Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Hands-On

Just before the start of Comic-Con, Capcom announced four new Marvel vs. Capcom 3 characters--Trish, Dr. Doom, Super Skrull, and Chun-Li. We had a brief chance to try out these characters to see how they stack up against the current roster. But before that, a little background on what makes Marvel vs. Capcom 3 different from its predecessor (aside from the stark contrast in visuals). Most notably, the control setup is a little different, with three buttons functioning as light, medium, and heavy and the fourth functioning as the "exchange" button. The exchange lets you perform a launcher attack, which then lets you transition into an aerial combo. If you press the exchange button (and time it correctly) in the middle of a combination, you can reset the aerial combo with a new character jumping into the screen, or you can merely slam your opponent to the ground. Otherwise, like its predecessor, MVC3 also features the two assist buttons to call in other team members who will perform a quick special attack. Advancing guard is also available for players who want to show off.

As for the four new characters, Chun Li should be immediately familiar to any fans of Capcom's fighting games. Fast kicks are the focal point of her arsenal, and she has the same type of super moves that you have come to expect from her, including a massive stationary fireball. The other returning character, Dr. Doom, plays much like his Marvel vs. Capcom 2 counterpart and features many of the same attacks, including his plasma beam and his molecular shield, where he summons several rocks that guard him and then attacks his opponent. Of course, he also has a number of long-range aerial projectiles. Trish, whom you might remember from the original Devil May Cry, relies heavily on kicks--like Chun-Li but in a slightly less spammy way. She uses her weapon for some special moves and has a pretty devastating long-range super that seems to go on forever if you're on the receiving end (almost like Cable's supers from MVC2). Finally, there's Super Skrull, a character who originally appeared as a foe for the Fantastic Four. Since he shares many of the powers that the members of Fantastic Four possess, you can probably imagine what some of his moves are like. He has an attack that enables him to stretch his arms and hit enemies from a pretty good distance, and one of his special attacks has him going airborne while engulfed in flame, much like the Fantastic Four's Human Torch.

Out of all the new characters, we had the most fun playing with Super Skrull because he seems to have a really nice range of attacks. It's not that the other characters are bad--far from it. Chun-Li and Dr. Doom feel immediately familiar and Trish seems like she probably has some pretty interesting potential, but we need a bit more time with her. We also got a peek at two new stages. One seems to be inspired by Resident Evil (it appears there's a version of Tyrant in the background), while the other is Marvel oriented, showing SHIELD's floating fortress, the helicarrier, in the background firing its weapons. We'll have more on Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as Comic-Con rolls on.