"Street Fi....no...that's not it....X-Men....nah....Darkstalkers...yeah! Yeah...that's it!"

Darkstalkers has come a long way throughout the years, starting with the Street Fighter engine and using the most basic of special moves. While Darkstalkers 3 uses the same tried and true engine, the amount of detail put into the game and then the amount of flash an flare makes it worth a few bucks in quarters to play! Adding in some new characters, and some new character animations along with a new story line to follow, you'll find a rather enjoyable experience worth playing.

-Game Play 7/10-

This is your basic fighting game in which a character chosen must face off against a line of opponents that increase in difficulty. Special moves are easily learn and the super moves, with a little practice can be drawn into the battle with ease. Most combinations are easy to learn and include such basics as two-in-one moves, high hitting combo's and dizzy combo starters.

Two player action remains the same as it always has, in which two people go head to head in a best two out of three {although the number of rounds can be changed through the options} in a rush fight to the finish. Through practice and a lot of battles, you'll find that mastering each character could take weeks!

-Control 7/10-

Keeping in line with the Capcom series, the special moves and super moves are done in Street Fighter fashion with the controller moves that match Dragon Punches and Hurricane Kicks. Veterans of the series should have no trouble discerning just what does what, and Darkstalkers 3 offers a user friendly interface that any fighter at any skill level can learn to use!

-Visuals 7/10-

Exceptionally detailed stages that offer a dark and grim look into the Darkstalkers world, it may take a minute to look past the fact that it does look rather cartoonish. The character designs are well drawn, and the special moves have a great amount of flash and flare that blaze across the screen.

-Audio 7/10-

Done in true Capcom fashion, the battleground music is worth listening to and does keep the fast pace of the battle. Sound effects range from the limited smacks and crunches to the howls and bass dropping thumps of a heavy hit connecting.

-Quarter Crunching 7/10-

As with most fighting games, you have plenty of stages and difficulty to run through before the end. In saying that, you'll find that the higher up the ladder you get, the harder the opponents will become and at later stages, unless you've gotten a good handle on your character, you'll have your ass handed to you on a regular basis! Expect to spend a couple of bucks to finish playing through the game and more if you're looking to master some ass-kicking combinations.

-Overall 7/10-

While it plays just like Street Fighter, Darkstalkers gives you a slightly comic-style approach to the character design and the way they perform in battle. Even though this isn't a bad thing, only die-hard Darkstalkers fans will find any joy in playing through this and leaving Street Fighter alone! Darkstalkers does not offer the depth of Tekken, nor the weapon play of hits like Soul Blade and Soul Calibur, but Darkstalkers is worth a few bucks to play when a break is needed from the Street Fighter norm.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/30/01, Updated 09/30/01