Alphaman is a retro-style homage, I presume you could say, to Megaman.
When personal droids get infected with a virus called “Red Virus”, it's up to wanna-be competitive droid fighter Alphaman to fix things. Somehow.
Having never played a Megaman game before, I didn't really know what to expect from this, and to be honest, I certainly haven't missed anything of importance.
Following a quick introduction to the story, you are presented with a level selection screen, of which there are four different ones, each set in a different location and with a different end of level boss. These levels range from a love hotel to a grave yard, and all follow the same format : shoot or avoid the baddies, beware of the obstacles and platform your way to the end.
The game certainly catches the retro feel of the game it's inspired by, but these sorts of games are so common now, it certainly doesn't help make it stand out from the crowd. Mega... errr... Alphman's animations are very limited, as is everything else in the game – which also extends to the quite forgettable music and sound effects.
Graphics are far too simplistic even for a retro-style game.
Controls are responsive (but is D-Pad controlled) and Alphaman slides along nicely. You can jump, dash (which is easy to forget about) and have a normal and special weapon of which the latter needs recharging by collecting green orbs. Health is increased by collecting yellow ones.
Enemies consists of flying... things, things on the ground, cleaning maids, rats and various other annoying things. Some unfortunately can't be destroyed.
Traps like flying... things and cooking pots can disappear and reappear or shoot upwards at set times. screen.
However, the game has bigger problems than that : Wall climbing. It's probably the most frustrating part of the game, as you can only bounce off a wall or slowly slide down it. Where you can safely launch yourself into the air does change as well, depending on the level.
Level design is probably geared towards those who like a challenge on each screen, rather than those who would prefer to actually complete a level, as it'll take a lot of time to remember all the enemy movements and timing (or at least trying to time) jumps correctly, especially over the larger ones, all of which makes for a frustrating experience.
Overall, it's only really geared towards those who like really difficult retro-games. For everyone else, it's probably one to avoid.
