This time out, you join Mega Man after Sigma has started a war with the entire planet. Earth is a bit of a mess and it’s inhabitants have decided to colonize the moon. It turns out some of the Reploid robots built by earth to help them have switched sides, and Mega Man and his allies are off to save the world once again. To sum up: Good robots vs. bad robots.

The side scrolling action of Mega Man X8 will be very familiar to all with even a passing interest in video games. Mega Man can jump, dash forward and shoot his way through levels that are filled with a variety of bad guys, though most come in the form of robots. It’s a mix of platform puzzle solving, reflexes and practice learning the level layout that will help you successfully navigate your way through any given level.

The twist for this latest Mega Man game is the tag-team approach. During any level, you’ll be able to switch characters on the fly between Mega Man, Zero and Axl. Mega Man’s specialty is a charged shot that breaks through enemy shielding. Zero has a sword and comes in handy in short range situations or when a double jump is needed. Axl can hover and carries a rapid fire gun.

One press of a button switches characters at any moment. It comes in handy more often than just for using a particular ability against certain enemies. There are also enemies that grab your character when given the chance. Switching to your teammate frees you both to continue fighting.

You’ll also work together when you need a serious knock-out blow for a boss. As you fight, you’ll charge up a special double attack gauge that brings both characters on screen at the same time to wallop the poor, unsuspecting evildoer. It’s a powerful attack with a few good visual effects.

The story and dialogue don’t amount to much, but the animations and backgrounds are vibrant and detailed. Once again, the Mega Man universe is consistently represented.

Most of the time, the action in X8 is agreeable enough. It requires a certain level of reflexes and practice to get good with the controls. Far too often, though, the game degenerates into a frustrating experience. The next platform that can only be reached by an absolutely perfect jump, bosses that aren’t particularly hard to figure out – but they require near perfect control to beat because they do a lot of damage if they lay a hand on you. It gets annoying after a while, and that’s not a good thing for something that’s supposed to be fun.

And one of the rewards for progress, earning new weapons, just doesn’t seem to matter. The standard weapons are as useful as anything you’ll pick up along the way. You can also upgrade your character between levels. More energy is useful, obviously, but the other extras don’t make much of a difference.

The level layouts don’t help, either. Most of the time the experience is an exercise in trial and error. Until you learn the layout of the level through first hand experience, there’s no way to know about most certain death hazards. It would be a lot more satisfying if there was some way to figure out the danger before it happened instead of just learning through death. Combine this with a limited number of continues (on all but the easiest level), and you’ve got a frustrating game.

There are a few moments of action that deviate from the 2D side scrolling formula. For one, you’ll be piloting ships. But other than speeding up a bit, slowing down and blasting everything you see, there isn’t much that can’t be done with one eye open. A stealth component rears its head, too, but it gets old just as quickly.

Ultimately, Mega Man X8 is familiar but flawed. Once again, Capcom has added a few more wrinkles to make the experience slightly different than before. Those who liked earlier games or like side-scrolling adventures in general will appreciate this one. But there’s also nothing new or compelling about the game for players that don’t fall into one of those two categories – and several disappointing flaws may frustrate even them.