Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Reviewed: Flawless Victory

FULL REVIEW

For the unfamiliar, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, apart from being a mouthful of a title, is the third installment (just in case you missed "3" while rattling it off in your head) of this insane 3-on-3 tag team battle franchise.

From the almost epilepsy-inducing lush color scheme to the special moves that redefine the term "hyperbole" Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 is beautifully over the top. Everything from the menus to the cheesy announcer voice is a massive step up from its predecessor so much so that at time you feel you're playing a comic book come to life than an actual video game. Yes, the presentation is just that good.

Historically, the series has been favored by hardcore gamers for tournaments Capcom has ensured that first timers and newbies won't be left in the dark. There's a simplified mode allowing you to button-mash your way to glory or at least go down in a flurry of special moves that would really test your TV's colour reproduction features.

Compared to Super Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue which reward technical finesse, Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 rewards getting beaten up. Every time you get hit your power gauge fills up, allowing you to pull off some nasty moves. It ensures that regardless of the outcome, you won't feel like utter crap. A kind gesture from the folks at Capcom given that other beat 'em ups are not so forgiving to novices who are looking for some moments of fun rather than tourney style gameplay. It's accessible enough for almost anyone to have a good time playing.

This isn't to say that the hardcore crowd is left behind either. An extremely deep challenge mode introduces you to a variety of insanely intricate combos to pull off. It's got accessibility and depth. The online play is smooth as well. We ventured forth and got our virtual posteriors handed to us against players halfway across the globe and for once we can't cry about the latency, it was an extremely rock solid affair. You even get a license that keeps track of your online career too.

And if you're the sort who isn't into versus and online hijinks there's a robust single-player mode as well that pits you against a random assortment of AI opponents before pitting you against the end boss. Granted it isn't as satisfying as playing against a human opponent (in the same room or otherwise) it's a great way to hone your skills or button mash your way to unlocking some interesting content in the form of artwork, music and characters. Plus there's a different ending for each character making it extremely replayable even if you never play against another person.

So there you have it, an almost perfect beat 'em up that's as deep as it is accessible. It's almost flawless as if we really had to think of any issue against it, it would be that very little has changed from the game's core formula of tag team battles and over the top moves. But that would be grasping at straws. Having said that, you can't go wrong with purchasing Marvel Vs. Capcom 3.

After all how many games allow you to take out your frustration by upper cutting Iron Man for the so-so second movie?