Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO

"A great game, for the third time..."

How can you complain? You have a great 2-D Capcom fighter brought to the Xbox, you can't. However, there is a problem, we've gotten this game 2 times already.

For those who haven't played other versions the choice for this game is easy; make money, go buy. It's as simple as that, because this game is great. But, if you have played other versions, you will need to make the decision if you are going to go spend money to buy a game for only one thing that’s new; online play.

There’s no doubt that online adds a whole new dimension to this game, however the graphics are nothing exceptional, no new characters were added, and there is no promise of downloadable content. Lets just look into some of the areas first...

Gameplay

If you've ever played any 2-D fighter you know what to expect. The game offers a wide variety of characters (44 initially then some to be unlocked), several grooves that let you choose how your fighting style, and a colour edit mode that lets you have endless turns at dressing up your Ryu barbie style.

Graphics

Nothing much to be said here. The graphics of the characters aren’t anything great... in fact there a little disappointing considering the power of the Xbox. But, the background textures are top notice with very detailed animations.

Sound

Not much here either. The sounds might be considered more humorous then anything, but after hours of this game you might get tired of the continuous ''sho-duken'' . Also, a soundtrack feature was not included and instead they have a odd techno track to listen to

Live Play

In my opinion, just like many, many others, this is by far the best aspect of the game. This is one of the first console fighters ever to be made online, and it was done flawlessly. Lag is not a major problem, however once and then you find a game that is a bit unbearable and you have to leave. However, as with any online game, there are problems, with this game in particular, there is one major problem; dropping...

Yes, some people are that stubborn. During a fight you are allowed to open up a start menu with options (duh), one of these is exit. Now when you exit a game you still get a loss, but so does your opponent. This results in many people leaving the game right before they lose, giving both people losses.

All in all though, live play is done really well, with the exception of the dropping problem which many are begging Capcom to address, the experience is a great one, that shouldn’t be missed by any.

So this brings us back to our original question, is this game worth a purchase if you've already played it before on a different console; in my opinion, defiantly. The simple reason being that the option of a online fighting game simply isn't something to pass up. So with all that said... i give this game a 9/10 ... well done Capcom.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/03, Updated 03/05/03