Gamers longing for a nice 2D fighter and can adapt to the GCN control setup shouldn't hesitate to give EO a try.
User Rating: 8 | Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO: Millionaire Fighting 2001 GC
In the beginning, there was Street Fighter II. And arcade fans around the world saw Street Fighter II and they saw that it was good. Damn good. The best even. There have since been many new renditions, imitations, and collaborations bearing the Street Fighter likeness, and the series has been extended anew with the addition of Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO. Any person remotely familiar with the Street Fighter series (and who isn't?) already has a strong grasp on the gameplay techniques available in EO. Basic attacks consist of punches and kicks of varying intensities -- light, medium, or hard. Special moves can be done via complex directional input in addition to a punch or kick command. However, Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO offers a completely new, albeit convoluted, control scheme designed specifically to offset the less-than-desirable GCN controller for this type of game. In fact, it's offically dubbed "GC-ISM." Isn't that nice? No, it's an insult, actually. What this game attempts to do is allow for ease of execution for the game's special moves by simply plotting their commands to the right analog stick. In favor of inputing the button combination to do Ryu-san's Hadoken, all a player needs to do is simply tap forward on the C-stick and voila! Fireball! Actually, it's as boring and annoying as it sounds. The brainlessness is compounded by the noopid idea of using only the shoulder buttons to execute basic attacks. Want to kick? Press the Left [analog] shoulder button. Want to kick harder? Press it with gusto. Want to kick lightly but quickly? Fat chance. It won't take long for any hardcore fighting game enthusiast to become disgusted with this gross oversimplification of a control scheme. The good news is that a traditional control setup is available. In all truth, if the optional control scheme (called "AC-ISM") weren't available from the get-go, this game wouldn't be worth more than its box art. The game lets you map every punch and kick to whichever of the GCN's buttons that suits you best, and you'll find yourself mixing it up like the champ you always were against the AI in no time. Admittedly, the GCN could use at least one more button to house all the functions available. However, since that option simply isn't available, avid fight fans can pick up any one of the arcade stick setups retailing at game stores nationwide. A traditional six-button layout will then be made available as well as the great arcade stick control -- considered by many to be far superior to any D-pad. I simply cannot justify docking too many points for for this game's playability if only for this reason. It must be pointed out, though, that the GCN's D-pad is itsy bitsy compared to any other game consoles on the market. It, in fact, is the same exact size as the D-pad on the Game Boy Advance. This might bring some gamers' A-game down to a B- or even C-game. As for me, I find that it works perfectly fine, and I get the same results on it as I did back in the day playing Super Street Fighter II on the SNES. The only time it becomes noticably small is when I'm attempting to accomplish the automated super combos. What I notice is that I have to concentrate a little bit more sometimes to pull off moves that were once very natural, and that detracts from the overall intuitiveness of the controls somewhat. Still, if you're able to pick up Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival, a great GBA rendition of a SFII classic, then you'll be able to lace into the AI or your best friends with relative ease. But at the end of the day it's still the good old Street Fighter gameplay it's always been (once you knock the rust off of your double-half-circle thumb), and what more could you possibly ask for? Look for very run-of-the-mill gameplay modes in this game which is stirred up in typical fashion with different methods for powering up your characters in battle. Old-schoolers will know these as "isms." Basically, they're ways of slightly altering your fighter's super combos and your overall fighting strategy. That's not bad, considering the usual modes of gameplay, tried and true, still hold strong today. The one addition to this game that deserves note for uniqueness is the color edit mode. It does exactly what its name implies, allowing you to alter the colors of any fighter in the game in striking detail. The superficial option to change the players' names is available as well, if you're interested. It may not seem like much, but it can be very addicting to tweak out an all-black Blanka with red eyes and bright green cut-off shorts then rename him Bozo -- and all because now, for the first time, you can. Some of your CPU controlled opponents at the higher difficulty settings use shameless, cheesy tactics to win. Any move that they can effectively exploit they will exploit. Sometimes, they will be absolutely motionless for a period of a couple seconds and will "coincidentally" attack at the precise moment that you attack, only they'll get to you first nine times out of ten. Some characters, no matter how you mix up your attacks, will block and parry everything you throw at them almost flawlessely. It can be very frustrating to get beat up by a little girl who only knows two moves -- especially when she cries out their names each time she executes them. If you can adapt well to this sort of competition then it shouldn't be too much of a problem. The only downside is it usually requires you to employ your own cheesy tactics in order to win. Fortunately, only a handful of the 40+ characters are guilty of this nonsense, so most of the time you'll be able to appreciate your losses. A fine example was when I was being man-handled by Shin Akuma. I fought him with everything I had and was put promptly back into my place quite effortlessly every time we squared off. Despite losing every round of every match (often severely), the game was very precise and detailed in fighting me, and I never felt annoyed or cheated by my losses. Playing against friends is definitely where the most fun will likely be had for most gamers and it hurtles the overall value of the game skyward. The unpredictable nature of fighting human opponents means every button you press won't be tracked by the AI which makes the game that much more competetive. The hand-drawn graphics definitely look good in the game, as do the prerendered backgrounds alongside many pseudo 3D images. Unfortunately, it doesn't all look good together. Many of the effects that dazzled gamers in the late nineties just don't have the same awe-factor they once boasted. The game looks nice, with some artistic renditions of our favorite fighters, but is still nothing extraordinary. The sounds suffer in much the same ways. The voices, at times grating, are okay, the ring-announcer is as enthusiastic as ever, and the music assigned to each of the levels isn't bad. But "not bad" doesn't necessarily mean "good" either. While being some fair contributions to the game, the aesthetic and audio cohesiveness from the great Street Fighter games of yore missed the ride to this generation. To put it plainly, this game on its own merits is certainly not as lousy as it's been made out to be. Street Fighter enthusiasts will love it for its throwback gameplay and will likely be able to adapt easily to the GCN controller. Newbies to the series should give it a shot because it's a stellar 2D fighter worthy of being in every fight fan's game collection.
