Mega Man: Powered Up

If you hadn't already heard, Rockman Rockman is a remake of the original Mega Man game, but with hyper-cute visuals and a few new twists. There are actually two ways to play the game -- one is the full original game with the updated visuals (but with frames on the side of the screen -- it's not in the PSP's widescreen format), but the other new "original mode" features slightly changed level layouts, a completely zoomed-in perspective where characters take up a good deal of the screen, and full use of the PSP's lovely screen.

"Regardless of whether you are a long-time or recent fan of the blue-clad robotic hero, Mega Man Powered Up is an enjoyable and addictive 2D platformer the successfully re-creates a timeless classic for the PSP."

"Rockman Rockman will also contain a level editor that will let you create your own Mega Man levels, right down to including blocks that can be destroyed or lifted only if you have the right boss power to do so--though this wasn't present in the playable version of the game. The bosses shown on video are all from the original Mega Man, though two bosses were shown as question marks and were not fully revealed. Expect to see Gutsman, Bomb Man, and Elec Man at some point in this game."

"Regardless of what you might think of Powered Up's ubercute presentation, there's no denying the addictive challenge the game provides."

"Mega Man's whole world has been given a make-over as well, with the new 3D polygon on 2D gameplay technique Capcom is using here and in a few other games this year. There's always motion somewhere in the background, be it a revolving gear or a clock or some other bit of mechanics. The backgrounds are still very flat and even-colored to stay true to the original and play into the youthful new character design (we're not sure if people way back thought that the original NES game was always meant to be kiddie or else recognized that the game simply didn't have the graphic horsepower to be anything else, but this time, it's clear that Capcom went for a Jim Henson's Mega Man Babies approach.) Some nice designs help give the simple elements life, however. Shooting columns of fire, for instance, are intentionally blocky, with cartoon-style flame effects going on to sell the burning effect. When you shoot an enemy, he will explode with a toonish star explosion. In a cool little touch, the angry fireballs with eyes turned into sad cinders when you shot them. There's an odd effect in the current build where ladders are on another plane of the parallax motion (they move independent of the platforms they lead to, almost as if they're part of the background), but other than that one disorienting graphic choice, the game looks spiffy in motion in an adorable retro way. "