Review: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (360/PS3)

After a 10 year hiatus, finally, a new Marvel vs. Capcom entry has been made. It brings back a lot of the veteran characters from previous entries in the franchise, from both companies, as well as some interesting new arrivals. The gameplay is also similar, but with enough new additions to make MvC3 familiar to those who love the series, but fresh enough to still surprise them. It's still got the incredibly fast gameplay, your old 3 on 3 battles, assists, hyper-combos, etc, but there's also the new ability to switch characters during aerial combos, switching partners by holding the assist buttons rather than the punch and kick buttons (which is much easier), and so on. Basically, if you loved the other entries in this series, you will love the third one just as much, if not more.

Probably the biggest change, as far as gameplay goes, is the change-up of the button schematic. Instead of your old two punch and two kick buttons you now have a series of light, heavy and special attacks. Veterans will find themselves having to re-learn a lot of attacks and special moves with this new layout. However, the new button schematic seems to require a little more skill and timing than the previous system, which should discourage those pesky button mashers. As someone who really can't stand them, I can't help but think that anything that punishes button mashers is a good thing. You can still change the button layout around, however, which should allow veterans to make a set-up which allows them to feel right at home. In any case, the graphics are so good you might not even notice the gameplay. The 3 dimensional characters and the 2 dimensional backgrounds are highly detailed, flashy, and colorful, with each character having their own unique eye-catching combos and specials. It truly is a feast for the eyes.

Marvel vs Capcom 3, however, is unfortunately not immune to criticism. Some game alterations were genius, while others were, in my opinion, a bit lame. For example, MvC3 now has a roster of only 36 characters, as opposed to its predecessor MvC2's 56. MvC3 decided to leave out a lot of the favorite characters, too. Mega Man is absent but a lame character like MODOK was added, and Ken from Street Fighter was left out as well. A few other veterans were missed, but we did get compensated with the inclusion of some pretty awesome new characters, such as Dante from Devil May Cry. MvC3 is also sadly lacking in the diversity of its game modes. If you're looking for an expansive fighting game experience, that has tons of extras beyond arcade mode, this definitely isn't the title. Overall though, the changes that were made impressed me, and I can't say enough how thrilled I am that a skilled player can finally easily foil a button masher in MvC3. It's just as addicting and fun as its predecessor, and I'm sure it will be embraced by everyone who remembers MvC2 fondly, as well as pick up a new generation of fans in the process.

Submitted: Armando Ibarra (Employee)

Review: Marvel vs Capcom 3 (360/PS3)

After 10 long years of waiting for the latest installment of Capcom's Vs series, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is finally here. At first glance, the game might appear to be a button-masher, but upon closer examination and experimentation with different characters and strategies, one begins to see the depth possible, and the world really opened up!

Being a big fan of the fighting game genre, I was immensly looking forward to this game, and after getting used to it, I was not let down. In my opinion, the very best thing about this game is that it's very easy to jump into. People who have never played a fighting game in their life can easily find themselves doing fancy combos and having an overall good time with the system. On the other hand, veterans of the fighting-game genre can also bask in the glory of the depth that the game offers, which lurks just beneath the surface. Regardless of level, however, doing 30 hit combos that end in an awe inspiring hyper combo, or hitting the assist button at just the right time in order to keep the opponent off the ground and in serious pain, is immensely fun and satisfying.

With all that said, let's get down to the nitty gritty. The graphics are gorgeous, with beautifully rendered character models that look incredibly stylized, like they just came out of a comic book. The story, like most fighting games, is rather light, and there is no specific story mode. However, the arcade mode offers a unique ending for each character that is at least mildly humorous.

There are several people out there that I have heard complaining about the size of the character roster, but in all honesty, there is way more going on in this 36 character roster than there was in MvC2's 52 character roster. In MvC2, the characters were severely unbalanced, and there were several "clone" characters as well. As far as tournament play was concerned, there were only about 8-12 viable characters. However, MvC3's roster has more variety and balance than its predecessor, and there are planned updates to maintain that important balance.

All in all, it's a very enjoyable game that has a lot to offer to both veterans and newcomers to the fighting game genre. Even if it isn't the absolute perfect game, if it's good enough to bring people back to the fighting game scene, then it's done its job. From what I've seen and heard so far, though, I think its doing just that!

Submitted By: Tom Ferko (Employee)