Marvel Vs Capcom 2 Review

Back in the day Capcom ruled supreme; 2D fighters were considered the finest genre in the videogames world shifting millions of the latest incarnation of Streetfighter 2, to be good at these games was considered to be a display of your video games skill in general; ahh life was good.<br><br>Unfortunately the 2D fighting genre has fallen by the wayside in recent times; SNK - Capcom only real competition in the genre - has gone bust, and even more tragic is the way that kids laugh at you when you proudly boast about your SF2 skills.<br><br>Considering the state of the fighting genre, you would have forgiven Capcom for chucking in the towel and moving away from 2D fighters, but thankfully someone over there has been listening to the pleas of disgruntled veteran gamers, as both the PS2 and Xbox see releases of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 – the last title in Capcom’s OTT fighting series.<br><br>The biggest problem associated with this game is the fact that’s it over two years old, we’ve already played the arcade version to death and smiled happily when a perfect conversion appeared on the Dreamcast; I’m just slightly worried that Xbox owners won’t see the appeal of the title, whilst Playstation2 owners are already catered for with the superior SNK Vs Capcom 2.<br><br>Marvel Vs Capcom 2 was the last title in a series that brought together Capcom’s finest with the best comic-book heroes from the Marvel range; as you can expect the action was frantic at the cost of being less refined then other games in the Streetfighter series.<br><br>Changes to the gameplay of the arcade original cater well to the Playstation2 and Xbox conversion; a reduction in the amount of buttons from six to four buttons, responds well to both controllers, although you’d be advised to pick up a Controller-S if you’re playing this on the X-Box, as the original controller just can’t cut it. For the sequel Capcom also upped the character count to three per team, giving the scope for some incredible combo’s numbering in there hundreds – it may not need the skill of Streetfighter Alpha 2 but it’s certainly still better then the majority of fighting games (2D & 3D) that are already out there.<br><br>The main appeal of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 will be the inclusion of over 50 characters from both sides to pick and fight with; Capcom fans will delight in the inclusion of favourites such as Jill Valentine and obscurities such as Son Son; whilst comic-book fans can have nothing to complain about the range of superheroes to pick from, never has a game given us so many to choose from.<br><br>Whilst Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is an arcade perfect conversion, those beautifully hand-animated 2D characters just don’t look as good as they used to, suffering from a pixellated look that’s been surpassed by the likes of Guilty Gear X and other 2D titles. The crisp, clear and detailed 3D backdrops are an entirely different matter however, you’ll always find something to take the attention of your eye (not great when you’re fighting), whilst the game suffers from no slow-down despite putting over four huge characters on-screen at certain times.<br><br>My biggest complaint with the Vs series from Capcom however, is that there is very little scope for becoming a master in the same way as the Alpha/Zero series. Sure the instant frills grab you and it’s more accessible to first-timers, but because of the button-bashing nature of the game, fights are often loss and won without requiring a sufficient level of skill.<br><br>The Shop feature returns from the Dreamcast original, allowing you to collect points with every fight you take place in, these can then be used to buy a huge selection of new characters and bonuses; there’s certainly a huge challenge in store if you want to unlock everything!<br>