Marvel vs. Capcom 2

"The best of the"

When the ''vs games'' were introduced by Capcom a few years back, they got a mixed reception. As many lined up just to get a glimpse of their favorite marvel heroes battling it out against Capcom classics such as Ryu, Ken and Akuma; veterans stood back with a puzzled look and said ''WTF?''. Zany action, super combos galore, and tag team fighting definitely wasn't what they were used to. From then on, many dismissed the ''vs games'' as being ''Too easy.'' or ''Button masher paradise.'' Despite this, Capcom gained much notoriety for this over-the-top genre and before long, had quite a large addition to their fan base. Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, X-Men vs Street Fighter, and Marvel vs Capcom all became arcade battle classics. Enter, Marvel vs Capcom 2:New Age of Heroes. This is Capcom's absolute crowning achievement, not only in game design, but in arcade to home porting.

Graphics 10/10: 3D backgrounds, smoother animation, new super combo backgrounds, and a brand new screen-filling boss are just some of the features that make this one of the best looking fighting games to date. As soon as you get one glimpse, it's immediately apparent that Capcom has put everything they have into making this a visual experience to remember. Not to mention the fact that everything runs at a smooth frame rate, even when the biggest super combos are in progress. Thoroughly impressive.

Sound 9/10: Crisp, clean, and diverse sound effects make every attack stand out. The music is well done, but seems a little out of place at times. Since when does soft, contemporary jazz go along with two extremely P.O.'ed opponents trying to tear each other a new one? Even so, it's apparent that significant time was spent on producing a good audio experience.

Control 10/10: Capcom's tradition for flawless control continues, with a few minor changes. With the addition of three person tag-team fighting, buttons previously used for attacking have been converted to helper buttons. Now, there are four attack buttons (LP,HP,LK,HK) and switching is executed by pressing two of these simultaneously, as in the original MvsC. This new setup takes a little while to get used to, but with practice, quickly becomes second nature.

Gameplay 10/10: Marvel vs Capcom 2 is everything you loved from the previous ''vs games'' with a whole lot more. It's more of a frenzy than ever with 56.....that's right, 56...characters including many of which were never playable before. So there's no more ''Yeah, well, if I had 'so and so' from Marvel Super Heroes teamed up with Juggernaut, then you'd be sorry.'' because EVERYONE is here. Ironman, Juggernaut, Sentinel, Magneto, Rogue, Colossus, Akuma, Silver Samurai, and even Kobun are just some of the many fighters that make this one of the most diverse games ever. It's fast, it's furious, it's crazy, and it's jam packed with the best of what Capcom has to offer.

Final Thought: An absolute MUST-BUY for any fighting fan. Period.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/16/00, Updated 05/16/00