Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001

"I miss Street Fighter 2"

Capcom vs SNK 2 is an awesome 2D fighter that just seems to have lost the magic that the original Street Fighters had. I have loved Street Fighter for the longest time except when they introduced rehash after rehash of Street Fighter 2 and Marvel vs Capcom. I just couldn't take it anymore, Capcom is milking their cash cow for everything it's worth and giving us a crappy product in return.

Graphics

Capcom vs SNK 2 has the quite a few of the same character models that I remember seeing back in 1992 when SF2 first hit the arcades. Now close to a decade later Capcom still milking their franchise for all its worth and investing very little time in development of character models. I am not saying that the character look like crap but for the simple fact they look exactly like they did when the character was first released on their first arcade game. The background during a fight is really neat and takes a twist away from most 2D fighters that use a few frames of animation to keep the background from looking completely dead. Capcom vs SNK 2 shines in this department, it has several moving objects in the back ground from a ship sailing in and displaying several countries flags to two huge sumo statues swinging back and forth. The backgrounds don't take your attention away from the intense fight but compliments it in a beautiful way.

Gameplay

Everyone has played at least one Street Fighter game and know its all about the gameplay. Capcom vs SNK 2 has nothing new to offer in this department except the groove system. The groove system allows you to kind of customize your character. Certain grooves give you an extra couple of moves like being about to block in the air, perform certain moves in the air, roll pass an enemy with a touch of two buttons, and last but not least it allows you to customize your special moves. For instance you liked the SF2 hyper fighting special moves, well then the C-groove is right up your alley. The groove system adds depth and customization to your character but it also takes away from the classic feel the original Street Fighters had.

Story

It seems its that time again to gather all the world best fighters and watch them beat each other into an oblivion. Basically there is no real concrete story line other than the simple that Capcom tries to make it seem like its a televised event world wide, like the tough man competitions, but once the smoke clears its basically survival of the fittest and who ever wins get the title of being the world best, sound like a rehash?

Replay ability

When has a Street Fighter let you down in this category? Never! First things first you can beat the game with in ten to fifteen minutes the first time though, not a bad thing considering how many selectable characters there are. Along with quite a few characters you can also select different modes of gameplay. You can choose to fight three on three, two on two , or plain and simply stick with the original mode of one on one. You can always try to master all the different groove systems in it to show off to your friends. This is also a great game to have when a friend comes over and your down to one last microwavable burrito and need a way of deciding who's gonna get it.

To Buy or Rent

This is a toughy! I would definitely recommend it to those who have played it in the arcades and liked. If you have never touched a Street Fighter game in your life make sure you rent this game first and get a feel for what its all about. If you loved the SF2 like I did and want something like it, look else where as this game loses all the feel the first two Street Fighters had.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/04/02, Updated 11/04/02