Marvel Vs Capcom 3 Review: New game for a new day

Marvel Vs Capcom games hold a lot of respect and dedication from fans who use to play the arcade versions. Amongst fighters, Marvel Vs Capcom quickly ascended to be one of the most popular fighting series ever, right along side Street Fighter. In an age where arcades are almost extinct and you have a brand new generation of gamers, does Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds still hold up to the hype?

Pros:

I could look at you all day: The art design in this game is top notch; from the character models to the stages it’s just non stop eye candy. When you play in Asgard the first time, don’t be surprised if you try to block a few times when you see movement in the background as the world is now alive in direct contrast to previous games. Each character’s animations are fluid well detailed, from the most realistic to the most outrageous fighter you’re not going to be worried about how random movements occur.

Like the bouncer let everyone in: The character roster in this game is pretty impressive with about 35 characters coming with the game and more available as DLC in the future. While special moves are done with more similar movements than in previous games, the game still does a decent job of making you feel like you have a different fighter for different situations. In addition, you’ll find that characters will talk smack to each other before and after their fights which is a great addition (hearing Captain America and Zero go at it was just epic). Trust me, you’ll have no trouble picking favorite characters in this game.

The give or take:

What’s this about?: The story on this game is weak, meaning you really only have a per character ending and that’s it, no intros or anything. You can look at character profiles to get some more background info, but lets not pretend the story isn’t anything more than a tacked on feature. Here’s the thing though: While I’m biased about having a good single player campaign in my games, lets not pretend that fighting games have good stories in general. If you’re looking for a single player experience here, don’t expect it from this game as it’s meant to be a multiplayer experience through and through. Besides, when you think about it do you really need a reason to want to see these characters go at it?

Experience means nothing: Not to say that I was a world class competitor in previous games, but the combat system has been entirely reworked. You’re going to need to take the time to relearn combos and special attacks with your favorite characters if you’re a veteran of the series, or you can use “Simple Mode” and simply perform everything by using a single button. Button smashers and new gamers will like this, but it does take away a lot of skill from the game. In addition, veterans might get tired at first of playing newbs who just button smash and pull off everything while they’re trying to work some skill into the game. You’ll either love it or hate it, but regardless you’ll need to put some time into learning controls again.

Cons:

Dammit I can’t get in!: I’m sure Capcom will release patches to fix this in the future, but it seems like a staple in Capcom games now that multiplayer just doesn’t work when their games come out. Granted, I’m probably in for a world of hurt when I play online with my shotty skills, but the fact is that you’re going to spend more time trying to join game lobbies and actually play then play against other people. The online system just doesn’t work right now, and for a game that’s so heavily multiplayer based it damages the experience a lot.

Marvel Vs Capcom 3 lives up to the hype in many ways but leaves a lot of middle ground for gamers in a new age. If single player experiences are important to you, I recommend only renting this game or downloading Marvel Vs Capcom 2 from Xbox Live or PSN to save some cash and get a similar experience. The hardcore fans will pick this up regardless, but for any other fighting genre fan in general should wait it out a bit while Capcom fixes their multiplayer issues. Unfortunately, the game just isn’t worth the full $60 pricetag.

Recommended buy price: $40
Score rating: 4/5

Trinity Souls of Zill O'll Review: Same old song

Trinity Souls of Zill O'll. Huh, sounds like a fantasy game. Maybe it'll...wait, KOEI?! NO, NOT ANOTHER DYNASTY WARRIORS GAME! PLEASE!! NOT ANOTHER---Wait, it says action RPG. Thank God, maybe we'll get another Ninja Gaiden like ga---OH $#*%!

Pros:

Better graphics than the last one: Considering the last game was Fist of the North Star, the graphics actually improved a little bit.

The combat's faster than the last one: At very least, you can tell the gameplay has sped up the fighting in comparison to Fist of The North Star. Your AI comrades also do more than just stand around, thankfully, so at least you know there's some AI working in the game.

Cons:

TRY SOMETHING NEW: I don't know how Koei has gotten into this rut, but finding a non dynasty warriors game is rarer than finding a gas station selling at $2/gallon now adays. This formula is too old and hanging out by a shrinking niche market. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't improve on the gameplay with each iteration, but that isn't happening.

The AI still just stands there: Another reoccurring problem in these Dynasty Warriors games are that there's little challenge from the supposedly massive armies you're destroying and should make you feel like a legend on the battlefield. If all these armies are really an impending threat on your area, why don't they actually come off as threats when you fight them? It's very rare you'll feel like you're in real danger. In fact, you might not throughout the game.

No multiplayer?: Look, for a game thats based on Dynasty Warriors gameplay with party based combat, I don't see why this game couldn't have had multiplayer. Online Coop seems like it would have been pretty fair in the game.

This review might come off jaded, and maybe it is. I'm sure I'm not the only gamer sick of rehashing the same game over and over, but I have to admit the game is slightly better than Tecmo's last release, Fist of The North Star. This still doesn't qualify this as a decent game, though, and isn't really worth your time and money. Rent if there's nothing else you can find.

Recommended buy price: $10
Score rating: 1/5