Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja / Zerker x Saurian Review for the Nintendo DS (NDS)

Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja / Zerker x Saurian box art

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Capcom Production Studio 2	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Capcom	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: June 24, 2008	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1, 2 Online	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

Graphically, Mega Man Star Force 2 is a real underachiever. The visuals look like they were stripped straight from the Battle Network games (which, in case you forgot, were on the GBA). When we're getting games that look as good as Metroid Prime Hunters, Phantom Hourglass, and Final Fantasy III on the DS, the kind of graphical laziness present in Star Force 2 is really inexcusable. The sound is also poorly done, but at least you can turn it off.

Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja / Zerker x Saurian screenshot

As with all the Battle Network series of games, Star Force 2 comes in a number of different flavors (this time around it's two). If you must buy this game (please, don't), the differences are negligible and it's certainly not worth buying both. The crazy subtitles (Zerker, Saurian, Ninja) are references to story elements that I won't spoil for you; essentially, however, Geo gains the ability to transform into these beings and use elemental powers associated with them. It's another cool mechanic, but unfortunately one that you'll probably overlook while trying to deal with the game's bigger problems.

There is some online functionality geared toward people who care enough to play and finish Star Force 2. Online, you can battle other people as well as trade cards. As I mentioned earlier, building your ideal deck is one of the more fun and addictive aspects of the game, so being able to trade online is definitely a plus. After finishing this fairly lengthy adventure, I highly doubt you're going to want to do any more battling -- if you do, though, there's a somewhat limited online community waiting to duke it out with you. Online is definitely a positive aspect to Star Force 2, but it's disappointing most people won't have the patience to get far enough into the title to fully take advantage of it.

If you happen to be a huge fan of Mega Man and you can proudly claim you've played and loved every Battle Network game, go ahead and buy Star Force 2. If you can get over the repetitive gameplay and constant random battles, there is some fun to be had here. If you're on the opposite end of the spectrum and have never played a Battle Network or Star Force game, then Star Force 2 will be somewhat enjoyable. But for the rest of us, who are somewhere in the middle (maybe played a game or two and thought they were okay) there's no reason to bother with Star Force 2. Once Capcom bothers to include some original material in these games, they'll be worth playing; until then, however, you're better off spending your money on some of the better DS summer releases out there.

By Joseph Catalanotto
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

1.9

Graphics
They're marginally better than those on the GameBoy Advance; Capcom is getting lazy and it looks like they're just rehashing visuals from one game to the next.

3.4

Control
The game controls fine, but it doesn't offer anything particularly new or exciting.

2.3

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Music clips from past games have simply been remixed without really upping their quality -- the result is generally bad sound that should probably be turned off while playing.

2.2

Play Value
No matter how hard you try, you're going to have trouble having fun with Star Force 2. It does a number of things right, but sadly its battle mechanic is too huge a problem to overlook.

2.4

Overall Rating - Poor
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Explore the real world in human form and transform into Mega Man to maneuver through the virtual "Wave World."

Each game version offers a unique powered-up transformation of Mega Man and can unleash spectacular special attacks, including "Zerker," which bestows Mega Man with a huge sword imbued with the power of lighting, "Ninja," which boosts Mega Man's speed and enables him to throw a huge Shuriken and "Saurian," which gives Mega Man the power of explosive fiery fists.

Each character has their own customizable Personal Page in the game where Battle Cards and information can be viewed and traded with friends to compare progress.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection allows players to connect with in-game friends and let them share cards, status upgrades, and even help each other to perform upgraded transformations.