A 2.5D two-player platformer called Mega Man 2.5D has been released into the wild. The general public can get their hands on it right now from over on the the official Petersjostrand.com website.

The game is 542MB, so you’ll need about double that space free if you want to download it and give it a whirl. The news about its release was actually picked up by DSO Gaming, who noted that the indie project was designed with local co-op in mind, and features characters and assets built with XNA 4, Maya, and the BEPU physics engine.

If you need to see what the game looks like in action, you can check out the launch trailer below.

Holy-moly. That nearly left me speechless.

The game is basically a redo of the old NES classics but made with the ability to see them via the third-dimension. It’s very similar to the NES emulator that was briefly available through browsers allowing people to play NES games in 3D, and later there was a remake of the original Legend of Zelda in 3D.

It’s a cool little take on a classic series. The best part about it is that since they’re sprites and since the controls and input latency has been updated with today’s technology, we now have faster frames and far more solid response timing, giving the game the fluid, instant feedback that gamers crave. This should also theoretically make the game easier to play since you won’t have to worry about those stiff, ill-responsive controls that really hampered the game’s appeal on the NES, forcing the old titles to age rather horribly.

Don’t hesitate to get this fan-made project, though. We all know what happens to a lot of these freeware titles, even when they’re made with the best intentions in mind.

Much like Pokemon Uranium or Another Metroid 2 Remake, it’s best to download Mega Man 2.5D while the links are still available and before the copyright strikes start going out.