After playing the great X4, I was expecting another great addition to the series, but sadly, I didn't get it. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent game, but not up to par with many of the others in the series.
Gameplay: 7.1/10
The control is basically the same as X4, read my review  of that one if you want the whole deal with that part of the game. It does add in a few things like: Zero's gun, the ability to duck, and a few other minor upgrades.
The levels here are what really disappointed me. I mean, you get some quality Megaman ones here, but then you get some pretty lame ones, too. I've never been a fan of the ones you have to ride a car-like vehicle through, and then there's the water one, which I don't like either. Add in a couple of other boring levels and overall it's not so good. There are a few bright spots here, though, like the Train, and Volcano levels. With a couple of other pretty good ones as well.
The bosses have always been a favorite part of the Megaman games for me. X5 has some of the best looking ones I've seen in the series, but they invole no strategy to beat, whatsoever. They basically just have you jumping around, hacking and slashing at them until they die. No challenger here, either, they die pretty easily, with a couple of exceptions. Atleast in X4, like Slash Beast for example: you had to slide or jump to avoid the green waves, slide under his lunging attacks, jump on the walls when he charges you, but most, if not all of the bosses here in X5 contain none of that sort of thing.
Abilities are nice in this game. You get the usual stuff seen in past games, and the chance to boost up your life, and weapon power up. Depending on the level of the boss you just defeated. Overall, I like the way they handled this, and it helps make the game overcome the bad parts a little.
I take off the 2.9 points for the poor-average levels, but it's not really low, because there's still four good, fun levels. I took off a little more because of Alia. She is the most annoying character ever, interrupting you a couple times a level with the annoying stuff. Bad idea on putting her blabber mouth in the game, Capcom. She does have some useful advice, but I'd rather discover it on my own; since when does the experienced X/Zero need advice? Then there's the weak, unimaginitive bosses. Just very poorly done in this game, but they do look really cool. I'm being a little generous here, I could have easily taken off even more points.
Replay Value: 6.5/10
The replay value takes a big drop off from X4. There's no different scenarios for each character, since you select whatever one you want for whatever level, the levels themselves are lacking, and overall, it's just not up to par in the fun department. Making it not very good in the Replay Value, either. Hardcore Megaman fans will probably play it more than once, that's the reason for the decent score, but it's not very good for the average fan. I will play through it a couple times, that's just because I am becoming a pretty big fan of these games.
Music: 8.8/10
This is a strong point in the game. The introduction is just brilliant; a slow melody starts, and then it roars into a speedy guitarish song. I love it! The level music is well done, as well. Good stuff all around. Not much to really say here, but you should enjoy it.
Graphics: 9.2/10
The usual Megaman stuff is here. Very nice looking 2D graphics. The level that impressed me the most was the Jungle level. It was very cool. Really just some great graphics through out the whole game. If you played a PSX Megaman game before, you know what to expect. If you're a fan of the 2D look like me, you will love it.
Overall(Not an average) 7.2/10
From reading this review, it might seem that I don't like this game that much, but really, it has some good things going for it. I was disappointed by the weak, unimaginite bosses, and some really lame levels the most, but if you can look past the bad, then you will find some really good stuff here, and some new stuff that hasn't been seen in the series. You might even like the levels I hated, making it an even better game for you. Don't pass this up if you're a Megman fan, or just a fan of good action games. At this price, you can't pass it up.
Note: If I could, I would give the game 3 and 1/2 stars, but Amazon doesn't allow that.
After playing the great X4, I was expecting another great addition to the series, but sadly, I didn't get it. Don't get me wrong, it's a decent game, but not up to par with many of the others in the series. Gameplay: 7. 1/10
The control is basically the same as X4, read my review  of that one if you want the whole deal with that part of the game. It does add in a few things like: Zero's gun, the ability to duck, and a few other minor upgrades. The levels here are what really disappointed me. I mean, you get some quality Megaman ones here, but then you get some pretty lame ones, too. I've never been a fan of the ones you have to ride a car-like vehicle through, and then there's the water one, which I don't like either. Add in a couple of other boring levels and overall it's not so good. There are a few bright spots here, though, like the Train, and Volcano levels. With a couple of other pretty good ones as well. The bosses have always been a favorite part of the Megaman games for me. X5 has some of the best looking ones I've seen in the series, but they invole no strategy to beat, whatsoever. They basically just have you jumping around, hacking and slashing at them until they die. No challenger here, either, they die pretty easily, with a couple of exceptions. Atleast in X4, like Slash Beast for example: you had to slide or jump to avoid the green waves, slide under his lunging attacks, jump on the walls when he charges you, but most, if not all of the bosses here in X5 contain none of that sort of thing. Abilities are nice in this game. You get the usual stuff seen in past games, and the chance to boost up your life, and weapon power up. Depending on the level of the boss you just defeated. Overall, I like the way they handled this, and it helps make the game overcome the bad parts a little. I take off the 2. 9 points for the poor-average levels, but it's not really low, because there's still four good, fun levels. I took off a little more because of Alia. She is the most annoying character ever, interrupting you a couple times a level with the annoying stuff. Bad idea on putting her blabber mouth in the game, Capcom. She does have some useful advice, but I'd rather discover it on my own; since when does the experienced X/Zero need advice? Then there's the weak, unimaginitive bosses. Just very poorly done in this game, but they do look really cool. I'm being a little generous here, I could have easily taken off even more points. Replay Value: 6. 5/10
The replay value takes a big drop off from X4. There's no different scenarios for each character, since you select whatever one you want for whatever level, the levels themselves are lacking, and overall, it's just not up to par in the fun department. Making it not very good in the Replay Value, either. Hardcore Megaman fans will probably play it more than once, that's the reason for the decent score, but it's not very good for the average fan. I will play through it a couple times, that's just because I am becoming a pretty big fan of these games. Music: 8. 8/10
This is a strong point in the game. The introduction is just brilliant; a slow melody starts, and then it roars into a speedy guitarish song. I love it! The level music is well done, as well. Good stuff all around. Not much to really say here, but you should enjoy it. Graphics: 9. 2/10
The usual Megaman stuff is here. Very nice looking 2D graphics. The level that impressed me the most was the Jungle level. It was very cool. Really just some great graphics through out the whole game. If you played a PSX Megaman game before, you know what to expect. If you're a fan of the 2D look like me, you will love it. Overall(Not an average) 7. 2/10
From reading this review, it might seem that I don't like this game that much, but really, it has some good things going for it. I was disappointed by the weak, unimaginite bosses, and some really lame levels the most, but if you can look past the bad, then you will find some really good stuff here, and some new stuff that hasn't been seen in the series. You might even like the levels I hated, making it an even better game for you. Don't pass this up if you're a Megman fan, or just a fan of good action games. At this price, you can't pass it up. Note: If I could, I would give the game 3 and 1/2 stars, but Amazon doesn't allow that.