TMMN’s Hands-On with Rockman Xover – TGS Gameplay Footage
Granted, it’s a very brief hands-on, but considering this game is revolutionary in that it’s the first Mega Man game you can play entirely one handed, this much should suffice. I only got to play part of the Rockman Xover demo – the Capcom Mobile area was always just being closed off when I got to it, so I managed to play a bit off of a nice woman who was carrying an iPad.
So having gone all the way out to Tokyo to give it a try, what do I think of the title? Well, not much honestly. Which is pretty much what I expected. Everything about the game lived up to what I imagined it being since reports started coming out. And while I’m certainly not taken by it, I can’t find it in me to be angry at it since, for what it’s supposed to be, it might actually be amusing.
In truth, there is still a lot to Xover that has yet to be shown, making it difficult to wholly judge this game now. It’s really surprising how brief the demo was, considering this is such a simple game that’s probably coming out by the end of next month.
Anyway, time to go more in depth (on what little we can).
The video above may be brief, but it gives a solid idea of how a stage in Rockman Xover plays. You automatically run forward in a forced scrolling stage, and jump and shoot at the oncoming enemies. In the demonstration stage, this was as simple as it could get, with enemies just sitting in the ground or hovering in midair at the height of OVER-1′s jump. You automatically charge your weapon as well, enticing you to wait until the last moment to attack so you can blow through a row of enemies. A graphic appears for hitting chains of enemies (1 Hit, 2 Hit, etc.) but I don’t know if there’s a bonus for getting chain attacks. Defeated enemies drop life and weapon capsules, as well as cards (presumably “Battle Memory” items).
For the boss battle I didn’t get to play, I’m relying on Conrad Zimmerman’s fantastic hands-on at Destructoid. When facing bosses, the game becomes a simple turn based RPG system. You and the enemy take turns attacking, and you have a couple different attacks to chose from. You also build up energy from taking damage, allowing you to fire more powerful attacks in return. Presumably, you will be able to summon friends’ characters into battle to help you out, or at least do so in another mode.
There is still much left to be revealed, however. There was no sign of how the card-based upgrade system works, briefly shown off in the game’s promotional trailer. There was also no look into OVER-1′s various forms, also hinted at in said trailer. And of course, there are other modes, such as “Team Battle” and “Master Boss” were not playable in the demonstration. Personally, I imagine the customization aspect of the game may be its true meat and potatoes, while much of the gameplay itself will just be grinding for experience and new cards. But, that really depends on how much depth the customization system has.
If there is anything I can gripe about on Xover, it would be its production value. Granted, I wouldn’t expect much being a mobile game and all. But most games for iOS by professional companies tend to look better than this. Perhaps the character animations are so stilted in an attempt to harken back to classic Mega Man visuals, but I think it’s more likely that the small production team just doesn’t want to create too many sprites. And for a game that’s meant to be a crossover for all Mega Man series, it’s a shame the enemies all seem to be ported over from the Mega Man X iOS game so far.
As well, I couldn’t really hear the audio to the game in all the ruckus of TGS, but according to CAP Kobun, the music and sounds are from previous games; the demo used X1‘s opening stage and boss battle themes. No indication if there’s going to be any other original music like the catchy tune from the trailer, which is also a disappointment.
But as much as the game is underwhelming, I just can’t get irate over it. Namely because it’s not in my nature, but also because for being a simple mobile game, I think it could be interesting. It’s definitely nothing that will satisfy the cravings in dedicated Mega Man fans, but I always expected that. The game is reportedly free to play, so if you already have a supporting iOS device, there’s no reason you shouldn’t at least try it.
I do get where the anger comes from. This simply isn’t the Mega Man game that fans want to see. And heck, I’m with you guys; if I had my way I’d love to see a luxurious new Mega Man game on dedicated game hardware and packed to the brim with content. But I don’t think that desiring some imaginary super Mega Man game that Capcom just won’t make automatically turns Xover to crap. Xover would still be Xover, regardless of what climate of emotion it were released in.
Rockman Xover will be releasing for iPhone 3GS/4/4S and iPod touch models generation 3 and higher. It is also playable on iPad although its resolution is not designed for iPad. Capcom has confirmed that the game will release in North America and Europe, but have not yet given a time frame.
Many great thanks to Kyle Fyfe, my on-hand cameraman, who braved getting yelled at every time he held up his camera! You were a tremendous asset, Kyle! Also, a shout out to Sensei-Hanzo. It was nice to meet you finally, if only a brief time!
Additional images from 4gamer.net
Tags: Capcom, demo, hands on, iOS, Mega Man Xover, Rockman Xover, social RPG, TGS, Tokyo Game Show
Filed under: Mega Man News
Capcom, I’d like to thank you for your attempt to support the Mega Man franchise. Today, however, I must regrettably announce the discontinuation of my interest in what you have to offer me as a consumer.
From the outset I wasn’t terribly put off by XOver. I needed more information before making a real assessment of whether I’d grab a copy of the title for myself, one based on a number of criteria.
Unfortunately it was not felt that Rockman Xover met the required criteria, and it is with regret that I must announce that I will not be buying an iOS device to play this, meaning that I will not be playing the free-to-play version or giving Capcom any sort of real money so I can just blitz through the game.
Capcom, I’d hope you would find some better way to apologize to all of us who have lent you our support over the years, including but not limited to participation in the Mega Man Legends 3 Developer Room, buying and downloading Mega Man titles, et cetera. You certainly failed to meet the expectations of the fans, if the past two years following Inafune’s departure are any indication. In the words of that one Japanese fan, we were idiots for having expectations.
Although I wish I could give my support for this title, I can’t. I hope that you will realize that what you’re doing for the Mega Man franchise is way below satisfactory, and until you do I will buy other products from other companies instead.
Cheers,
Dashe Troxon
@erikthered
agreed, if mml3 came back, should definitely be multiplatform and in the WiiU.
@Dashe
Brilliant.
@Dashe
Where’s that upvote button…
Bittersweet LOL Dashe, lol.
I doubt this product is designed with people who don’t already own an iOS product in mind.
*Facedesk 2: Facedesk Harder
So… anyone still feel like defending this piece of crap?
Meh. Just meh…
It was me or everything in the game had CRAP animation. Please MMN show me news on the development of fan games, the only good work in the megaman franchise nowadays.
There’s an industry term for what this game is. Freemium. It’s going to be like any other ‘free’ game on Facebook. In fact, I’m surprised it isn’t being released for Facebook. It does at least have a tiny bit more action than the average Zynga offering. Honestly it looks like an old atari-era action game like Bit.Trip Runner only with sub par graphics that look amateurish at best. I agree that the strength of this title will be in the customization, but if the actual game play is boring that won’t save it for us fan. But, then again, this isn’t being made for us fans. Think about it. A crossover game where you don’t actually play as any of the characters you’ve come to love? How is that a crossover at all?
BTW, there’s a problem when the animation is worse than the SNES game it’s graphics are based on.
Sigh…
Well, after seeing this so much hate and debate towards Capcom for canning Legends 3 and Universe and RockMan Online, I have been hoping for a new MegaMan game and since this will come out soon and found so much hate towards this game, I came to the conclusion that I’m done with MegaMan…
I have lost all hopes for a new MegaMan game and seeing the MM fanbase raging and trolling other franchises (Almost the entire MM fanbase) like Metroid Other M (Soultrigger said this) and saying bad things about other franchises, I have lost faith on the entire MegaMan community…
I came to a conclusion that MegaMan is dead for now and Capcom may drop the franchise in the future since they don’t see MM as a money making icon like what they did with Breath of Fire when the guy who created it left Capcom…
I haven’t lost my faith in other great game companies like Nintendo, Square-Enix and Namco Bandai. I’m not saying to everyone to forget about Legends 3 and the future of MegaMan, but I am very disappointed in the way this fanbase is acting.
Jump and Shoot man anyone?
@Alantor
I hardly see how you can say almost the entire MM fanbase is raging and trolling other franchises.
I saw the Other M discussion and it was people voicing their opinions on the game.
The fanbase is the only thing the series has left in my mind. If you ask me it’s one of the best, and really the only things to look forward to in regards to Megaman are coming from that fanbase.
To each their own I suppose.
(Sigh)… Wow. Why couldn’t Capcom make a decent game for Mega’s anniversary? I think Dashe put it best….
Till you give us Legends 3, all of my cash will stay with me. Capcom has failed its loyal fans for the world to see. Only, I would buy a classic or x series game as well… Still, that song is ultra catchy!
Since Megaman Legends 3 and Universe are cancelled, i don’t see future to the franchise if the games that are being released are like this piece of crap.
I was so happy playing megaman, x, legends, and some others. And when appeared that Inafune left and the recent projects were cancelled… what a waste!
If you dont need to continue with the cancelled games, or bring something that gives the true spirit of a megaman game, please, better not make pieces of crap like that.
Even a new compliation of mm games (there are a lot of them), could be better idea than this.
As underwhelming as the game seems… I don’t think we should ring the death knell on the Blue Bomber yet.
Remember that this is just a demo; maybe by the time it truly comes out, it will have gotten much better.