Written by: PlayDevil.com Staff

 

 

 

Capcom's vs. games divorce their refined 2D fighting game mechanics reality and take them to their most ludicrous. Seemingly built around the Street Fighter 4 engine this latest instalment "Marvel Vs Capcom 3" borrows character's from both of the two title company’s rosters of heroes and villains, pitching them together in a one-on-one three man tag team tussle with enough explosions to induce epilepsy most of its audience.

 

From the moment I sat down it was clear how ideally suited Street Fighter 4’s inked graphic style is for the Marvel personalities, invoking beautifully their comic book origins. Picking three characters for my team from an already impressive (and not yet completed) roster I jumped in to the action.

 

Characters blended beautifully with lushly and animated backgrounds as they unleashed flamboyant attacks upon each other. Like the latest Street Fighter game, Marvel vs. Capcom 3 instantly reminded me of its predecessor despite this high-definition 3D upgrade, a fact fans I am sure will be pleased to hear.

 

Highflying acrobatics remain key within the deceptively tall arenas, and as I played it was not uncommon for me to launch my opponent several screens straight up. This always left me disorientated and guessing as to my exact position below them as I struggled to follow the indicator arrow.

 

Familiarity with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is immediate if you have played previous titles in the series but one change is clear, the player interface. Borrowing from the last vs. title (Tatsunoko vs. Capcom) the four button attack system of the previous Marvel titles have been replaced by a three button attack layout with other buttons being bound to team attacks that bring other member of the team in to play, or switches characters completely, allowing for some interesting tactical decisions in the heat of battle.

 

For the most part special moves were executed in the same way as in previous release but the new control scheme frequently left me unsure as to whether an attack will result in a kick or a punch (at least with out some extensive memorisation), an issue that I find frustrating. Though this has no effect on the execution of special attacks it did constantly find me striking too high or too short to hit my opponent. Even being versed in all the titles in the mix of Marvel vs. Capcom’s ingredients, the battle’s exuberant nature made it hard to come to grips with everything that was going on and ultimately, in the two games impossible to pick up on any subtleties of play. 

 

My relationship with the Marvel vs. Capcom series is a complicated one because I want to love it, but I really don’t. With many of my youth’s most beloved characters represented from both games and cartoons (I never bought Marvel comics, I was a 2000AD guy) I should love it, but with the unbalanced frantic nature of play all too often leaving my head spinning which, combined with the unpredictable results of button presses, only served to irritate my already dizzy mind.

 

It boils down to me being a Street Fighter player at heart, with its more considered controls and timing. So while Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is shaping up incredibly well and is certain to please fans of the series, I will only be looking to acquire it for the spectacle of Chris Redfield beating up Spiderman.