Mega Man X8

Mega Man X8, known as Rockman X8 in Japan, is a game of the Mega Man X series released for PlayStation 2 in 2004. The game was later ported to the PC in South Korea and Europe and is available for download via "digital purchase" from GameStop at http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=62432.

Release dates
PlayStation 2:
 * North America: December 7, 2004
 * Europe: February 11, 2005
 * Japan: March 10, 2005

PC:
 * South Korea: January 1, 2005
 * Europe: November, 2005

GameSpot Digital Purchase:
 * Worldwide: March 8, 2006

Gameplay
Gameplay is largely the same as previous games. Both X and Axl specialize in mid-long range fighting while Zero is the same with close range. X, however, was changed from X7 to be more like his original incarnations in terms of firing. He can only fire straight ahead now, possibly to make his gameplay different from Axl (who can fire in all directions). Axl gets new guns upon defeating Mavericks and can use them indefinitely, like Zero's techniques. Zero also gets new weapons that make gameplay with him vastly different. His weapons include a Glaive, Knuckle, Hammer, Fan and a large sword used by Sigma.

Certain enemies (and even bosses) can now execute a "guard", which makes them invulnerable to most attacks. However, the three characters can use "guard break" attacks, allowing them to defeat these enemies. The "guard breaks" are: X's fully charged shot, Zero's third Z Saber slash, and every eighth shot of Axl's Double Bullet rapid fire. Certain Special Weapons can also instantly break guards or ignore barriers, notably Gravity Antonion's weapons and the Sigma Blade.

Destroying enemies in chains and collecting red, diamond-like power-ups fills up the Attack Gauge to the left of the player characters' Life Energy. Filling up this bar allows the players to execute a Double Attack when an enemy is in close proximity. As the name implies, the reserve character appears alongside the player character, and both go on a frenzy, destroying all enemies on-screen, akin to a Giga Attack. Executing this attack as the last attack on bosses, Extra Finish (EXF), allows the player to obtain the highest ranking on the mission. In addition, if a character was killed during the mission, filling up the gauge can also automatically revive that character with half energy.

Players collect Metals by destroying enemies. These Metals act as currency, used to buy upgrades in the Research and Development Lab section of Maverick Hunter Base. Also hidden in the stages are Rare Metals, which, if collected, unlocks a new item/upgrade in R&D Lab. The Chips are divided into four categories for characters: All (which includes Sub Tanks, Retry Chips, etc.), X, Zero, and Axl. After unlocking the operators, their categories are available. Heart Tanks and Sub Tanks can only be obtained by buying them from R&D, but some of them must still be collected as Rare Metals in the game, similar to previous games.

Navigators can be unlocked to play, each by using one more than the other two navigators on a mission, then buying them at the R&D for a hefty price. This basically allows the player to choose female heroes if they wish. Alia, Layer, and Pallette are X, Zero, and Axl's female equivalents, respectively. They are, however, different in the fact that none of the navigators can use the male's special armors, and Palette cannot use the copy shot.

Another new feature in Mega Man X8 are Intermissions, which are sort of like mini-games. After completing a portion of the game, a random intermission is unlocked; other intermissions are unlocked by playing the game file over and over. These are unlike normal maverick missions, in that the stages are continuous (possibly infinite, with certain exceptions). All Intermissions can be played over and over, as well as reward a generous amount of Metals, which can be useful in gathering large amounts of Metals for high-priced items in R&D.

There are four Intermissions:
 * Noah's Park (intro stage): Defeat as many Crabs-K as possible and survive through a mass of enemies in the waterfall section (where Crabs-Y was fought for the second time). The game keeps record on how many Crabs-K where defeated.
 * Inferno: Make your way down through ascending platforms (similar to certain sections in the main stage). The game records on how deep the player descended.
 * Central White: Here the player simply race against time through the icy wilderness, destroying ice walls in the way.
 * Troia Base: Fight all eight Mavericks in a set time limit.

Story
In 21XX, the humans have by now grown weary of Reploids becoming Maverick and their endless rebellions. Thanks to new technology, humans begun migrations to the Moon with the "Jakob Project". As part of the project, the Jakob Orbital Elevator was built in the Galápagos Islands, and a highly advanced new generation of Reploids have been created to work in the Moon's surface. However, Vile captured the Reploid in charge of the Jakob Project, Lumine, and several Maverick attacks happen around the world. The Maverick Hunters have to fight against the Mavericks while trying to locate Lumine.

After defeating the Mavericks, it's discovered Sigma was behind the attacks and he is with Vile and Lumine in the Moon. He plans to destroy the old Earth to create a new world with "his children", the new generation Reploids.

In-Depth Story
The following is the story of Mega Man X8, including the events immediately following it:


 * ca. 2175: (Mega Man X8) A few years after the Red Alert incident, new generation Reploids are being produced in large quantities and technological development has really taken off. One major project is the Jakob Project by which an Orbital Elevator called Jakob is created. This elevator/tower stretches from the Earth all the way up to outer-space, making space travel far easier. New generation Reploids have been used in the construction of the tower because of their powerful bodies that are able to withstand great pressure and which are considered "Maverick-proof." However, an explosion at the tower and the appearance of a crab-like Mechaniloid brings X, Zero and Axl to the tower's base where Vile appears and kidnaps the program director, Lumine. Who is Vile working for and what's going on is unknown to the Hunters, and they don't have time to find out because eight new Mavericks appear at various spots around the world to keep them occupied. However, it appears that Sigma is once again up to those attacks on Earth. This time he plans to use these so-called new generation Reploids' abilities against them; he has placed his DNA within their copy chips, meaning that they can go Maverick at will. Sigma plans to wipe out the world ("Scorch it") and repopulate it with his "children." Of course, the Hunters plan to stop him and a major confrontation results on the Moon where the Hunters defeat Sigma, but Lumine appears and declares that "[Sigma's] purpose has been fulfilled" Lumine then proceeds to give a speech about how Sigma "was never really crazy", that instead of being the sadistic madman he was shown to be, he was merely a rebel fighting for the Reploid cause. X, Zero and Axl battle Lumine in an intense fight and in the end prove victorious.


 * Note: In light of the fact that Sigma is destroyed on the Moon in Mega Man X8 and there are no Reploids around for his "virus" to infect, it is generally considered that he "dies" at this point. Therefore, most people believe that he will not appear in any other games that take place chronologically after Mega Man X8 (especially since he is not seen in Mega Man X: Command Mission).


 * Note 2: Mega Man X8 is also the first game where Capcom had decided to retcon the entire "Sigma Virus" storyline that had been established since Mega Man X, the other game being Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. The retcon is most evident in Lumine's endgame speech, where he denounces the idea of Sigma being infected by anything and declares him as a rebel that had been fighting against the humans. However, considering how Sigma thanked Zero if you play as him (as he was saying that it was because of his fight against Zero that he had become a Maverick), Lumine was more likely implying that Sigma had turned maverick due to the virus, as later, he explicitly states that the New-generation Reploids can go maverick at will.


 * ca. 2176-2200: Thanks to the Jakob Project, humans and Reploids have been able to develop more efficient space-travelling technology. The rapid population growth on Earth has furthered the need for colonial expansion into space, just as it had earlier in the century, so space technology becomes far more important towards the century's end.

Eight Mavericks

 * Dark Mantis
 * Bamboo Pandamonium
 * Earthrock Trilobyte
 * Gigabolt Man-O-War
 * Avalanche Yeti
 * Burn Rooster
 * Gravity Antonion
 * Optic Sunflower

Other bosses

 * Intro Stage: Crabs-Y
 * Vile V
 * Sigma
 * Lumine

Armors
Mega Man X8 combines the one-part-at-a-time feature of Mega Man X-X4 with the multiple armor feature of Mega Man X5 and Mega Man X6. With the first capsule that X finds, Dr. Light bestows the Neutral Armor upon him. When selecting the Neutral Armor, X is given the choice to mix-and-match the parts he finds onto the Neutral Armor. They come in three sets: The Standard Parts, which X begins the game with; the Icarus Parts and Hermes Parts; and the Ultimate Armor, the latter only being accesible through a code or by starting a new game from a save file being cleared with X is his 100%.



When all of the Icarus Parts or Hermes Parts are equipped at once, the armor is named accordingly, and a special feature is added to the full armor. While equipping the Icarus Armor, X can perform the Giga Crush, and while equipping the Hermes Armor, he can perform the X-Drive. Finally, with the Ultimate Armor, X can perform an invincible dash known as Nova Strike.

Both Zero and Axl get armors as well. Zero's is his traditional Black armor, but is different from previous games as it can be equipped at the start of a mission rather than a permanent attachment. It increases Zero's attack power and allows him for longer dash distance while halving his defense. The code for this armor is: L1(x2), R1(x2), L1(x4)

Axl's armor is white, which reduces the damage that he takes, gives him longer dash distance, and allows unlimited hover time while he shoots in the mid-air, as well as unlimited transformation (into Reploids) time.The code for this armor is: L2(x3), R2(x3), L2(x3), R2

Trivia

 * Mega Man X8 was the first game in the series not to be available in Japan first.
 * Although the graphics are 3D, the game is played more similarly (with certain exceptions) to previous Mega Man X games, rather than most of X7.
 * This is one of only two games, the other being X5, in which Sigma is not only fought as the final boss; he is fought in the Gateway (2nd to last stage), albeit only a copy, and as the penultimate boss as well.
 * The Jakob Orbital Elevator, which is a significant portion of the game, later reappears as the main Neo Arcadia Tower in the first Mega Man Zero game, and is revealed to be a rebuilt version of the Jakob Elevator in the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works, thus hinting at this game's canonicity to the X series.
 * Unlike most of the games Sigma appears in, he actually was a fake villain rather than an actual main villain, as it turns out in the ending that Lumine was behind all of the events of the game, and Sigma was nothing more than a pawn.
 * Cut Man appears as a hidden mini boss with his original 8-bit appearance.