365//365: Day 198 – Marvel vs Capcom 2 (DC) [PP]

Capcom is famous for milking an intellectual property to no end. One doesn’t have to look beyond the Mega Man franchise to understand this. With this practice of milking a concept, they occasionally dip their level of quality lower and lower with each subsequent release. Then there’s Marvel vs Capcom 2 on the Dreamcast — a culmination of rehashed ideas, tired concepts and exhausted practices. Oddly enough, with all that in mind, MvC2 manages to be one of the top fighting titles ever released. Now utilizing a three on three schematic, as well as 56 fighters to choose from, the possibilities of captivation, carnage and chaos are endless. Each character has three different partner attacks they can use when called upon, setting up for some massive combos in the process. The effects are mostly stock, while the audio has a hypnotic, yet insanely annoying vibe to it. Capcom decided to give the backgrounds a 3D infusion, making for some breathtaking scenery to fight within. Unfortunately, the character models clash with each other in some unappealing manners. It’s pretty nauseating attacking a near 10 year old character model of Morrigan, with a new and vastly more detailed model in Cable, and then switching to the clunky Children of the Atom Iceman. The only other major problem pertains to the balance of the roster. If you’re not a tournament player, and only play with friends who have a mild grasp of MvC2, you won’t be too affected too much. For tournament play, there seems to be only a dozen different fighters that are chosen at any point, making for the same tiresome battles, with little diversion. Luckily, Marvel vs Capcom 2 is built so well that tournament junkies, as well as the everyday fighting game enthusiast will find equal gratifications, so long as they don’t play each other. Immensely re-playable and nearly impossible to put down, Marvel vs Capcom 2 is the ultimate fighter with a near infinite longevity.

The fast, furious action is the type of mind blowing assault that only a handful of titles can provide.

Rating: 8.9