humans and simulants in a multiplayer match will slow it down tremendously. On a lighter note, though, the sound effects are well done, and the soundtrack is nicely diverse and well-composed.

With unlockable cheats, Combat Simulator challenges, character stats and rankings, three solo mission difficulties, bonus solo missions, multiplayer co-operative missions (play missions with a friend by your side), and counter-operative missions (a friend controls random enemies), Perfect Dark is an immense game. PD has more than enough replay value to last anyone a considerable deal of time.

Occasional framerate woes aside, Perfect Dark is spectacular; otherwise, it's unstoppable. The promise of new ways to play never fails to please. But make sure you have a RAM expansion pack for the N64 - without it, most of PD's features won't function at all.

Progress: Complete