It's been a long time since I've wanted to actually throw something game-related across the room in frustration and anger. Unfortunately, Mega Man X Maverick Hunter was the culprit this time around.

The game is an old-school Mega Man side scroller, but I think it's probably too old school for its own good. You can't even duck. That drives me nuts.

After you get past the intro, the game is broken down into eight levels, each with its own theme and boss. You can tackle the levels in any order you want. After you beat each level you earn a new weapon for Mega Man X.

The game is designed to be played in a specific order, using the right weapons against the right bosses, but you have to figure out on your own.

Gameplay is fairly straightforward. You can jump and shoot your weapon. Initially, your only weapon is the X Buster. You can hold the fire button in to charge the weapon or just tap to fire off smaller shots.

After you start beating bosses you're given special weapons you can switch to, each with its own special uses. The Shotgun Ice, for instance, explodes into five pieces when it hits a wall and bounces back across the screen.

You can also collect robot bits and pieces which improve different parts of you, like your ability to jump, or headbutt ceilings. I found this part of the game not very well put together. The graphics were so tiny that it was hard to tell exactly what you were getting or what effect they were having.

My biggest complaint by far, though, was the difficulty of the bosses. I like my games to be tough, but when I can breeze through an entire level without taking any damage only to waste three lives to battle a boss I can't hurt, there are balance issues.

I'm sure with enough time I could figure the bosses out, but the ease of the level makes the prospect of replaying them over and over again just to take on ultra-hard bosses not something I look forward to, and games are supposed to be fun.

Besides the balance issue, the game is everthing a Mega Man fan could want from a game with crisp, colorful graphics, nice sound and a fun plot. You even get a chance at playing the bad guy, I'm told.