"A dream match made in heaven."

Ah Capcom, they never seize to amaze me. Survival horror, beat-em ups, adventure and especially fighters. From the starting days of Street Fighter to the present of today. They've given me some the best throwdowns I could ever have in a video game...but with the creation of the versus series they have outdone themselves. After the success of the surprise hit Marvel vs Capcom a sequel was in order and since the rights of the Marvel characters were just about up, Cap decided to up the ante on the over the top fighting antics. And the result is one of the most craziest dream match fighters ever seen!

Skinny: Can't say if there really is a storyline to the game but going off of the ending. It has something to do with the pirate Ruby Heart (whose also a fighter here) who needs help fighting the main boss Abyss. Thus Heroes and Villains from Marvel comics and Capcom games are called into action. So begins another throwdown for the ages.

Play Dials: Three buttons for kick and three for punches along with the joystick. A little experimenting with both activates mega combos or calls for you other partners. A little rough if you a beginner but eventually masterable.

Core: Wild is the best way to describe it. You start off picking three out of a whopping 30 characters each with their own types for assist you can pick such as air canceler or healer which you use during the heat of battle. After which it off to the fighting grounds where all heck breaks loose depending on you skill level. As with the last three vs games before it, tag teaming is encouraged to preserve energy as well as hitting you opponents with a array of combos (and cheap moves ;) ). The aforementioned assists (replacing the helper system from part one) also contributes to beatting your foes though they crowd the screen with their in and outs and can get real confusing to which person your contolling. Another little grip is the length of the fights which can seem to last forever due to having to take down three fighters per match. It just doesn't feel right having to win because of a time up. Dispite this it a fun time by all and even more so if you have human opponents with ya just to rub it in there face after comboing them to their demise. Gotta love it.

Eye-Candy: Using with I've heard billed as 2.5D, meaning the 2d characters move in 3d world. It a cool accomplisment really as the worlds are nicely animated almost life like (not by much though). Fighters animation are pretty good too however if you played other games by Capcom theres very little that new (with the exception of the newbies). Still it some good work.

Noise: With the new direction in art also come a new taste in music. Ditching the indiviual tracks like they did in the last Vs games (considering their are thirty characters here), music is now composed of jazzy beats and somewhat elevator like music. It a nice mix and breath of fresh air by Cap. Some don't agree with it but i've got my likes and I like this.

Final Call: Amazing and anybody who wants to get away from trational stuff can have a looksie. A few may be turn off by MvC2 over the top atmosphere of the game, others looking for a wild battle can look no further (though if you have a console you can save your quarters and just shell out a few bucks for infinite play). Hopefully Cap will regain the rights again and third outing will be in the works. Until then Marvel vs Capcom 2 is the king of crazy fighters and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/03, Updated 06/07/03