Normally, when a game character begins to age, they show it. Not in terms of how the character looks, mind you, but in the tone and complexity of the games. Sometimes it's for the better (Arthur from Ghouls n' Ghosts' evolving into the Maximo games), and sometimes not (Sonic diving into lesser efforts like Sonic Riders). But a character who's surprisingly holding up well despite his 15+ years in the industry is Mega Man, Capcom's icon-like Blue Bomber. He's appeared in a series of original adventures, as well as different chapters in the futuristic X series. Now it seems just as he should be showing his age in generic entries (Mega Man X7 didn't exactly set the world on fire), he's having his best year yet. Mega Man X Collection, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X...and now, Powered Up, which is the best game yet in the Bomber's current run.

Powered Up isn't exactly a remake, but isn't entirely a brand new game either. Instead, it walks the fine line between the two, as sort of a quasi-remake that is only like the original in tone. In the game, you take control of Mega Man as he attempts to shut down a group of rogue robots, led by the viciously evil Dr. Wily, with the help of his blaster cannon and other weapons. These other weapons come in the form of acquirings that come from defeated bosses. For instance, if you defeat the likes of Ice Man, you gain access to his ice cannon, capable of freezing enemies. Beat Guts Man and you have the ability to lift heavy blocks. It's the basics in the formula. There are two new bosses in the formula, as well as the option to get some downloads, and that adds greatly.

However, the game itself has been nicely retweaked to take advantage of the PSP. Think Klonoa in terms of graphics, with a 3-D presentation amidst 2-D gameplay. The graphics are nicely layered, between the 3-D characters and the multiple layers of detailed scrolling in the backgrounds. The menus are easy to follow and the stage selection is diverse enough to give the game quite the colorful look. Some slowdown does come into play when the action's a little too hectic, a slight flaw Capcom could've cleaned up with a few more weeks programming time. But it's a forgivable flaw that fortunately doesn't eat away at the game's energy level.

The music has also surprisingly been worked with to have more of an addiction level. You'll recognize some of the classic Mega Man tunes remixed to sheer awesomeness, with some good techno beats and a few new songs scattered throughout. The voicework's a bit whiny, but brief, and the sound effects manage to deliver their part, right down to the pea-shooter-like effect of Mega Man's cannon.

It's the gameplay that's the real draw here. Despite the fact that nothing's really been changed to the general gameplay formula, that's not really a bad thing. The controls are very tight and allow you to make precision jumps (even sliding on ice) with ease, and the use of enemy weapons in the individual stages is still a nice gimmick to hang stuff on, all the way through the final several battles with Dr. Wily. Each of the stages also varies with a difficulty select, so you can either breeze through on Easy or work your way up to Hard and try to survive the melee of mad robots. Good luck, by the way.

Powered Up also manages to sling a few surprise extras our way. As you work your way through the main game, you actually gain access to bosses that you can play as through a few stages. It's really more of an added item than a worthwhile one, but long-time Mega Man fans can finally see how Guts Man would've compared in a stage battle, for once. Probably the big feature here that will draw players in for a good period of time is the ability to build your own custom levels, so you can send them off to friends and see if they can survive your own horrendous challenges. Throw in the option to either play the levels Powered Up or on some kind of old-school, screen-shrunken mode of play, and you've got lots to do.

I loved Mega Man on the ol' NES and many of his adventures afterward, so it's no surprise that I approached Powered Up with a heaping amount of enthusiasm. The fact that the game has met up with this, for the most part, is the pleasant surprise. Sure, it could've touched up on the slowdown, or maybe even have added a versus mode along the lines of Mega Man's arcade adventures, but what remains here is still juiced up enough to keep you excited about the Blue Bomber and lay those "long on the tooth" comments to rest.

Our Final ScoreExcellent

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