Year: 1994
Genre: Action Adventure
Graphics: 9.5
Playability/play control: 9.5
Plot: 8
Sound: stereo- 9.5
Learning Curve: About an hour
Average Compltion Length: 2.5 hours
Megaman X2 takes place just about three months after the original Megaman X. The new X hunter threat is the reason for the short period of time in between games. The X Hunters are a specific group of Mavericks who are intent on killing you as Megaman X. As usual with Megaman X games, the plot can have a slight variation depending on what you do throughout the game. As you go through the eight intense levels, you will encounter a new entity, the X Hunters. The plot changes at the end of the game depending on if you beat these characters in the levels. Another interesting part of te game is the return of an evil villian from the first Megaman X game. This great sequel leaves a few opportunities for good sequels which were obviosly taken advantage of by the game's creator, Capcom.
The Play control of MMX2 is outrageously similar to that of the other Megaman X games, which is certainly not a bad thing. The incredible controls are to be mastered for later Megaman games, because they are generally getting harder. X2 allows you to do just that You can do whatever Megaman X can do. You are Megaman X. The contols all flow together like ketchup on a hotdog.
The learning curve to get completely used to the controls may take you about an hour. To get mastery, however, is a different story. Few buttons are used in this game compared to many other games. This does not make it easy though. Controls such as the dash are used in combination with jumping. So really, you are not that limited, you just have to be able to use combinations of buttons. The introduction of the jump-dash is used just as much as the original dash. If you are not familiar with the dash, it is a manuever that allows you to jump further or go faster. Of course, you will need to use the dash almost all the time, which sometimes can get pretty crazy when you are running, shooting, and jumping while doing this. As you can see, a degree of coordination is needed to play this game to the fullest.
The sound quality in X2 is, by the Super Nintendo Satndards, pretty good. It is not so much the sound quality as it is the awe inspiring music. The music is kind of like a techno, hard rock, and electronica combined. It really makes you want to shoot things, not in an angry way, but in a very joyful way With the great music, destruction has never been so much fun!
The game is actually about the same lenght as X3. The only reason I said that X2 was only two-and-a-half hours is because X3 is much harder. Therefore, an experience player of viseo games will probably be able to complete Megaman X2 in about 2.5 hours or less. It may seem short, but the replay value is really good. It might take more than one completion of the game to find all of the power-up items.
You can find X2 decently priced in some stores, but you best bet is eBay. This game is rare, but it is worth trying to find. It may be a little bit more expensive than other SNES games because of its popularity, but it should not be as rediculously priced as X3 usually is.