The rivalry between SNK and Capcom - or, perhaps, their respective fanbases - is long standing. SNK diehards accuse Capcom of stealing SNK's character designs, while Capcom junkies tend to not understand why anyone would ever bother to play any of SNK's fighters. While you might think that there isn't any common ground between the two companies' distinct styles, SNK and Capcom nevertheless decided to collaborate, and SNK has released two crossover titles for its Neo Geo Pocket Color: one card-battle game and one fighting game. The fighting game is widely praised as the best portable fighter ever released. Now, it's Capcom's turn to release a crossover game, and it's taken the form of Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000. The game debuted in Japanese arcades last month and hit the Dreamcast in arcade-perfect form a few weeks later. The game is currently scheduled for a US release this November.

The game contains 33 playable characters (only 28 are available at the game's start) divided roughly evenly between members of both camps. The focus of the characters makes it evident that Capcom tried its best to represent each camp's mainstays. It's inevitable, though, that some more fervent fans will take offense at the exclusion of personal favorites, be it Capcom's Guy, SNK's Joe Higashi, or what have you.

Capcom has done a good job adapting the game's control scheme to accommodate both companys' fighters. The four-button control configuration is perfectly suited for SNK's pantheon, while the Street Fighter crew will find the "missing" attacks easily accessible by pressing, usually, down-forward or down-backward, plus the appropriate heavy attack, similar to Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Overall, combat in Capcom vs. SNK leans very heavily toward the area of combo-oriented, close-quarters fighting, à la Capcom's Alpha series. Don't expect any air combos, and juggling is kept to a very severe minimum; nothing, at any rate, like the gratuitous juggles possible in SFA3. Overly defensive players, or "turtlers," are dealt with relatively graciously, as Capcom vs. SNK's guard meter is hidden behind the scenes, and guard crushes are few and far between. The game also doesn't have the air blocking found in both companys' more recent offerings, which gives the game a slightly more offensive bent than most recent Capcom fighters.

The problem of reconciling the two doctrines' supercombos is resolved in an interesting manner. At the beginning of each match, players are allowed to choose between Capcom Groove or SNK Groove, the former being a three-leveled bar that gradually fills during combat, à la the Alpha series, while the latter behaves like the first few King of Fighters games, allowing you to manually charge the super meter - by holding down both heavy attacks - in order to muster the energy to perform supers. SNK Groove, furthermore, features a desperation mode. Occurring when a character's life is nearly exhausted, desperation mode allows for infinite supers to be performed and is indicated by a flashing life meter. Needless to say, a powerful character in desperation mode makes quite a daunting opponent, giving the impression that SNK Groove is inherently the more powerful style. In truth, while attempts were made by Capcom to balance both modes (in SNK Groove, some characters' special attacks, for instance, are only executable while in desperation and with a full super meter), Capcom Groove lacks the tangible wallop that SNK Groove's desperation mode provides. SNK Groove's drawbacks (namely, the time it takes to charge the super meter and your vulnerability while charging) are made moot by the ability to control your supercombos, and the wanton havoc possible through desperation mode. In all honesty, only the most steadfast Capcom diehards or players of characters that have three-level supercombos will opt for Capcom Groove.