Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

PS3 / XBox 360

"I am no longer amused by your amateurish display of mediocrity" Dr Doom.

Its 1996, I’m 12 years old and my addiction to comic books has begun. The Sega Mega Drive (the console I was playing at the time) was dead. It was time to move on. That summer I saw X-Men: Children of the Atom at an arcade. A 2D beat ‘em up from Capcom starring my (then) favourite superheroes.

Christmas 1996, I’m the average kid and I beg my parents for a video games console from the new generation. The fact that X-Men:COTA is only out on the Sega Saturn (it was later released on the Sony Playstation), swings my vote.

Jump to the year 2000. The Sega Saturn is dead and I’m looking for a new console. Marvel Vs Capcom and Marvel Vs Capcom 2(then a Dreamcast exclusive, later out on X-Box and PS2/PS3) are both out for the Sega Dreamcast. Guess which console I went for?

Its 2011, this time I’m on the PS3 and Capcom have released Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. Of course, Fate of Two Worlds abbreviates to FTW (For The Win!) but has Capcom scored again or has the likes of Super Street Fighter 4 and Blaz Blue kept MvsC3 for the top?

MvsC3 has 36 (down from MvsC2’s 50+) characters to play from, Capcom have tried to stop “character duplication” by limiting how many characters of the same type appear. For example, no War Machine as he is just a palette change of Iron Man. No Ken, as he is a palette change of Ryu. However, it does feel that the game is missing out on characters that can dominate the screen (i.e. Thanos, Juggernaut). At first 36 characters seems like a good amount, however the player chooses 3 players for their team and combinations quickly whittle down.

Some of the character choices also seem a little…strange (She-Hulk in particular, as she plays a lot like Rogue). Maybe it is just me however I miss Cammy, Psylocke, Colossus, and Zangief. Capcom could correct this in future with downloadable content, as they have already announced Jill Valentine and Shuma Gorath will be available soon.

The character animations are top notch, and I don’t think I’ve seen the Darkstalker ladies looking so good. Hypercombos can light up the whole screen, with flashing graphics showing off the full potential of a characters power. The backgrounds also look fantastic, whether it’s the NYC parade or Asgard. The lack of variety though (8 stages in total) is very poor.

Gameplay style, the major changes come in with the “simple” control method options. Fighting games generally have complex controls with multiple buttons/directions needing to be inputted for a character to pull of a move/special move. This can be a little daunting for new players. Capcom have removed the majority of this barrier with a control method called “simple, which allows players to pull combos with one button, it does however limit the players move set.

The single player mode of MvsC3 is short and very limited. Unlike MvsC2, there are only 4 unlockable characters and the character endings are very poor (a few screen pictures and some text). If you are looking at this as single player game, forget it. The single player mode can be completed in 20/30 minutes.

The online mode is currently having a few *issues*, where it is unable to find hosts and disconnects players back to the main menu.

Multiplayer is definitely where it is at in MvsC3. The control methods bring experts and beginners to a closer level. There is lots of fun in unleashing a full team hyper combo and watching your opponent go flying across the screen. The confusion and enjoyment of a 3 vs 3 team is something that other fighters (e.g. Street Fighter 4) are unable to replicate. Trying to learn another players fighting style, whilst alternating characters brings some strategy into the game.

With 10 years between Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Marvel vs Capcom 3, I may have built up my expectations. I do feel let down by the limited character roster/scene choices, the poor character endings and the constant “updating player card” delays that occur when moving between modes. I think Capcom could have added more rewards for players other than the art that has been shown online for months. MvsC3 is brilliant for multiplayer madness, and I’d recommend its multiplayer experience over any other fighting game. But for single players….skip it.