Fighting fans have spoken, and Capcom has finally answered their prayers.
It’s hard to believe, but a long time has passed since Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes burst onto the scene. Though critiqued for its unusual-but-catchy jazz soundtrack, unintelligible story, and major balance issues, it managed to acquire a passionate following all its own – becoming a tournament staple for years (and, indeed, entire console generations) since it first launched on the Sega NAOMI arcade platform in 2000.
Eleven years and several internet memes later, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is now available on the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360. The game not only lives up to the lofty pedigree of its predecessor, but surpasses it – bringing some welcome Evolution (no pun intended) into the crowded fighting genre. It isn’t perfect, and some long-time fans may be disappointed by the casual slant of some of the game’s new features, but it is most certainly “Mahvel.” And it’s worth the wait.
Game: Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom/Eighting
Genre: Fighting
Price: $59.99
Verdict: 2.5D crossover chaos at its absolute finest.
Pros: Graphics, soundtrack, and gameplay are all rock-solid. This is a truly next-generation Versus Series title.
Cons: Online modes are bare-bones, and Capcom DLC shenanigans are once again in full force. Some character balance issues may exist.
Purchased by reviewer
For those new to the series, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is a team-based crossover fighter combining characters from the various properties of Marvel Comics with the gaming franchises of Capcom. The game is the latest in a long line of fighting games in the “Versus Series”, which includes X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Superheroes Vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Vs. Capcom, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, and last year’s Wii-exclusive Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars.
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 pits two teams of three characters each in a tag-team endurance battle. The first team to eliminate all members of the opposing team is declared the winner. The player is always in control of one character at a time, while the other two characters wait in reserve. At any point during the match, a reserve character can be summoned onscreen to perform an assist attack or super move, or to add hits to a combo. Explicitly “tagging out” is also possible with the touch of a button. Characters waiting in reserve will recover some vitality, so in general it is a good idea to tag if a character takes a lot of damage. Unlike many team-based fighters, a large part of gameplay strategy in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 revolves around a team of characters battling as a single unit. Characters that are not as strong on-point often have helpful assists that cause lots of chip damage or limit an opponent’s mobility, or extremely damaging Hyper Combos that can be used as part of a coordinated assault.
The game’s new mechanic, X-Factor, adds another layer to this strategy. Put simply, X-Factor is a “power-up” that can be activated once per battle to dramatically increase defense, damage output, and speed of a team of characters for a limited amount of time. The catch? The amount of time the bonus will last is inversely proportional to the number of characters on a team. In other words, the fewer characters that are left on a team, the longer the X-Factor bonus will last. A team with only one character remaining will have close to 30 in-game seconds of X-Factor, while a full team of 3 characters will have much less time available. Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. Due to the fact that X-Factor allows for dramatic comebacks, some fighting game veterans are labeling the mechanic as “too cheap” for a mainstream fighting game. It has been compared to Mario Kart‘s Blue Spiny Shell on more than one occasion, and like the Blue Spiny Shell, it will be the source of player angst (and lost tournament matches) for years to come.
The fighting engine itself is incredibly smooth and solid. Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is easily the fastest and most responsive 3D fighter I’ve ever played. The game retains the Versus Series’ emphasis on chain combos (pressing buttons in sequence to produce a string of unblockable attacks) and overly cinematic and screen-filling super moves. The gameplay is friendly to beginners while still rewarding the experts. A notable omission in Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is the Mega Crash, which allowed players to escape from long combos in Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom in exchange for several bars of super meter. Because of this omission, it is not uncommon to see a single player mistake cause a weaker character to be eliminated outright.
A Marvel Vs. Capcom game is only as good as its roster, and this is where this game shines. Rather than sticking to a Street Fighter and X-Men heavy roster as with previous games in the series, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 combines series mainstays like Ryu and Wolverine with a lot of fan requests like Dante and Phoenix, as well as quirky additions such as Arthur and M.O.D.O.K. Tournament heavy hitters from Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 such as Storm, Sentinel, and Magneto also made the cut. Though fans will always have complaints about a game’s character roster (i.e. “Where’s Mega Man?”), I can comfortably say that Marvel Vs. Capcom 3‘s roster contains something for everyone. Deadpool’s quips to Magneto about “curleh mustaches” and “WELCOME TO DIE” will make serious gamers smile every time. This game is delightfully self-aware.
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 consists of typical arcade, training, mission, and online modes. Aside from genre standbys like Player Matches and Ranked Matches, there are also lobbies available for up to eight players. However, those lobbies lack a spectator mode (players in the room cannot watch the match in progress), and with an announcement of costume DLC yesterday it appears Capcom is up to its old player-milking tricks again. That said, with additional characters slated to be added to the game very soon (and Capcom actively seeking suggestions from fans), new characters will hopefully be worth the price of admission. Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath are already confirmed, and Dead Rising‘s Frank West is heavily rumored. Mega Man X, a fan favorite, also hasn’t been ruled out by producer Ryota Niitsuma. It is certainly clear that Capcom intends to keep the game fresh for a long time to come.
A few final remarks: although Capcom seems to have taken great care in trying to make Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 more balanced than its predecessor, some character balance problems still appear to be present in the game. Sentinel, for example, soaks up damage and can eliminate an entire team of characters with very little effort while in X-Factor mode. When playing ranked matches online, Sentinel shows up in almost every team – a situation I was hoping Capcom would try to eliminate. It’s quite possible that an effective counter for Sentinel was put into the game and has not been discovered. As of right now, though, he rules online play with a mutant-hunting metal fist.
Although not without its problems, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is a leap in the right direction for the long-dormant series, and, more importantly, is an absolute blast to play. Balance issues and skimpy online feature set aside, this is a worthy entry in the series and one that will be played competitively for a long time to come. For me, a “great game” is a game that I can’t stop thinking about playing; a game that will keep me coming back months after its release. Make no mistake, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a great game. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m out of Pringles…
GrE Grade: A
Popularity: unranked [?]
One comment