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Marvel vs. Capcom 2
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2D insanity on a convenient silver disc - Review By Mad Carl
If you think this looks crazy, wait until you see it in motion! |
Aside from the standard arcade and versus modes of play, there is also a great training mode. Not only can you practice your combos against a target dummy that doesn't move, you can also have the CPU take control of the dummy to simulate real combat. The health meters are always recharging, so the battle rages forever, allowing you to perfect your moves. It is also possible to have a human work the target dummy for you. This is a great way for two players to get their practice in. With a few tweaks in the training mode options, it's also possible to have infinite special abilities. I've spent several hours in training mode, trying to find the best three man team and the best way to incorporate their super powers into killer combos. The best I've been able to accomplish is a 54 hit combo, but I'm sure there's more that can be done.
The sound effects are classic Capcom. Every hit sounds meaty, every fire ball and energy beam crackles on my stereo speakers. Unfortunately, as good as the sound effects are, they do lead directly to the first bad point in the game.
The Bad
Music? This is music?! I've never encountered a game in which the music was so mismatched with the action on screen. It's like watching Star Wars with a new soundtrack by the Backstreet Boys. The endless looping of a crappy guitar riff on the main menu screen and the no-talent diva singing "gonna take you for a ride" during character selection is nearly unbearable. Thankfully, the in-game sound effects are usually so numerous that they block out the music entirely. However, it would have been nice to have a slider bar in the options screen that allowed for you to disable the music entirely. It's worthless.
Thanks, Wolvie. |
And speaking of options, this game is sorely lacking them. You can adjust damage, time limits, and difficulty, but you have no say in sound effects or music volume. You also are unable to deactivate the flashy animations that take place when super moves are executed. While I personally love all the eye candy, I know there are those (like Mrs. Mad Carl) who get a bit seasick when so much is happening onscreen at once. It would also be nice to be able to max out the fighters' power meter at the start of every fight. Alas, the options screen offers only the barest of possibilities. This is most notable since Street Fighter III: Double Impact, which hit the shelves just a few weeks ago, offers a far more customizable experience.
Also, whereas Street Fighter III: Double Impact seemed designed around the principle of "keep it simple stupid", MvC2 brings back all of the aerial combos and counters as well as chainable hyper combos and other such nonsense. Some players will revel in this added complexity. It just got in the way for me, as it did in Versus games past.
It is worth noting that some players will simply not enjoy the frenetic pace of MvC2. If you were a big fan of the more sedate days of Street Fighter II or SNK's King of Fighters series, then MvC2 may well not be your cup of tea. I personally was a fan of those games as well, and felt that MvC2 really took things to the next step. Still, there are those players who will feel overloaded by the new visuals and the multitude of characters in fight. To those of you who suspect this may well be you, it's best to rent before buying.
And last but not least, there's no story here. I really don't care about a story in my fighting games since they're usually tacked on and anemic anyways. But it's always nice to have some clue as to what's going on, and MvC2 offers none. Beat the game and you get some rushed sketches of all the characters hanging out on a flying ship. This just seemed odd to me. The same goes for the final boss. I expected a three man team up from previous Versus titles... maybe a Bison/Thanos/Sentinel team. I'm not asking for War and Peace, just something more climactic than what I got.
The Final Word
Even with the few blemishes I've mentioned, I can whole-heartedly recommend Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to all fans of fast and furious 2D fighting. It's going to be a long time until Capcom, or anyone else, manages to top it.
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: Fighting
Highs: Great control, incredible animation, hands down one of the best 2D fighters around.
Lows: Music is worse than terrible, lack of customizability is sorely missed.
Other: 1-2 players, VMU Compatible (Save takes 5 blocks), VGA Box Compatible, Jump Pack Compatible, Arcade Stick Compatible.
Media:
Intro (MPEG) - You gotta love games that give full feature lists in their intros. [Big (7M)] - [Med (3.8M)] - [Small (2.4M)]
Gameplay 1 (MPEG) - Sonson, Strider, and Hayato vs. Tron Bonne, Iceman, and Captain America. [Big (16.3M)] - [Med (8.8M)] - [Small (1.9M)]
Gameplay 2 (MPEG) - Dr. Doom, Ryu, and Zangief vs. Psylocke, Guile, and Zangief. [Big (16.5M)] - [Med (8.8M)] - [Small (1.9M)]
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Final Score:
(out of a possible 10)
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