Mega Man 9
Solid as a rock.
For those who can stand up to the stiff demands Mega Man brings to the table, there's a huge amount of gameplay here. As is traditional for the series you can choose which order to tackle the game's stages in, and each has a different boss at the end. For the record you'll face Concrete Man, Jewel Man, Hornet Man, Tornado Man, Plug Man, Galaxy Man, Magma Man and, in a monumental blow for gender equality, Splash Woman.
When defeated each boss bequeaths you a new weapon, which then makes attacking the other stages slightly easier than facing them with your default blaster. Magma Man leaves you a bazooka, for instance. Beat Hornet Man and you get the ability to fire swarms of hornets that will home in on enemies. Rest assured, whichever boss you eventually beat first, the weapon you get as a reward will be a lot of fun.
You can also purchase additional items and abilities by collecting screws, and you start with some default assistance from Rush, the robot dog. Summon him and you can jump off his back to higher platforms. Later on, you get the ability to fly with your clanking canine pal.
It takes effort and perseverance to unlock the really useful goodies, but they can make the difference between swearing loudly for the hundredth time at the Game Over screen and actually completing another level. Also unlockable are additional game modes. You start with Time Attack, which offers online leaderboards and is thus perfect for speed-run freaks, and you can later add Endless Attack (survival mode by any other name) and a selection of "special" mini-games to your menu.
The game urges you onwards with a list of 50 challenges, although most of them will make the average gamer's blood run cold. How about beating the game 30 times? That earns you the title of Truly Hardcore. You can even lay claim to being Mr Perfect if you manage to clear the entire game without taking any damage. At all. I'm going to go out on a limb and declare that particular task physically impossible by any mortal human. Go on, prove me wrong, Mr Twitchy Fingers arcade addict.
Given its stated intent to punish the gamer, in order to make those tiny moments of victory taste all the sweeter, it's clearly foolish to criticise Mega Man 9 for its extreme difficulty. This is most definitely a game for players who savour every last pixel-perfect leap, an exercise in precision and dexterity that will leave the average player frustrated and punch drunk.
There will certainly be a large number of people who will view Mega Man's ninth outing as post-modern pandering to hopeless nostalgics. They won't be far wrong, but that's missing the point somewhat. Capcom has crafted a love letter to its own past, and its own fans, that is both effective and generous in satisfying its peculiar niche audience.