Marvel vs Capcom

Marvel Vs. Capcom is a chaotic yet delightful crossover fighting game that brings together characters from two iconic universes. As a 2D arcade-style fighter, it delivers fast-paced combat and over-the-top special moves fans have come to expect.

The game features a sizable roster of heroes and villains from Marvel comics and Capcom video games. Fan favorites like Ryu, Chun-Li, Spider-Man, and Hulk are playable, making for unlikely but amusing matchups. The ability to choose two characters and tag between them mid-match adds a strategic element not seen in most of the Street Fighter series.

Mashing Buttons

The controls are simple enough for casual players to jump in but have depth for veterans. Light, medium, and heavy attack buttons, paired with the ability to block and grab, form the foundation of the combat.

Inputting directional commands adds powerful special moves to each character's arsenal. The pacing forces you to constantly press buttons, filling the screen with projectiles, dive kicks, and uppercuts during hectic battles.

Marvel Vs. Capcom feels fair enough. Genre veterans will be happy to see that the first game in the series is much more technical than its predecessors, while newcomers might find some of the single-player stages to be a bit challenging. Onslaught can be a menace to beat, even for seasoned players.

Ultimate Alliance

Having two characters offers more options in battle. You can swap between them to keep up pressure or utilize assists to continue combos. This allows for creative team-ups like Ryu and War Machine or Chun-Li and Venom. However, managing two life bars requires more focus, especially against the aggressive AI. Partners you wouldn't expect make deadly duos here.

The crossover aspect lets iconic Marvel and Capcom characters interact in fun ways. Chun-Li's aerial kicking antics pair well with Spider-Man's acrobatics. Hulk smashing foes into the air for Strider to slice up is highly amusing.

While Ryu and other Street Fighter mainstays appear, the Capcom side also highlights lesser-known characters like Jin, Strider Hiryu, and Captain Commando. It's commendable that Marvel included cult favorites like War Machine and Gambit alongside A-listers Spider-Man and Wolverine. Seeing these diverse heroes and villains clash delivers plenty of memorable fisticuffs.

A Blast from the Arcade Past

The sprite-based graphics ooze retro appeal, though they're not as sharp as Darkstalkers or Street Fighter 3. Animations are fluid and full of personality. Stages range from city rooftops to alien planets with colorful backdrops.

The electronic soundtrack fits the frenetic fights even if the tunes are repetitive. The console versions are, for the most part, faithful reproductions of the arcade original. With the inclusion of secret characters, extra modes, and even a playable Onslaught in the Dreamcast version, Marvel Vs. Capcom is an absolute classic, no matter how you play it.

Pros

• A huge cast of iconic characters
• Strategic two-on-two battles
• Captures arcade-style intensity

Cons

• Some minor slowdowns in the console versions
• The single-player difficulty can feel a bit cheap at times

Capcom is wasting no time at all making it clear that they're very much behind Sega's Dreamcast. On March 25, exactly one month after their first DC title (Power Stone) hits, they'll be back with their second arcade port-Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes. As you can see by these screens, it looks exactly like the arcade game. It'll be interesting to see how well it animates in action. After all, there haven't been any animation-heavy 2D games on the DC yet.

If it looks as good as Capcom's 4-Meg Saturn games, we'll be ecstatic! Speaking of Capcom on DC, expect to see SF Alpha 3 real soon...

Capcom's third Versus game is due to arrive on the PlayStation in January. Like with the previous two chapters, you won't have full tag-team capabilities here. But for this installment, you will have a choice of Partner Heroes Mode (you pick a normal partner for nothing but tag-team attacks and counters, without the actual "tag teaming") or Special Heroes Mode (you get a run-in, "guest" partner only). Only the Crossover Mode will allow tag teaming AND run-in partners, but both players must have the same two primary characters. Oh, and the neato super cancels are back as well (where you can cancel one combo to link in another). Needless to say, pick up the DC version if you want the full, unhacked MvC experience.