It’s ULTIMATE Mahvel, baby.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 launched to much fanfare nine months ago. Now, though crumbs of Pringles still litter the landscape and there’s still leftover Haagen Dazs in the fridges of fighting game fans worldwide, a new update (more than an add-on, less than a sequel) to the vanilla original has already made its way into stores with all the insanity for which the series is renowned.  Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is here.

Game: Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom/Eighting
Genre: Fighting
Price: $39.99
Pros: Everything Marvel vs. Capcom 3 did right, plus a whole lot more.
Cons: Some of the added features were undoubtedly missed in the first release, why release an update so soon?
Verdict: The Versus series at its peak of insanity, fun for both casual fans and tournament veterans.

Acquired via Purchase

More than an add-on, less than a sequel is a fair description of Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.  The original fighting engine from the original remains intact (though several aspects of it have been tweaked – such as a mild nerfing of X-Factor), but the amount of content in the game has ballooned to almost obscene levels.  12 new characters have been added to the roster, upping the final count to 50.  The new fighters include fan requests like Phoenix Wright from the Ace Attorney series and Virgil from Devil May Cry, along with Marvel icons like Hawkeye, Dr. Strange, and Ghost Rider.    All of these new combatants have had the same level of care put into their look, animation, fighting style, and balancing as the original cast, and each has a unique set of tricks, traps, and over-the-top specials designed to keep opponents on their toes.

Like the original, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 allows players to select teams of three characters consisting of representatives from across the Marvel and Capcom universes.  Though only one fighter on each team can be controlled at a time, partners can be brought in for assist attacks, hyper combos (super moves), and counters.  Players can switch between team members on the fly, and there are several ways to do so, some much less punishable than others.  The controls are simpler than many of Capcom’s fighters and merely consist of three levels of attacks, an assist button for each partner, and a dedicated launcher button that is used to open up an opponent for combos.  The game is very focused on combo creation and use, and the system is so open that there are nearly infinite possibilities to laying on the pain.  If two moves look like they can be chained for a combo, chances are they can be – the only limits are player imagination and hit-stun deterioration (which decreases the amount of time an opponent is locked down before they can recover).

Many complaints voiced about the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 have been addressed in Ultimate.  For starters, Spectator Mode is finally implemented for online matches, allowing those in a room to view every match while waiting their turn to play.  The netcode has also seen a dramatic improvement over that in the first game, and failing to connect to a session no longer boots the player out to the main menu. Instead, they can immediately opt to search again for another session.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is easily one of the best fighting games on the market right now, but it’s certainly not perfect.  Though the netcode has been improved over that in the first game, it’s still very possible to mash out victories online.  For those playing casually, that might not be a big deal – but I managed to lose a few ranked matches because the lag was causing issues with combo timing, and it’s just not much fun when that happens.  Character selection will always be a point of controversy for the Versus series, and many Capcom fans (myself included) lament the exclusion of any form of Mega Man as a playable character this time around.  Galactus Mode, where players can control the final boss of the game, is a nice extra, but it would have been even better to have access to the upcoming Heroes and Heralds content and a few more single-player modes. Finally, completionists be warned: retailer-exclusive DLC strikes again.  Several retailers had costume packs available solely to those that pre-ordered the game.  I complained about this with Mortal Kombat earlier this year,  I’m complaining about it now, and I’ll be complaining about it again when it hits RPGs early next year in Final Fantasy XIII-2.  I’m still at a loss to how doing this benefits the publisher or developer in any way; all it really seems to do is frustrate players.  Fortunately, these retailer-exclusive DLC trinkets are limited to cosmetic costume changes, so it can be almost forgiven this time.  Almost.

Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 takes one of the best fighters released this year and makes it even better.  Was it released too soon after the first game?  Perhaps, but  these Pringles sure are tasty.

GrE Grade: A-

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