When it comes to naming the best fighting game of all time, many people regard it to be Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Following its debut several years ago on the arcade and on the last generation consoles, the third title in fighting series is finally here. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 makes a huge come back with some of its iconic characters such as Wolverine, Ryu, and Captain America in Fate of Two Worlds. While the game offers new characters, moves and revamped graphics are these things still enough to satisfy fans of Marvel vs. Capcom 2?
With Marvel Vs Capcom 3 now publicly available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, should fans of the fighting series believe all the hype that has surrounded the title? Could it even be a disappointment? Let’s take a quick look on the HOTs and NOTs of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.
HOT
Impressive Presentation
Now that we’re in the era of HD gaming, the graphics of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has improved a lot compared to its predecessor. From its anime blocky style in Marvel vs Capcom 2, the third game has moved into a cel-shaded graphics that look just like they’ve been ripped out of the pages of a comic book strip. When you play the game on a HD set, expect to see a lot of smooth actions and flashy scenes that can blow your mind while playing. As soon as you finish the arcade mode, whoever character was used in the Final battle will have their own ending. No, there is no CG cutscenes to the ending but instead, comic book style illustrations will be shown, opening up a little story to each of the thirty six characters in the game. In terms of voice overs, the only time players will be able to hear characters’ voices in either Japanese or English are during battel. Yes, if the dubbed voices are bad enough for the players’ taste, they are always free to change it to the original voice.
Gameplay
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 wouldn’t be called a fighting game if players don’t smash the buttons to perform an attack. One of the most unique aspects of the Marvel vs. Capcom series is the deepness of its attacks. While other fighting games don’t require you to learn all some of their most complex combos while playing, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will teach every one of us how to coordinate our attacks and successfully time them when attacking. By simply smashing the buttons without learning of moves, players can not simply expect to win so easily. Now that the word “winning” is always in our mind when playing this game, another way to keep winning in battle is learning how to perform the triple chain attack. At some point in the game, players will have the ability to perform an attack that allows the three selected character to execute all of their deadly moves. Executing this combo attack is hard as players will really have to time it right and perform consecutive successful combos to the enemies.
For fans of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, some of their favorite characters will come back in this game. 56 characters were available in Marvel vs. Capcom 2 but this has been cut down to only 38 in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. 32 will be avaialble from the start while the other 6 will be left for the player to unlock. While the roster is much smaller than its predecessor, players who are struggling in picking their best team will have no problem at all in this game as the selection isn’t that many. Some of the new characters that players can expect to appear in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are Albert Wesker from the Resident Evil series, Dante from Devil May Cry, Zero from the Megaman series, and many more. Each of these new characters are equipped with some of the most coolest moves that any gamer will enjoy to watch. Returning characters such as Spiderman, Ryu, and Wolverine have still retained most of their classic arsenal of moves.
In addition to the arcade mode, an online mode is also available. Up to eight players around the country can team up on a lobby to gather some of the best fighters the player will meet online. Players will then be able choose whether to seek a match on either ranked or unranked. Similar to past Capcom fighting games, a Stats card will be available in the gamer where players can look at their stats, the points they earned for simply fighting, titles earned, and simply how many battles the players have participated in. Players who played online fighting games like Tekken 6 or Super Street Fighter, will be familiar with the online offering in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Tired of multiplayer mode? A new mode called Mission will also be available for players to tackle whenever they get tired of the arcade and multiplayer. In the mission mode, players will have to pick one character and perform a series of specific moves to sucessfully complete a mission. The moves that players will have to perform will become more complicated as they progress further. The game will ask the player to perform chain multiple combos without stopping. Yes, expect the mission mode to be the players hub in mastering all of the characters’ combos. It’s hard but in the long run, it will be very useful when playing against other people.
NOT
Lack of Modes
The modes that players can expect in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are pretty limited with only the Arcade, Multiplayer, Training, Versus and Mission modes. While other Capcom titles and fighting games out there contain bonus stages or any other extras that adds up a replay value, this is where the game ultimately falls. While the arcade mode and playing with other people offers a fun and exciting fighting game, you’ll get disappointed at some point as it doesn’t offer a story mode. Basically, for players who are just seeking for pure battle with all of the characters in the roster, this is the game for you. There is no deep story involvement behind the characters of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and that makes the characters lifeless. It would have been great for Capcom if they at least included some of the most well known modes in the fighting games such as; Survival, Spectator mode online, Time Attack mode, and actually a story for each of the characters. At least bring some fresh new content to it to make it last longer. You already cut down the roster to only 38 characters!
VERDICT
Despite the lack of modes and a story, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds can still be regarded as the best fighting game this generation. The graphics are animated well and the smooth motion and controls are enough to satisfy any avid fan of the fighting genre. Just make sure you give yourself a decent amount of time in learning all the moves of the characters and by then, you can appreciate the game even more. We’ve waited a decade for this game, and now that it’s here, it’s time to finally enjoy and play it!
[Editor’s Note: Marvel Vs Capcom 3 was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]