Christ Addams Gaming Reviews … Marvel vs Capcom 3

Never have I been obsessed nor that skillful with fighting games, whether it be Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Marvel vs.Capcom, or Tekken. I do and always have played them though, yet I could be classified as more of a “button pusher” rather than the gamer that can mentally archive the seemingly infinite array of button/directional combinations. They are just entertaining for me occasionally, most especially the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise.

Since the arcade, what initially drug me into that franchise was being able to fight with and against some of my favorite superhero and villains from my comic book/card collecting days. Due to that fact, Marvel vs. Capcom 2(MvC2) had to be my favorite installment in the series. I went out of my way to buy it for the short-lived Sega Dreamcast because it contained just about every character I could ever desire to control. That aspect was lost for me in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.(MvC3)

In MvC2 you got that comic book feel that was so fitting for the game thanks to the brilliant 2-dimensional animations. There was always plenty of detail and this was where the migration from MvC2 to MvC3 skipped a beat in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, its still just as flashy and full of colored explosions that makes your TV look like its imploding, especially if you have never played it. Even so, with the addition of a more 3-dimensional attempt at the rendering of the entire game, its now oriented more towards “smooth and shiny” than it’s predecessors.

That being said, and I know a lot of core fans may or may not agree, I believe that drastic change inadvertently slowed the insanely eye-busting pace that MvC had become known for. I still played it in front of some friends who had never seen those style of fighting games and all I heard was “what the hell is going on?” But for those of us who have been familiar since the arcade days, I am sure some will notice a slight difference in MvC3′s fluidity and speed. As explosive and lightning fast as the game still is, some changes were made to the button mapping making it a little easier for beginners. A “simple mode” has been added, fusing combinations of buttons into only one button with maybe one direction to perform a multitude of special moves. For veterans, this will be completely useless and actually inhibiting if your a hardcore MvC player. Also, if you can use the traditional controls well, you can absolutely crush any opponent attempting to use the simpler setup (I experienced this quite a bit online…).

As I mentioned in my introduction, the immense roster of selectable characters was cut by close to 1/3 to my disappointment. Instead of the 56 players from MvC2, you now have 36 (without the DLC additions). Not only this but alot of the popular favorites from MVC2 were not only cut but some also replaced by, in my opinion, tooooo many obscure Capcom characters. Again, this is somewhat biased because I was always more on the Marvel side during my personal character selections and a lot of my favorites where nowhere to be found. The cast of fighters IS diverse and balanced though, I will give it that. Just a little to diverse unless you have been following Capcom and Marvel characters over the years from a variety of games. If you are a fan of Capcom games, you will definitely be pleased being that there does seem to be a wider range of Capcom characters to choose from. One last, tiny, noticeable thing about the characters that sort of “turned me off”‘ was that few shared the same fighting vocals. For instance, Deadpool would exclaim the same “word” that RYU would during an uppercut that also looked suspiciously the same. Hopefully that was just overlooked and not lack of creativity in the development department. (Deadpool even being able to mutter anything other than insane comments after the experiments that made him is up for debate, but anyway….)

For the Arcade/Offline mode, replay value lacks tremendously. Not very many alternate modes that had been present in earlier versions. The only real depth to the game is playing with each different character, getting a feel for their style of combat, picking your favorites, and then trying to memorize the command list for their moves. Multiply that by having to choose a team of three while being able to tag them in at any moment, use them during air/ground combos, and you could spend a little time mastering your team and the most efficient way to play with them. So if you like intricate strategy within a fighting game, you most certainly get it.

Online mode was frankly about as basic as it could get. Of course you have Ranked matches, Unranked matches, Private matches, and Custom/Private lobby that you can just hang out in with about 8 players or so just matching up back and forth. A “license” has also been added to provide a ranking system and statistics for you and your battle skills/repertoire. I did not experience any real noticeable lag whatsoever to my surprise. That, in my opinion, is due to just a smaller community in that genre of online gaming in comparison to your consistently popular shooters. Additionally, you are always rewarded online or offline with Art gallery unlocks and other useless “extras” that take up game space.

All discrepancies aside (which is apart of any game, especially a revamp like this one), Capcom succeeded in its resurrection of the Marvel vs. Capcom series and i believe that its core followers as well as newcomers to the experience will enjoy themselves playing it. Financially though….I wouldn’t actually go for the purchase but definitely worth a rental. BBBUUUUUT …if you’ve been a follower of this style of fighter since its birth, Capcom and it’s MvC franchise is still your friend.