MvC3:FoTW-OMGWTF;ROTFLMAO
With the success of Street fighter IV not all too long ago, Capcom single-handedly revitalized a dead genre. In fact by the time Marvel Vs Capcom 2 came out, the fighting game market was oversaturated and specialized to the point where most video game fans just lost interest in fighting games all together. Yet there was something about MvC2 that stood out from all the rest. That particular brand of over-the-top crazy action combined with a giant cast of both obscure and recognizable characters made for a memorable game that has stood the test of time. Almost 10 years later we finally get the long awaited sequel!
Marvel Vs Capcom 3 does a great job of simplifying the controls while still having deep fighting systems that you can delve into. Gone are the individual buttons for light and heavy kick and punch buttons, these have now been condensed to just light, medium, and heavy attacks. There is also a “special” button that acts as a dedicated “hit that guy into the air” attack. This may sound like a stripped down version of other Capcom fighting games, but it actually helps quicken the pace of the action and make pulling off special moves much easier. Not having individual punch and kick buttons means you can do every one of Ryu’s special moves with the same button, only they will be more or less intense depending on weather you used L , M, or H attacks.
Capcom’s vs games have always been about filling the screen with craziness, and for those who aren’t huge into fighting games but still want to get in there and pull off specials and combos without having to spend the time memorizing everyone’s moves, there is a “simple” control mode. Simple mode gives you the same four buttons, but merely pressing a direction and an attack will instantly trigger a special move. Simple mode lacks fidelity in its controls and won’t you win any tournaments with it, but it’s a nice addition for those who just want to jump in and have some fun.
MvC3 seems like a very strange mix. On the one hand you can clearly see that this game was made with real love for the source material. This game is total is fan service, fan service, fan service! Deadpool breaks the 4th wall constantly, Hulk has dumb nicknames for all the other characters when he tags out, and the backgrounds are just a delight to watch, especially Kattelox Island the Tron Bon level. Watching servbots chase each other around with torches is never not funny.
On the other hand when looking at the menu options you see that Capcom didn’t learn any lessons from Street Fighter IV. There is a “mission mode” which is just the Street Fighter IV’s challenge mode. But it remains largely unchanged. They take a step in the right direction by showing you different combos you can pull off, but they miss a giant opportunity (again) by not actually having a real training mode and telling you WHY and WHEN you would need to use these combos. There also is no online spectator mode this time. They have stated that they will patch it in, but it’s still a noticeable omission.
MvC3 is also terrible at giving you in game instructions on how to use its many fighting systems. How do you do aerial exchanges? How do you do an advancing guard? Crossover counter? Snap back? X factor? You look them up online that’s how, because nowhere in the training or mission modes do they tell you about any of these vital fighting systems. It also never tells you that X factor lasts different lengths depending on how many characters you have left. There are also some strange connection issues where sometimes you pick quickmatch and it just doesn’t match you with anyone. It’s a strange networking issue that was present in SF IV and Super SF IV and it’s a shame they haven’t figured it out yet.
These flaws are anointing, but ultimately once you get into and learn the game it doesn’t really matter. When you get down to it, everything about MvC3 is just great. The sound design is overwhelming in the best way possible. Everything from the clang of hitting each other to how every character has their own theme song that can play when they tag in. They even have a remix of the “I wanna take you for a ride” song that just sounds awesome!
Marvel vs Capcom 3 is a worthy successor to MvC2 in every way possible except number of playable characters, although 36 characters is nothing to laugh at. A great reverence to the fiction and a simplified control scheme that doesn’t sacrifice depth of skill make this a solid entry into the vs series. Marvel Vs Capcom is back and better than ever!
“Its mahvel babyee!”
