Another year, a new Megaman Zero 4 game for fans of the long running Blue Bomber series to sink their teeth into. Though this release only offers a few nifty changes over Zero 3, it's still nonetheless a solid gameplay experience, offering fans a classic 2D side scrolling adventure with some familiar game elements, a pinch of slight changes and some new features. Overall fans of Megaman will find this latest iteration of the Zero series fun.

Much like the classic series everyone loves, Zero 4 offers 2D side scrolling action set in themed worlds head up by big-time bosses and filled to the brim with all kinds of robotic weirdoes and oddballs. The difficulty level is on par with Zero 3, but this time out there's even an easy mode for those that can't get the job done - and for the hardcore there's an even steeper difficulty that you can unlock. We're not sure why there's an Easy mode in the game, but perhaps Capcom - like many other Japanese game makers - are succumbing to the complaints of gamers around the world that think a lot of their rele3ases are too hard (perhaps they should be playing a Hello Kitty game instead of Megaman).

Zero 4 isn't just a carbon copy of Zero 3 with a new storyline, environments and new boss. No sir! For one, Zero 4 eliminates the cyberspace element of the game that was in 3 and cuts down the number of Cyber Elves you can carry to one. Thankfully this helpful little computer program allows to you to upgrade it in a myriad of ways. Those that liked the whole collecting eleme3nt of the game may be disappointed by this change, but for those more interested in just playing the game may prefer the simpleness of the system now. Players can power up this ELF through "leveling it up", in three different categories.

The other important change is by collecting parts and learning "recipes." These recipes (some of which are given by NPCs) allow players to combine parts and make chips that enhance Zero's various body parts with special powers. These range from giving bonuses against environmental hazards to giving him the ability to double jump or heal. The system is fun and works very well, and gamers that like to experiment with spare parts can certainly play trial and error to learn new recipes.

Beyond the normal sword and buster attacks and the various special upgrades, Zero gets a new weapon called the Zero Knuckle. This attack allows Zero to steal attacks from enemies and use them for a limited time. Despite it's limited use, the Zero Knuckle is a great way to gain a new attack they can take out enemies qui8ckly or affect the environment in a new way. It's a shame that this new weapon couldn't gain players permanent abilities from enemies, but it's good for what it does..

Finally there's the weather control element. This new feature allows players to (obviously) adjust the weather. On paper this might sound like a non feature, but it's application can save the player a lot of hassle and can often times make things a lot easier. For example in a hot area, players can change the weather to overcast, making it easier to withstand the heat and take less damage. This is, of course, a double-edged sword, because weather also affects what the big boss is capable of using - which means that you can't gain them after beating them.

While Megaman Zero 4 isn't that big of an update to Zero 3, it is nonetheless a lot of fun. What Zero 4 is is a deeper experience with lots of tiny extras tacked onto the classic 2D style gameplay that all Blue Bomber fans enjoy. If you like Megaman even a little, then Zero 4 is worth picking up.