%20Marvel%20vs%20Capcom%203.jpg "Marvel vs. Capcom 3 | First impressions")
I attended the MCM expo this year for no reason other than Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Simples. I've been a cross over fan since Capcom Mega shinkuu optic hadouken blasted onto the scene with it back in '96 with X-Men vs. Street Fighter. And no way in hell was I passing up a chance to play the latest instalment in the series that many thought would never ever see the light of day.
The first thing which you will notice from the outset is that Marvel vs. Capcom 3's presentation is stunning! The game looks incredibly crisp, and runs at a steady frame rate despite all of the craziness. The game also adopts a comic book presentation style, which I was sceptical of at first. But was won over by after seeing it all tie together. Characters you pick on the select screen are placed on comic book covers, the post match screen has your team be placed within comic panels, Super combo backgrounds tear away like paper once the attack finishes: it's all slick, vivid and ties together nicely. The game looks so much better on a screen in front of your eyes than it does in videos. The stages are also brilliant, and incredibly dynamic. After having to battle it out in a bunch of uninspired locales which had nothing to do with anything in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom have given us a bunch of stages relevant to the characters in the game. Spider-man's parade and the Umbrella test facility are just 2 stages which will raise a smile amongst fans.
Gamers will undoubtedly try to draw comparisons between which version looks superior between the PS3 and Xbox 360. I can safely say both versions run the same. The only difference I did catch was that the colours in the PlayStation 3 version looked a tad more vibrant then the Xbox 360 version. Other than that? Good luck telling the versions apart. For those fortunate enough to own both systems: your version of preference should only boil down to the control pad and which version friends of yours who play online will be buying.
My main criticism at this game is lobbied at the controls. Now, there was no attendant manning the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 stand to explain the controls, and there wasn't so much as a laminated poster showing the controls neither. One guy I played against was kind enough to tell me how to switch my character and give me a minute to check out the attacks, but even he wasn't able to fully explain which face button did what. So my matches were pretty much a case of slap dash combo's, and only knowing how to pull off Supers.
I think...think the controls mimic Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's, and I hated the controls in that game. They felt dumbed down and unnecessarily simplified. I miss the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 setup which was more 'Street Fighter traditional' and gave you greater control over your combo's and attacks. Because of the new control configuration, it feels too easy to string combo's together.
Switching characters is also a pain, because it requires you to hold down a trigger button, which of course means you cannot switch instantly. There were so many times I wanted to switch in a character in a split second, but I couldn't - because I had to deal with a delay of a second or two until the game registered I was holding the button and then sent my fighter fly kicking into the fray. This new change makes switching your character even more dangerous than before - because the opening you see to switch your character may be gone by the time you actually switch. Capcom may deem it a deliberate ploy to ensure you use the Super cancel technique (where you have character a perform a super and then interrupt it with a command for character b's super, which has them jump in and perform theirs) or you switch characters mid air combo (a feature introduced in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom). But I'm sure that this new switching method will annoy many. As it certainly annoyed me. I miss the old, 'push 2 same strength attack buttons' to switch straight away. It worked perfetcly. Why try to fix something which wasn't broken and then break it in the process?!
The new characters are a mixed bunch. Some feel great, others feel a bit on the rubbish side. Some feel too weak, others feel overpowered. Dante and Trish are both monsters! Their attacks are powerful, they're lightning fast; and their specials look like supers, leaving their supers looking like one hit kill Level 3's. I wasn't sold on Trish to begin with - but she's an incredibly fun character to play as. Despite how much I liked playing as her, I still feel she's a tad too similar to Dante - and that Devil may cry 3's Lady may have been a better choice for Capcom to have gone with if they really wanted to pull a female character from the series. Dante feels completely overpowered. His special attacks rarely put him at a disadvantage, and he's lightning fast. Those longing for his appearance in a cross over game will be more than pleased with what Capcom have done with him in his long awaited debut. But Capcom need to tone him down.
Chris Redfield is plain boring. He was boring in Resident evil 5, and he's boring in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. His attacks are nowhere near as fun or as versatile as Jill's were in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Where-as Jill was surprisingly fun, a hoot to play as, and had attacks which were a cool wink and point of reference to the game she starred in (likewise with Frank West in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom) - Chris just feels like an anybody character. There's no Super combo which has Sheva appear. No Level 3 which has The executioner pop out and go mad with his axe. Chris just shoots guns, throws grenades and nothing else. He's wallpaper. He's generic. He's a waste of a character. Hopefully Jill will bring to table what Chris fails to. Although I'm not keen on having to pay money for her. And I imagine if the Jill of choice is BSAA Jill, that she'll be just as boring.
Deadpool is awesome, and will quickly become both a fave and an annoyance amongst many due to his powerful attacks, speed and a Super which has him regenerate his health over time. Super Skrull is fun to play as despite how boring he looks. Amaterasu is plain crazy. And Viewtiful Joe is simply viewitful. Dormamu seems like one of the weakest links, but I'd need more time to play as him - as the one time I did select him, he got wiped out in seconds.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 lives in the house that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom built. So, the flow of matches is the same... The attack frames are the same... The way your opponents react to hits and attacks is exactly the same. The game feels solid and robust, but as with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom it feels as though there are too many windows of oppurtunity for you to get combo'd into oblivion. It literally feels like every single super in the game can be chained into a combo somehow, and that tech hits are a thing of the past. Characters bounce like crazy off of the floor and the sides of the screen, being left open to hurt. The combo oppurtunities are in total abundance. This is great if you're the one with the upper hand. But down to the balls suckage for the person who is left bouncing around like a Pong ball with no chance to recover. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a much more punishing game than any of the previous cross over titles were.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a fun game, and it feels like a worthy successor to Marvel vs. Capcom 2, even in its demo form. But it's not perfect. The character roster is nice and varied, but some of the choices (particularly on the Marvel side) seem like wastes of space. The game is also in need of some serious balancing. Because aome characters felt useless, whilst others felt greatly overpowered. But balancing, roster and control issues aside; fans will be happy with this game because it's fun, it's robust on the whole, and it's the f**king sequel to Marvel vs. Capcom 2 dammit!
The first thing which you will notice from the outset is that Marvel vs. Capcom 3's presentation is stunning! The game looks incredibly crisp, and runs at a steady frame rate despite all of the craziness. The game also adopts a comic book presentation style, which I was sceptical of at first. But was won over by after seeing it all tie together. Characters you pick on the select screen are placed on comic book covers, the post match screen has your team be placed within comic panels, Super combo backgrounds tear away like paper once the attack finishes: it's all slick, vivid and ties together nicely. The game looks so much better on a screen in front of your eyes than it does in videos. The stages are also brilliant, and incredibly dynamic. After having to battle it out in a bunch of uninspired locales which had nothing to do with anything in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom have given us a bunch of stages relevant to the characters in the game. Spider-man's parade and the Umbrella test facility are just 2 stages which will raise a smile amongst fans.
Gamers will undoubtedly try to draw comparisons between which version looks superior between the PS3 and Xbox 360. I can safely say both versions run the same. The only difference I did catch was that the colours in the PlayStation 3 version looked a tad more vibrant then the Xbox 360 version. Other than that? Good luck telling the versions apart. For those fortunate enough to own both systems: your version of preference should only boil down to the control pad and which version friends of yours who play online will be buying.
My main criticism at this game is lobbied at the controls. Now, there was no attendant manning the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 stand to explain the controls, and there wasn't so much as a laminated poster showing the controls neither. One guy I played against was kind enough to tell me how to switch my character and give me a minute to check out the attacks, but even he wasn't able to fully explain which face button did what. So my matches were pretty much a case of slap dash combo's, and only knowing how to pull off Supers.
I think...think the controls mimic Tatsunoko vs. Capcom's, and I hated the controls in that game. They felt dumbed down and unnecessarily simplified. I miss the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 setup which was more 'Street Fighter traditional' and gave you greater control over your combo's and attacks. Because of the new control configuration, it feels too easy to string combo's together.
Switching characters is also a pain, because it requires you to hold down a trigger button, which of course means you cannot switch instantly. There were so many times I wanted to switch in a character in a split second, but I couldn't - because I had to deal with a delay of a second or two until the game registered I was holding the button and then sent my fighter fly kicking into the fray. This new change makes switching your character even more dangerous than before - because the opening you see to switch your character may be gone by the time you actually switch. Capcom may deem it a deliberate ploy to ensure you use the Super cancel technique (where you have character a perform a super and then interrupt it with a command for character b's super, which has them jump in and perform theirs) or you switch characters mid air combo (a feature introduced in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom). But I'm sure that this new switching method will annoy many. As it certainly annoyed me. I miss the old, 'push 2 same strength attack buttons' to switch straight away. It worked perfetcly. Why try to fix something which wasn't broken and then break it in the process?!
The new characters are a mixed bunch. Some feel great, others feel a bit on the rubbish side. Some feel too weak, others feel overpowered. Dante and Trish are both monsters! Their attacks are powerful, they're lightning fast; and their specials look like supers, leaving their supers looking like one hit kill Level 3's. I wasn't sold on Trish to begin with - but she's an incredibly fun character to play as. Despite how much I liked playing as her, I still feel she's a tad too similar to Dante - and that Devil may cry 3's Lady may have been a better choice for Capcom to have gone with if they really wanted to pull a female character from the series. Dante feels completely overpowered. His special attacks rarely put him at a disadvantage, and he's lightning fast. Those longing for his appearance in a cross over game will be more than pleased with what Capcom have done with him in his long awaited debut. But Capcom need to tone him down.
Chris Redfield is plain boring. He was boring in Resident evil 5, and he's boring in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. His attacks are nowhere near as fun or as versatile as Jill's were in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Where-as Jill was surprisingly fun, a hoot to play as, and had attacks which were a cool wink and point of reference to the game she starred in (likewise with Frank West in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom) - Chris just feels like an anybody character. There's no Super combo which has Sheva appear. No Level 3 which has The executioner pop out and go mad with his axe. Chris just shoots guns, throws grenades and nothing else. He's wallpaper. He's generic. He's a waste of a character. Hopefully Jill will bring to table what Chris fails to. Although I'm not keen on having to pay money for her. And I imagine if the Jill of choice is BSAA Jill, that she'll be just as boring.
Deadpool is awesome, and will quickly become both a fave and an annoyance amongst many due to his powerful attacks, speed and a Super which has him regenerate his health over time. Super Skrull is fun to play as despite how boring he looks. Amaterasu is plain crazy. And Viewtiful Joe is simply viewitful. Dormamu seems like one of the weakest links, but I'd need more time to play as him - as the one time I did select him, he got wiped out in seconds.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 lives in the house that Tatsunoko vs. Capcom built. So, the flow of matches is the same... The attack frames are the same... The way your opponents react to hits and attacks is exactly the same. The game feels solid and robust, but as with Tatsunoko vs. Capcom it feels as though there are too many windows of oppurtunity for you to get combo'd into oblivion. It literally feels like every single super in the game can be chained into a combo somehow, and that tech hits are a thing of the past. Characters bounce like crazy off of the floor and the sides of the screen, being left open to hurt. The combo oppurtunities are in total abundance. This is great if you're the one with the upper hand. But down to the balls suckage for the person who is left bouncing around like a Pong ball with no chance to recover. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a much more punishing game than any of the previous cross over titles were.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a fun game, and it feels like a worthy successor to Marvel vs. Capcom 2, even in its demo form. But it's not perfect. The character roster is nice and varied, but some of the choices (particularly on the Marvel side) seem like wastes of space. The game is also in need of some serious balancing. Because aome characters felt useless, whilst others felt greatly overpowered. But balancing, roster and control issues aside; fans will be happy with this game because it's fun, it's robust on the whole, and it's the f**king sequel to Marvel vs. Capcom 2 dammit!
Very nice and informative J! :D
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling Dante would be overpowered. Hopefully balancing issues will be worked out. That's a shame about some of the lame characters though.