‘MEGA MAN STAR FORCE DRAGON’

‘MEGA MAN STAR FORCE DRAGON’

(Capcom) for Nintendo DS

Rating: E; Grade: C+

One of three minor variations on the same game, “Mega Man Star Force Dragon” marks a new spinoff in the incredibly prolific “Mega Man” series. With game play based on the “Mega Man Battle Network” games, “Star Force” isn’t all that original, but it can be fun. The game is part exploration and part combat. The combat takes place within electromagnetic waves, as hero Geo Stelar and his cohort, the energy being Mega, fuse to take on sentient computer viruses. Random battles take Geo to a three-by-four grid. He can move back and forth on the lowest tier of the grid, and his enemies move around on the upper squares. From a randomly drawn selection of action cards, Geo selects special attacks in battle and has to wait for a meter to fill up to select more. It’s a fast-paced game even with its light RPG elements, and it’s decently fun.

—Justin Hoeger, The Sacramento Bee