"Mega Man....as a fighter? I'd rather chew broken glass...but the rest of the game is cool!"

Capcom just seems to keep pumping out fighting games like there is no tomorrow! Everytime you turn around, you're looking at another versus game that offers up new matches, new characters and plenty of competitive spirit. With Marvel vs. Capcom, you're taken to the beginning of the Marvel vs. Capcom series and thrown into the mix with several well known Marvel and Capcom characters that include Ken and Ryu from the Capcom side, and Wolverine and Iron Man from the Marvel side. All in all, it turns out to be a hellacious battle royale in which you can switch up between your fighters to throw in a little variety from time to time! The game difficulty really does range on who you use, and who you're better off fighting with. Where a team of Ryu and Iron Man would wipe the floor with just about anyone, you have more difficulty using Mega Man and Morrigian! This leads into the near endless match ups that you can use to effectively make it through the game and the different combinations that you could possibly make with said teams.

-Game Play 8/10-

The game play is fast and furious, with the addition of Team Combo's, you'll find that MvsC has plenty of damage options that you can find in the game! Giving you the amount of well known characters, as well as a few that have never really been in a fighting game {Strider, Jin and Mega Man} you'll find that the list of moves and possible combinations could go on and on. There is a selectable speed mode, so you can play through on the normal speed, or play through like you're on crack with the turbo option! The basis of the game revolves around kicking the crap out of your opponent, and building up your special meter in which you can unleash a vicious super attack that does extreme damage depending on what level it's at. Adding to the mayhem, is the fact that you can switch up your characters in the middle of the battle and totally screw up your opponents strategy by whipping out a totally different offense on their defense or vice versa!

-Control 8/10-

Easy to pull off the special moves, the control of MvsC is the same as it would be if you were playing one of the Street Fighter games fighting it out with the computer, or another player! The control itself is easy to use, but complex enough to open up hundreds of different combinations. You'll find the moves easy to pull off, with little effort thrown in while chaining them together or calling in your partner character, definitely a plus.

-Audio 8/10-

Light hearted and blending, the game music is just to let you know that it's there, but not too much that it bares out! You'll find that a couple of the stages have a strange tone to it that makes it rather catchy. However, the action of the game will deter you from paying too much attention to the music anyway! Sound effects range all over the chart with characters yelling, grunting, throwing punches, tossing fireballs and of course, that announcer who yells like a freakin' disc jockey at some party!

-Visuals 8/10-

Faithfully recreated are every character that you've come to know and love throughout the years. From Jin to Mega Man, from Zangief to Ken, they've all been re-drawn and animated near flawlessly! However there is one simple problem here and that is the over abundance of special effects in the game. Once you start playing, you'll notice that alot of the special moves have flare...well...too much flare, and it can be distracting. Also, if you play for too long, you'll get a headache...too many extra flashes and dramatic flares is what brings the score down a notch, nothing else!

-Quarter Crunching 9/10-

Like any good fighting game, you'll spend plenty of money just learning how to use all of the characters, their special moves, and their combinations! The key to this is to try just about everything and hope that you come out on top, if not, drop a couple of quarters in, and do it over and over until you've got it mastered!

-Overall 8/10-

It's one of the clones that has gained quite the following! While it offers some new characters, and several new options for the in-game fighting in terms of the endless match up choices, it does have it's problems as well, which are so minimal that they aren't recognized! The control is another great addition to a great game, and the gameplay is perfect...but it still leaves you wanting a little more. With all of these things being said, there may be one question on your mind, that does eventually sit there: Is this fun? Or more of the same stuff?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/01, Updated 10/01/01