The original Marvel Vs Capcom debuted in 1999 and it's superior sequel came out a year later. Teaming up with popular Marvel comic's characters with Capcom video games biggest heroes and villians in a fighting game environment was awesome fun. It took ELEVEN YEARS for a new installment to come out but was it worth it? You bet.
The game is largely unchanged with you picking three characters to go up against a friend or the computers 3 man team to do battle with flying kicks, fireball attacks, teleports, body throws and the hyper combos. If a team member is on the ropes, switch em' out for a fresh character or call in another team mate to lend a hand. The roster is pretty diverse with old faces like Ryu and Wolverine battling with Iron Man and Captain America or Chris Redfield and Dante. There are several new characters introduced to the game who were not in the previous games like Crimson Viper, Arthur, M.O.D.O.K., Wesker, Dormamu and oh yes, Mike Haggar and as you progress through the game, other characters can become unlocked. Once you've battled through all the teams, you fight Galactus who isn't as easy as Abyss from 2, but can't be nearly as cheap as Onslaught from the first game as a boss character. If you win, Galactus collapses into the void, lose and Galactus destroys the world. It's actually a pretty cool "Game Over" screen.
MvC3 does keep the basics but tries to simplify things and for longtime fighting game veterans like myself it takes a little getting used to. You have 3 attack buttons with are mixed with punches and kicks and a "special" button which normally works as the launcher attack for setting up air combos but can also be used for executing more complex moves in the "Simple" mode of play. The other buttons are used to call in your different characters for assists and switch outs and doing team up hyper combos. If you've played the other games, it's similar ground but those reworked buttons will take a little getting used to. The special button if your playing as Iron Man is what was his standing roundhouse and for the Hulk, it's his ducking fierce punch. Again, a little getting used to.
The graphics are more cartoony then Street Fighter IV, probably to mesh more with the comic book feel with Marvel's characters. The sounds are crisp and great but some of the voices are a little odd or off sounding they will grow on you with time that or if your not so connected to the older games like I am, you can hook on to them easier.
I like the first two games and this game doesn't dissapoint. It's been a long time coming and it does make the right moves. There are characters to unlock and the special edition has a DLC code for unlocking two more characters in March. Been itching for some more cross over fighting, Marvel Vs Capcom 3 is overdue but is nothing dissapointing.
