| System: PlayStation 2, Game Cube | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Capcom | Sound: |
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| Year: 2004 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Role-playing game | Rating: |
4/10 |
A Japanese role-playing game (JRPG for the initiated) in 3D, set in the Mega Man X universe. That is to say, they’ve scrapped the “action-platformer” component and replaced it with trudging through empty corridors while random turn-based battles ambush you every thirty seconds. Occasionally, you come across a background character, standing like a lamp post, thick as two short planks, and eager to show it.
Ah yes, the story! It takes place after Mega Man X8. Two factions are at odds: the rebellion (the baddies) and the resistance (the goodies). What else can I say? They’re very angry.
Do you know that in a video game, first impressions are jolly important? Egoraptor explains it humorously about Mega Man X, I recommend his video (in English).
My first impression of Command Mission: it’s ghastly! The heroes are perpetually scowling, the empty, uniform corridors are slathered in greyish textures (which immediately brought back memories of Fade to Black…), and the game immediately hammers us with incomprehensible tables crammed with numbers and acronyms. Compare that to Mega Man Battle Network, which sucked me in with its upbeat vibe within minutes—despite my most sincere ill will!
Or take Mega Man Legends, which features a similar prologue (exploring greyish corridors), but this misstep is quickly offset by polished direction and a gallery of endearing and colourful characters (who are actually better animated in 3D, on an earlier console generation - what a joke!).
The few elements that attempt to inject variety into the “dungeons” (since pacing is clearly out of the question) prove desperately simplistic. Case in point: a variation of “Red Light, Green Light”, where you’re forced to freeze every five seconds when the light turns red.
And how on earth do you manage to produce a “map” function that’s utterly unreadable, when the level architecture is so rudimentary?
Oh, and I despise the mini-games triggered during special attacks, especially the ones that require you to abuse your controller (looking at you, the dimwit dressed as a nurse and your healing spell).
To summarise: convoluted mechanics, a plot and dialogues that seem to have been written by an uninspired six-year-old, desolate environments, linear progression, repetitive and overly easy battles, appalling “cinematic” scenes (the characters, stiff as boards, trade banalities with barely a twitch). It feels like the developers were coerced into making this game. I, on the other hand, felt no obligation to finish it.
“Fun”, as I’ve seen it described elsewhere? Not even close. It was mediocre, if I’m feeling generous. A little higher standard, please! For goodness’ sake!
