Mega Man Neo

Included with the Japanese Resident Evil 2 demo (but not the US) is a demo of Mega Man Neo, Capcom s latest version of the blue bomber. While the story is still a little vague (we know it involves a friendly blonde girl and a benevolent gray-haired scientist who s not Dr. Light) one thing s for sure: RPG elements will feature more prominently than ever.

Gameplay will also see some changes from the older 2D titles. For one, Mega Man will be able to have a different weapon on each arm, an intriguing idea for us trigger-happy gamers. Mega will also be able to side-step attacks, making things a little bit more fair in the world of 3D.

After ten years and countless games on numerous systems, Capcom s platform hero, Mega Man, will finally step out of the second dimension and into a world of polygons and depth of field. It s a big move for the blue boy, one that his longtime fans may not totally jive with. However, Mega Man Neo will have enough new elements to add to the mix that should impress even the most hardcore of fans.

Mega Man must save the famous Hidden Legacy treasure in this installment, and will have a wide variety of weapons at his disposal to do so. Like in previous games, weapons become available after defeating bosses, which are as big and formidable as ever.

There s a whole lot that s new in Neo as well. For starters, Mega Man has been animated using motion-capture technology (mocap to your friends). He s got a fluid running style that belies his usual stiff gate. Gamers can adjust the camera to get a better look at the action, which can come from straight ahead, or from above.

Another new factor in the game is the incorporation of RPG elements. Mega Man must talk to other characters, find secret passageways, and solve puzzles to complete his quest. This addition alone will further the Mega Man tradition ten-fold.

Finally, the graphics in Neo look superb. Capcom has managed to keep the cartoon style it's known for, while at the same time using the PlayStation hardware to the max.

Keep an eye out for this one, we just know it's going to be amazing.