Let's enjoy chocolate flavored crack together, Reader.
I'll start off by saying that I am only ok at fighting games (or just about any game for that matter(. I seldom find a game that I click with and then proceed to unleash wrath of biblical proportions on my enemies. This game...just might fall into that category.
Again, I'm ok at fighting games. Usually my strategy is pick a character (which inadvertently ends up being the easiest characters to use like Ryu in SF or Jin in BlazeBlu), get familiar with said character and leave it at that.
The difference between Marvel vs Capcom 3 and the others is that with so many iconic characters that I know and love, it gives me a reason to break the one character/team habit. This game's been in the making for ten years and it doesn't disappoint.
Come! Let's enjoy chocolate flavored crack together, Reader!
Graphics: -0 (10/10)
Epileptics (and people with weak constitutions, small bladders, diabetes and heart disease) should seek video gamage elsewhere. This game is a pure visionary overload of fast-paced (think a baby spawned of speed and meth, dipped in sugar) awesomeness. Being a fighting game, graphics are nowhere near as important as everything else (duh!) but this game spouts out some great imagery and runs at a consistent sixty frames per second.
The character models are all great (and look even greater with some of the alternate costumes). The character animations seamlessly flow together amidst the chaos.
Visually, this game is intense. During mission mode, performing the same combo repeatedly strained my eyes and I needed to take a break for a minute. So, again, epileptics stay clear.
Sound: -0 (10/10
Superb. From the great soundtrack of crazy, techno metal to all the well placed sound effects, the sound is solid all around. They really make this game sound hard-hitting. The thuds, cracks, whacks, sacks, heart attacks, bings, bangs, booms, bing-bang-booms, zings, zangs, pows and yow-sas all pack their punch (pun intended) and enhance the game's feel.
The English voice acting is all up to snuff. The likes of Dante and Deadpool are perfect: kickin' ass and shooting out one liners like bullets. Nothing is more satisfying. And if you don't like it...then just change their voice to Japanese. That's what most people do.
Control: -4 (16/20)
The control scheme has gone through some changes in the past ten years and it works great. It's pretty much the scheme from Tatsunoko vs Capcom, with some changes and triple tag team.
You have a light, medium, heavy and special (air launch) button. The front triggers are tag buttons and the back triggers aren't used unless you map them to do so. If you press all four face buttons, you initiate X-Factor (speed and power buff cancel).
Very easy to pick up. However, implementing them into amazing, epic and pack-a-punch combos that flawlessly transition into another is quite challenge. The fight stick is obviously still the best option over a controller. Also, there is a simple control option for beginners to fighting games and those who aren't committed to their craft.
Style: -3 (17/20)
This game series still delivers its massive amount of over the top awesomeness and then tops it with sprinkles. Yeah, you heard right: Sprinkles...get some.
Anyway, we have seizure inducing graphics, great sound and a solid control scheme that is simple to learn but heard to master. Now, there's already a reason this game gets an almost perfect score. Three words: Marvel...Versus...Capcom.
Right there! You have the top heroes and villains from the most critically acclaimed comic universe and throw in some of the most iconic characters from Capcom and you have a gravy train that exploded, rolled down the mashed potato mountain and crashed into a gourmet chicken pot pie. Massive nostalgia here.
Old favorites return (Iron Man, Spider Man, Ryu, Morrigan, etc) and new favorites emerge (Deadpool, Phoenix, Dante, Amaterasu, etc)and they are all mostly welcome (I still hate you Sentinel). Many will piss and moan about characters they know and love from the previous installment getting the axe but this is a new game, folks! We don't want a carbon copy, plus in this day and age, in a world where DLC, online patches and the like are so constant, you know they will be releasing characters (with more costumes) via PSN/XBL on a regular basis (Jill and Shuma-Gorath will be released in a month) and right now, there are many polls out there for DLC characters (Megaman X and Strider lead equally for Capcom and Venom and Gambit lead Marvel). So, be patient (being gamers and especially if you're playing this game, the old adage "Patience is a virtue" is valid).
All of the characters are great and for the most part, diverse. Most of the characters play exactly the same from their respective series (SF or previous MvC) and haven't changed. Wolverine is still a fantastic rush character (add X-Factor and his Berserker Charge hyper, he's a nightmare), while Dante is one of the most diverse characters, having possibly the biggest move set and chaining them together in one devastating combo is just oh so stylish and satisfying.
Since there aren't many carbon copies of characters in this game, it'll be interesting to see the combinations of teams that players will create. The possibilities are endless in finding a trio that complement each other in battle. In the end, hopefully what you have is a flawless symphony of ass-kicking, projectile-firing, bum-rushing, air juggling and obscenity inducing badasses that make the little piggies cry all the way home.
Like any fighting game, you have your standard arcade mode, training mode and versus mode for offline. My favorite is the new Mission Mode. There are ten levels for each character and each level is designed to start off with basic special moves (down to forward attacks) and then move onto air combos and finally combos that if pulled off, take most of a character's health and make you feel like a god. I did all of Dante's (an hour long endeavor, give or take) and what's great is by learning the long ones, you can find other, more simplistic approaches to perfroming a combo that does the same amount of damage, if not more.
For online, you have (again) your standard ranked and unranked matches. Now, you also get different lobby types depending on how you're feeling that day. If you're feeling blue (from getting your @** repeatedly handed to you over and over again) start a lobby with the title "Looking for Tutor." You can find someone who can be your test dummy and possibly even show you some new moves. If you feel murderous, start a lobby with the title "You Yellow Bas****! I'll bite your legs off!!"...hem hem, sorry. But you have your options and enough of them to keep you going. Oh and X-Factor is king.
Finally, I'm going to talk about the moisturizer the developers used on this game. Cause this baby is sooooooo smooth. The game runs at a consistent sixty frames per second and it also plays a huge factor in the gameplay. A frame (or a sixtieth of a second) could be the difference between a win and a loss. Certain moves have a certain set of frames where the move you perform renders the user invincible. There are also moves that are faster than others, meaning if your opponent performs a hyper that doesn't activate until say the tenth frame and you have a move that does at the ninth, your move will cancel his out. And the frame rate NEVER drops in doing all of this. It's a beautiful thing.
The deductions come from only a couple small things. The first is the character endings. Now, while it didn't kill me, SFIV had gorgeously rendered endings via movie cut scenes. The ones in MvC3 use comic stills. It's Marvel (hence a comic strip) but it would've been interesting to see Dante get into a battle with Ghost Rider. I mean, everyone knows that a story/plot is important and relevant to a fighting game right (You can't sense the sarcasm can you?)? But I digress.
The last thing is the deduction related to online play. No Spectator Mode and the inability to watch replays sucks, as well as some other online modes that would've been a great feature. But again, patience, they will come. Then there's the online servers, which more than half of the time, give you nice messages like "Failed to join lobby session," or "Connection to host was lost." There's the occasional lag as well (ranging from not so much to WTF mate?).
Fun -0 (20/20)
Duh!
Special Deductions:
-1 for Sentinel...Is any explanation needed? Ok, how's aboot "Sentinel Force, Sentinel Force, Sentinel Force, Sentinel Force..." shall I go on?
-2 Just so the deductions are rounded off at an even 10 :)
Total Deductions: -10 (90/100)
Special Bonuses:
+2 for Marvel Vs Capcom
+1 for the X-Factor- An amazing buff cancel
+1 for the long ten year wait paying off wonderfully
Final Score: 94/100 A
If you're a fan, you most likely own the game and are enjoying it. If you're a fighting game enthusiast, you will love it. If you're a new comer, welcome to a franchise long thought dead that has come back to kick ass with a vengeance. If you want to know if I think the game is worth $60, then I say:
Shield Slash, Light punch, Medium Punch, Heavy Punch, Air Launch, LP, MP, HP, switch to Spidey, LP, Web Swing, MP, HP, switch to Dante, LP, MP, HP, down strike, Cold shower, Prop Shredder, LP, MP, Sky Dive, Cold Shower, Jet Stream, Jackpot, X-Factor, Triple Crossover Hyper Combo (Jackpot, Hyper Charging Star, Crawler Assault) K.O!!!
And I'm just getting started.