Marvel Vs Capcom Review

After diverting from the technically-orientated Alpha series of Streetfighter games, Capcom produced a bunch of 'VS' titles, with the X-Men and Marvel license under their belt. What they came up with was a series of very enjoyable, very fast and less technical 2D fighting games.

The latest of these VS titles is Marvel VS Capcom. In addition to a lot of the previous fighters, from games like X Men VS Streetfighter, and the Dreamcast conversion is, once again, perfect!

The loading times are minuscule, the difference in the arcade is barely noticeable. To say that the conversion is totally perfect is a slight exaggeration, I suppose, because there are some very minor differences. The characters are a few pixels smaller - a few pixels, no more, and the resolution is different, making the overall display look, well, different. The differences are hardly the end of the world, and the game in there makes up for it anyway.

The backgrounds are staggeringly detailed, and the animation clean and fluent. From the more familiar themes to the brand-new background masterpieces, Capcom artists have been working as hard as ever.

So what's the gameplay like? As previously mentioned, the 'VS' series is less technical than Alpha / Zero. You won't find yourself using counters all the time, the cross-combo system, perfect timing. Rather, you'll find yourself gong mad with specials and unleashing some of the most OTT specials ever - it's fantastic. And what makes this even better than the previous two incarnations of the game is that the extra variety of characters - Rockman and such, mean that a new dimension of gameplay is opened up. There's a whole lot more in there to enjoy.

The speed of the arcade game is intact, although the Dreamcast controller - it's now a FACT - is crap for this game. Either configure to perfection, or you NEED the arcade stick if your a fighting purist. But then, if you're a fighting purist, you'll already have one, so no problems there. Trust me: an arcade stick in unison with this phenomenal quality of s" awesomeness is like nothing else.

There are a range of extra modes on offer. Survival and Training are expected, as are the standard Arcade and Versus Modes. There's also Cross Fever, an extension of the basic 'VS' formula, in that you can pit four players against four, instead of two on two. That's RAM for you.

The music is the standard, bouncy and memorable Capcom fare. There can't be a single player who doesn't know the Streetfighter jingles, Ryu's music - the tunes here are of a similar high quality. The speech and crunching sound effects are equally impressive. Excellent audio all-round.

Basically, there's nothing surprising about this conversion. You either love 2D Capcom fighting games, or you like 'em. And if this game doesn't throw you into one of those two categories, you're beyond help. It lacks the precise nature of Street Fighter Alpha 3 (which is perfect on Dreamcast too and released very soon), but this game relies on speed, action and fun. And on that note, I'm off to play another round.