Samurai Shodown 2 Review

Putting four-button fighting games on a portable system that only has two buttons is never an easy task. The most popular method for using two buttons to execute different attacks is timing the length of each button press. This means you have to hold a button down a little longer than usual to get it to execute more powerful moves. The trouble with this method is that can hamper your reaction time, since moves don't come out the instant you push the button. While Samurai Shodown 2 for the Neo Geo Pocket employs this timed button press technique, it doesn't take too much away from the gameplay.

Samurai Shodown 2 adds three characters over the last game, which appeared on SNK's older, black-and-white handheld. The game also has a couple of interesting modes. Along with the standard versus mode is the survival mode, where you must defeat as many enemies as possible, receiving only small health recharges between bouts. This mode is tied to the collection of special cards, which add things like increased defense and special attacks. Each character has eight cards to unlock, which are split evenly between the two character modes, slash and bust.

The game uses one button to perform all your weapon attacks, and the other button is used for kicking and dodging. It's a decent enough setup, but using the A button for all your main attacks can get a bit confusing.

The card collection adds some longevity to what would otherwise be a short-lived affair. It would have been nice if it employed a more mission-style mode to it, rather than rely on simple survival matches as its secondary mode. This game doesn't have the universal fighting game appeal that King of Fighters R-2 has, and SS2 should be considered a secondary fighting game at best.

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Reviews

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is going mobile. The PlayStation Vita version of this chaotic, 2D fighter features everything you'd expect from the console version, along with some welcome additions. These include replay support for online matches, as well as support for Heroes and Heralds mode right out of the gate. The Vita's direction pad, thumbstick, and face buttons all work well for a fighting game, and there's even touch-screen support. Of course, UMVC3 is just as challenging as before and can break your heart with a single combo. It's mean, it's flashy, but most importantly, it's Marvel, baby!

This version of UMVC3 runs just as smoothly as its console counterpart. The only sluggishness occurs when performing hypercombos, but it is minor enough to be negligible. All of the fighters are rendered in full detail and beautifully shown on the small screen. Of course, some concession had to be made when working on less-powerful hardware. This means all the special effects--fireballs, impact flashes, and the like--have been knocked down to a lower resolution.

The Vita's front touch screen can also be used in single-player or multiplayer. Movement is performed by swiping in a direction, while tapping the screens makes your character attack, usually with a basic combo that ends with an ultra. It's little more than a gimmick and can be filtered out when searching for online opponents.

The 12 new fighters from the console version are all included, and many of them personify the game's shift in focus between MVC3 and Ultimate. Together with the original cast, they raise the total to an impressive 48 fighters. Players who prefer to rush in aggressively will find Wesker's moveset to their liking, while those who relish keeping foes at a distance will appreciate Hawkeye and Ghost Rider. Additional tweaks to the fighting mechanics, such as scaling back X-factor and beefing up team aerial combos, carry over into this version as well.

You're not on your own to discover these changes. Mission mode, which teaches players basic techniques for the cast, has been updated to accommodate all of these tweaks. The 12 new characters have their own mission sets, while the missions for veterans have been updated. Unfortunately, this mode has issues in the way it presents information, so if you don't know your gram from your ragtime shot, then you constantly have to pause the game and dive into the menu to see the move's input. Being able to watch a demonstration of the current mission would also have been appreciated.

The Shadow Mode downloadable content from MVC3 is altogether absent. Its replacement is Heroes and Heralds mode. Heroes and Heralds has you collecting cards and assigning them to your three-person team to unlock new bonuses and abilities. The steady trickle of new cards, as well as the new abilities they confer, make this an addictive addition. But with so many radically different card abilities, it can be confusing to go up against enemy teams if you don't have all of the cards memorized.

One feature that fans were dying for in the original Marvel vs. Capcom 3 that made it into Ultimate is a spectator mode during online play. No longer are you confined to watching two sets of life bars tick down while awaiting your turn; now, you can see all of the action for yourself. Replay support is also included in the Vita version. From a replay-specific leaderboard, you can sort through replays based on region and even save them to your Vita's memory. When viewing replays, you can scroll through the action frame by frame, show input data, and even pull up an overlay that shows character hit boxes.

During our play sessions, online play did have some hiccups. Part of this was the aforementioned slowdown during hypercombos, but at other times, it was simply lag. Few games went by completely free of lag; however, what lag we did encounter was brief and didn't significantly detract from the experience. And just like on consoles, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 for the Vita may feel inviting at first, but when you sink a little deeper, you discover a game in which victory and defeat hinge on a fine line. It's a high-risk, high-reward system that buries you in a brightly colored light show at the slightest misstep. This game makes a graceful transition to the handheld space while retaining everything from the console version.

Street Fighter IV Review

It's obvious that each iteration of the long-running Street Fighter series has been carefully tuned and tweaked to the finest degree, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Street Fighter IV. The lessons learned in the franchise's 20-plus years have been used to prune back the core fighting experience to create something truly special.Street Fighter IV is a resounding success not only because it's one of the most technically complex 2D fighters ever made, but also because it's also wrapped inside a layer of absolute accessibility. Never has the old "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master" adage been truer than it is here.

The Street Fighter fundamentals have remained consistent over the years; your job is to knock out the other guy or gal. All 12 of the classic world warriors--Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, E. Honda, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison--are back and playable from the outset, and they're joined by six brand-new and diverse characters. Abel, a mixed martial arts grapple-style character; Crimson Viper a female fighter with sweeping, airborne fire attacks; Rufus, a rotund fighter whose body makes him a bit of a sight gag despite his deceptive speed; and El Fuerte, a pro wrestler whose rushes and air throws make him a slippery foe. Ryu and Ken's sensei, Gouken, also makes his playable-character debut in Street Fighter IV. Naturally, he didn't teach the boys everything he knows, so when they meet again he has a few tricks up his sleeves, including a horizontal and vertical fireball EX move. The game's new end boss, Seth, fills the last spot and joins the list once you've unlocked everyone else. Character balance is spot-on across the roster, and as a result, you should never feel that you can't compete simply because you've chosen one character over another.

You'll need to finish the game multiple times and in special ways to unlock the complete character list. Doing so will make fan favourites Cammy, Sakura, Akuma, Fei Long, Rose, Gen, and Dan playable. Like previous games in the series, Street Fighter IV lets you perform powerful super combos, but it has removed air blocking and parrying completely. Developers Capcom and Dimps have added a completely new gameplay system: focus attacks, a new multipurpose offensive and defensive ability that can be charged to one of three levels by pressing and holding the medium punch and kick buttons simultaneously. There's no onscreen bar to show how charged your attack is, so you'll need to rely on the progressively darkening ink splashes surrounding your character model. Each character features a unique focus animation, so you shouldn't have any trouble working it out after a few rounds with each. Focus attacks make you vulnerable to damage because you need to be standing still to charge them (though you can dash forward or backward to cancel them), but the trade-off is that you'll absorb the first hit without the penalty of an animation reset, allowing for an instant counterattack if you land it. They can also act as armour-breaking moves, shutting down more-powerful attacks. Successfully landing a fully charged focus attack will deal damage and crumple your opponent to the ground, giving you the chance to follow up with an unblockable hit as he or she falls.

The new mechanic also lets you use part of your EX power-meter charge to exit animations early and chain bigger combos together. They take a little getting used to and some serious thumb dexterity, but once they're mastered, you can perform moves such as dragon-punch stalls directly into super moves or use them to juggle players in midair with multiple hits. Your revenge meter builds as you take damage, whereas the EX meter fills as you dish it out. EX power rolls over to the next round, but revenge must be built from scratch each time. This becomes a crucial risk-versus-reward mechanic. Do you take hits to build revenge and power up an ultra attack, or do you deal damage to burn your EX on improved moves, cancels, or save it for a super finisher? The flexibility of this system means that you're free to play according to your strengths and style. But just like reversals, EX power-ups, and ultra combo attacks, focus attacks serve to mix up the experience only for veteran players; such is the game's balance that they have never been required to win a match, and they act more as an additional weapon in the arsenal of a skilled player. They're waiting for you when you want to take a step up and learn how they work, but well-timed basic punches and kicks are just as effective.

The single-player mode is robust and has a lot to offer across several components. Arcade mode pits you against a set number of fighters from your unlocked-character roster and culminates in a showdown with Seth. Along the way to your goal, you'll always encounter a rival fight. These are regular fights accompanied by an in-engine exchange with your opponent. They're a welcome mix-up but often add nothing to the character's storyline because some fighters clearly don't even know why they hate one another. Each character's adventure is bookended by an anime-style cinematic movie that explains his or her motivations for attending the tournament. They're quite short and keep story to an absolute minimum, but they get the message across and do a reasonable-enough job of filling in the gaps. Given the amount of additional content shoehorned into this game, we were slightly disappointed to find that no bonus levels have been included, especially since we had high hopes of reliving our car and barrel smashing from Street Fighter II.

Regardless of whether you're down with busting out a tatsumaki senpukyaku at will or think it's some kind of egg-noodle dish, there's a difficulty mode here for you. Eight levels ranging from very easy to hardest are available, so you're sure to find one appropriate for your skill level. That said, even at the gentler difficulties, Street Fighter IV is no cakewalk because your opponents will occasionally mix things up with surprise super and ultra combos. First-timers will have no trouble picking up, playing, and learning as they go. Playing on the medium or above difficulty will also enable score tracking, letting you submit and compare to other players on the game's online leaderboards.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit Review

If you've managed to steer clear of the popular Dragon Ball Z anime for this long, you can be forgiven for thinking that Burst Limit is a game best ignored. Nevertheless, you'd be wrong. Though this 3D fighter is full of references for the fans, it's a good game in its own right and can serve as an easy point of entry into the DBZ universe.

Burst Limit goes out of its way to be accessible to newcomers with a thorough tutorial that walks you through all of the controls while introducing you to a handful of the characters that make up the game's roster. The fact that all of the PlayStation 3 controller's face and shoulder buttons have multiple uses can be daunting initially, but there are no complex combos or character-specific special attacks to memorize, and even the craziest-looking moves aren't much more difficult to perform than a straightforward punch to the face. You'll need some semblance of skill to time your attacks and to block those of your opponents, but after spending half an hour with the tutorial, you should have little trouble holding your own in a fight, regardless of which character you choose.

Only three combatants are available at the outset, but as you progress through the lengthy Z-Chronicles story mode, you'll unlock the rest of the roster for a total of 21. In Z-Chronicles mode, you get to play through three of the five Japanese Dragon Ball Z sagas, and you experience some of their most memorable battles from the perspectives of both good and evil characters. The Saiyan, Frieza, and Cell sagas as they're told here represent only a tiny fraction of the anime material, but there's generally enough dialog between characters to at least let you know why they're fighting, and that's all you need.

As you play through the 50-plus battles of Z-Chronicles mode for the first time, you'll inevitably unlock most of what Burst Limit has to offer, including a good number of the game's "drama pieces." These brief cutscenes are triggered by events during a fight and invariably benefit the character to which they're relevant in some way. For example, drama pieces can increase one or more of your attributes for a short time, restore some health, or call upon a partner to get you out of trouble. Drama pieces also go a long way toward making Burst Limit feel more like the anime that it's based on by employing quick camera cuts and dramatic close-ups that wouldn't be practical during normal gameplay. By unlocking and subsequently equipping up to three different drama pieces, you can customize a character to suit your play style, and to unlock all of them you need to play through the Z-Chronicles several times. New partners, attacks, and character transformations can also be unlocked in this mode, so you'll probably want to beat it at least once before venturing online to really put your skills to the test.

Like any fighting game, Burst Limit is best when played against unpredictable human opponents, largely because they're less likely to fall for some of the cheap tricks that you can get away with against the AI on easier difficulty settings. In Versus mode, you can do battle either with a friend who is sitting next to you or with other players from all over the world. Battles against players from other continents often suffer from noticeable lag, but if you successfully search for an opponent nearby, then silky smooth matchups are certainly possible. Incidentally, online leaderboards track and grade your performances anytime you choose to fight in a ranked match, and you can use that information to search for opponents of a similar skill level.

In addition to the Z-Chronicles and Versus modes, Burst Limit features a training mode in which you can hone your skills against programmable opponents, and three different Trial modes designed to test different aspects of your fighting prowess. For example, Survival mode tasks you with defeating 100 opponents one after another, which forces you to block or evade incoming attacks whenever possible because only a portion of your health is restored between fights. Time Attack mode challenges you to beat a series of 10 opponents as quickly as possible, and in Battle Point mode, you're awarded a score based on the different moves that you use to win a series of fights.

Regardless of which mode you're playing, Burst Limit is a game that makes an impact with its fast-paced action and a sense of style that's lifted straight from the anime. The colorful visuals and occasionally frantic animation will feel familiar if you're an existing fan of the series, and will impress even if you're not. The environments you fight in are bland, and the edges of the characters aren't always as crisp as they should be, but the overall look of Burst Limit is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. On the other hand, the upbeat soundtrack is something of an acquired taste, and the English voice acting isn't nearly as convincing as that of the Japanese, which is available with subtitles and was clearly the only language used for lip-synching.

Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit is a fighting game that can be enjoyed not only by DBZ fans but also by those of you who don't know the difference between an aura spark and a Super Saiyan. You'll undoubtedly get more from the game if you're familiar with your favorite character's storyline, but understanding the complex relationships between some of the key characters simply isn't necessary to derive pleasure from taking control of one and beating up another.

Street Fighter X Tekken Reviews

Capcom loves crossovers. Its world warriors have faced down the X-Men, the Avengers, the King of Fighters, and many others. With Street Fighter X Tekken, the stylish cast of Tekken fighters is next in line to go blow for blow with Ryu and company. It's an interesting transition for the Tekken members, who are leaving their native 3D arena for a 2D battlefield. But their adaptation is just one of the many surprises waiting in this complex fighter. With a host of new mechanics and modes, Street Fighter X Tekken has a lot to offer fighting fans of all skill levels.

Street Fighter X Tekken is a 2D fighter with two-on-two combat. Each side is in control of two fighters and can swap between them on the fly. Players can even team up cooperatively and fight on the same team, just like in last year's Mortal Kombat. This means up to four players can take part in a fight. However, when one fighter on a team is knocked out, that team loses the round--regardless of how much health the remaining fighter has. Therefore, you must treat your two fighters as one unit. There are numerous ways to switch between your fighters, and mastering good synergy between them is the key to building devastating combos and winning matches.

The game includes many of the fighting mechanics seen in Super Street Fighter IV, with several new additions. It has a six-button layout, with three punches and three kicks, and a three-section energy meter with numerous functions. This meter is earned quickly and spent quickly on devastating super arts, EX special moves, and more. But one of its most important functions is cross-canceling. For one block of meter you can tag in your partner mid-combo to continue the assault. At first this "two-as-one" style can be difficult to put into practice. It's much easier to fight with one character until his or her health gets low, switch characters, and repeat. However, in doing so, you lose a lot of what makes this game unique, as well as sacrifice an edge in combat.

Early on you play the system, rather than the characters. This is because several types of moves are performed the same way no matter whom you're controlling. Every character can perform a simple combo of light-medium-heavy-heavy, and execute the two-in-one cross-arts attack the same way. This standardization across the cast lowers the initial barrier to entry by providing a simple, effective foundation, no matter which character you choose. There is still plenty of individual character complexity, but you don't need to know it all to feel competent. By leaning on the fundamentals, you are free to discover character-specific techniques at your own pace.

Additional design choices let you simplify the game and shrink the skill gap between more- and less-experienced players. Certain combos can be automatically executed by pressing two buttons. Attack inputs can be reduced from a 360-degree motion to a tap of the up button. But these shortcuts come at a cost. They may cost meter or lower your fighter's attack power. For those in the intermediate skill range, these options promote an even playing field by offering some extra assistance to those who need it.

One of the best ways to adjust your experience is with gems. Gems make your character stronger and can be tailored to suit any fighting style. If you're offense-oriented, then the attack-boosting Immense Power gems are for you. Conversely, if you plan on getting hit a lot, the Iron Wall gems, which grant damage reduction, would be best. Each character can hold three gems maximum, and while several gems offer the same benefits, what distinguishes them are their activation conditions. You do not acquire gem bonuses for free; they must be earned. But for all the good they do, gems cannot be solely relied upon. They are a subtle complement that can enhance an already lethal player, or shield someone less experienced from a beating.

In addition to its numerous combat mechanics, Street Fighter X Tekken has a robust game mode selection. Arcade mode is up first and opens with an introductory short for each official tag team. As matches are won, there is some post-bout banter that adds color to the adventure. A bout between each team and its rival team occurs near the end and includes its own introductory cinematic, followed by an ending cinematic showing what the winning team did with Pandora's Box. Together these story bits dress up arcade mode, and their funny, lighthearted delivery is fitting for an already outrageous game.

Next is challenge mode, which includes the tutorial, trial, and mission modes. Tutorial mode is where new players should start. Hosted by the jocular Dan Hibiki, this mode talks you through the game's numerous mechanics. It's a definite improvement over the complete lack of an introductory mode seen in most fighting games. Trial mode includes 20 character-specific trials for the entire roster. These trials range from performing basic special moves to pulling off advanced combos. Mission mode rounds out the set. In this mode you pick any character you like and battle against the AI with various battle conditions.

Two of the game's best teaching tools are not found in the challenge section. These are replays and practice mode. Replay mode lets you filter reaplys by character, player skill, and other factors. Studying the tactics of superior players is a great way to improve your own abilities. Training with a friend online also helps. With a partner in tow, you can hit up the briefing room and spar with, or against, him in practice mode.

Unfortunately, online stability is inconsistent. Even against players in the same region, and with the maximum connection rating, it was still a toss-up whether we'd experience lag or not. Against players below those conditions the match would often slow to a heavy crawl. Hopefully this lag will be reduced over time, but for now it's an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise pristine game.

Street Fighter X Tekken provides complex combat in an inviting package. The fighting genre needs to become accessible to a wider range of players, and this game takes an important step in the right direction. Accessibility that doesn't come at the expense of variety is a smart move and sets this fun and flashy fighter apart from the pack.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger Review

For many years, Arc System Works quietly earned a fan following with the flashy 2D fighting action and totally over-the-top characters of the Guilty Gear series. The studio has started anew with BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, a new game with new characters and an evolved fighting system that adds to Guilty Gear's basics. Unfortunately, there are only 12 playable characters in this one--a smaller number than most conventional fighters. Still, they're all very different from each other--and as you might expect from Arc System Works, a few of the characters are completely insane. While you may have trouble wrapping your head around the game's crazy cast and its many different gameplay nuances, which have such esoteric names as "drive attacks" and "guard libra," you'll find plenty to do with the many different offline play modes--plus robust online play that works great. BlazBlue may not be the easiest fighting game to get into, but it still has a lot to offer.

Like the Guilty Gear games, BlazBlue is a fast-paced 2D fighting game with multiple attack buttons--three are for standard attacks of varying strength and the fourth is the drive attack, which produces an entirely different effect for each character. The character Jin's drive attack freezes his enemy solid; Ragna's steals his enemy's health with each strike. Every character also plays in a totally unique fashion, though there are callbacks to Guilty Gear's roster. The game's protagonist, the spiky-haired, sword-wielding bad boy Ragna takes cues from the spiky-haired, sword-wielding bad boy Sol Badguy. There's also a "big strong grappler who can't run" character in Iron Tager, who is similar to Guilty Gear's Potemkin. Then again, BlazBlue also features a grinning hooded catgirl with gigantic paws; an evil vampire child who hurls exploding, whoopee-cushion-shaped bats; and a masked blob that oozes its way into battle.

It's clear that the developer specifically intended for the characters to look totally different, as well as play differently, from each other. While this definitely makes the game seem new and makes each character seem distinctive, this uniqueness makes it harder for your skills to transfer from character to character, especially if your frame of reference is more-conventional fighters like Street Fighter or The King of Fighters.

However, if you're a Guilty Gear fan, or just a fan of sci-fi anime cartoons that have really strange characters, BlazBlue will feel like coming home. In fact, much of the fighting system is clearly based on an improved, faster version of Guilty Gear. Like in that series, BlazBlue lets you chain together multiple standard attacks, start juggle attacks that propel your opponents up in the air, and dash forward or backward both on the ground and in the air (with the exception of the aforementioned Iron Tager). There's a decent variety of strategies that work among the different characters--some have fairly strong defensive games, but more often than not, being able to mount a strong offense will serve you well. Fortunately, the game supports a strong offensive game with the standard chain combos (strings of normal attacks, or revolver action as they're known here), as well as extensive air juggling and a defensive blocking meter (known as guard libra, in this case), which determines how long you can block incoming attacks before your defense simply fails.

Thankfully, there are also many defensive counter options based on enhanced versions of previous Guilty Gear mechanics, such as the ability to use a well-timed defense to reduce the amount of time your character stays in blocking animation (known as instant guard); an active defense system (known as barrier); and a defensive counterattack setup that lets you turn the tide of battle (known as barrier burst). BlazBlue moves fast--sometimes dizzyingly fast--but if you can keep up, you'll find a good balance between offensive and defensive tools in your arsenal and tight, responsive controls.

In any case, BlazBlue is an attractive game with big, well-animated characters set against colorful background stages and flashy special effects. As you might expect from a Guilty Gear successor, BlazBlue has a wailing rock guitar soundtrack, and in any given match, both combatants are generally flying around shrieking the names of their mighty fighting styles while the game's announcer calls out successful defensive maneuvers and counterattacks. When matches get very intense between two characters with especially flashy moves, there's a great deal of loud noise, bright flashes, and ballyhoo onscreen that the scene borders on being confusing, especially to beginners who aren't already fighting game experts.

However, you'll be able to get the hang of it if you understand the basics of performing combination attacks, juggles, and defensive counters--and if you can tune out some of the fireworks. It'll also probably help if you tune out the game's needlessly elaborate terms for gameplay features (guard libra, barrier burst, revolver action, and so on) and its completely superfluous story, which puts Ragna in the center of some kind of futuristic postwar conflict among a bunch of different factions that never really affect the game.

However, the story does play into BlazBlue's offline Story mode, which offers an interesting new experience for newcomers and veterans alike, since it branches in different directions and offers different unlockable content depending on whether you win or lose to different opponents. The game also has Arcade, Score Attack, Versus, and Training modes, plus an unlockable gallery. There's also a replay option to save and watch offline and online matches, including matches from the leaderboards, which you can peruse for your entertainment, or study carefully to learn to be a better player. And BlazBlue has extremely strong online multiplayer that makes it easy to jump into ranked and unranked matches. The online lobby uses an icon-based interface that lets you quickly find other players with good connections, as well as players of similar experience levels in the game. Actual online play is quite popular at the time of this writing--there's plenty of competition out there, and if you're on a good connection, you'll probably experience very little lag, if any, during an actual match.

BlazBlue is weird, bright, and loud. The colorful artwork, wild action, and totally unique characters may intrigue you, assuming they aren't too much for you to handle. If you can get past the noisy presentation and bizarre characters, you'll find a very solid fighting game with plenty of offline options and excellent online play.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Review

The versus series has always been about pure 2D insanity. Capcom's long-running line pits Street Fighter characters against all manner of fighters, including Marvel comic-book characters and other Capcom characters. But the over-the-top nature of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 makes the other versus games look subdued by comparison.

Capcom has shaken things up a bit with Marvel vs. Capcom 2. For starters, the six-button, three-strength system that has served all of the Street Fighter games for the last decade has been replaced with four buttons, with two punches and two kicks. The buttons that used to serve as fierce punch and roundhouse kicks are now used to call in your offscreen characters for helper attacks, which leads us to the other major change in MVC2 - you now select three characters instead of two. Also, your super combos can be linked together. If you pick the right three characters and link your supers together just right, you can get combos that range in the hundreds of hits. Beyond that, it's roughly the same collection of fighters from the first Marvel vs. Capcom with a few new characters, such as Cable, Jill Valentine, and Amingo thrown in, and some old characters, like Iceman, brought back from previous Marvel-licensed fighters. The gameplay is still very similar to that of the previous Marvel vs. Capcom, with a focus on screen-filling fireballs and ridiculous button-tapping air combos. Like its predecessor, it isn't the most balanced game in the world, but that doesn't keep it from being a great deal of fun.

To go with the updated gameplay, the graphical style of the game has been similarly updated. While the characters are still made up of 2D sprites, the backgrounds are pretty amazing 3D scenes, full of movement and vibrant color. The only real problem with the graphics is only noticeable if you're using a nice TV with an S-Video connection. The cleaner your connection, the more you'll notice how pasted-on the sprites look on the 3D backgrounds, and the characters are a little on the blocky and pixelated side, as well. Again, this isn't really detectable on most normal TV connections, so if your A/V equipment isn't terribly nice, it won't be a problem at all, except for the last form of the final boss, who looks blocky on just about any TV set.

The soundtrack is also worth mentioning. While the sound effects are of the same great quality that you've come to expect from Capcom's fighters, the music is anything but what you'd expect from a fighting game. While previous games have been accompanied by the typical style of rock and techno that make up most game soundtracks, MVC2 features a strange sort of jazzy lounge music. You'll either love it because it's so hilariously out of place or be annoyed to death by its happy, upbeat rhythms.

The Japanese version of MVC2 had an online feature, which let you battle against other players over a specialized network, and you could also hook up your VMU to the arcade version of the game. These options were used to earn points that could be used to unlock characters, stages, and new costume colors. Both of those options were removed from the US version of the game, and now there is only one type of point, and you earn points simply by playing the game in either arcade or versus mode. Aside from unlocking characters with points, you can also trade points with other players by hooking two VMUs together.

Fans of the off-kilter action found in the previous versus games will surely be pleased with Marvel vs. Capcom 2, as it represents the first major set of changes the series has ever seen. It's just a shame that the network battle from the Japanese version couldn't have been carried over to the US release, as online play would have really added a lot to the game's appeal.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Review

After a decade of anticipation, and a few long months of speculation, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is upon us at last. This venerable fighting series, renowned for its structured insanity, has finally returned with the same fire and intensity that was its hallmark. However, not all the characters from the previous game have returned this time around--but not without good reason. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was a game so completely dominated by a handful of characters and strategies that the majority of its design was rendered moot. Developer Capcom has since learned from this, and the changes made help distill this game's combat into a more well-rounded experience than ever before. The result is not the most technically demanding of fighters, but is certainly one of the most enjoyable. The white-knuckle intensity is still here--but this is not the same game you remember from 10 years ago.

In the extravagant world of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, there is rarely a dull moment. You and your opponent each have a team of three characters to battle it out in one frantic, continuous round accented by dazzling finishing moves and triple-digit combos. But beneath all its style, the game's core combat mechanics have been simplified and work harmoniously to drive you, and the action, forward. Locomotion plays a large role in this, even if the characters are slower than before. This change feels natural in the game's large arenas and affords you the time to plan out your next move without having to rely on blindly overwhelming your opponent. But even if you are slower, you never want to stop moving. There is safety in mobility when every character can clear the length of the arena in a single bound or pepper you with projectiles from a screen away. Stopping only makes things easier for your opponent.

Movement keeps the battle flowing and changing as you duck in and out of your opponent's reach, each side frantically searching for that break in the other's defenses. Sometimes opportunity is easy to spot. Other times you have to make your own luck. In either case, when it's time to strike, the number of tools you have in your arsenal is intoxicating. You might unleash a fierce flurry of blows, summon another character to take a quick shot, or employ a snap back attack for a more favorable match-up. When on the defense, a well-timed advancing guard can punish a nasty rushdown player, while a crossover counter can rescue a teammate under fire. Regardless, after each encounter you take away a little something to add to your repertoire--be it practice with your favorite go-to combo or knowledge that a new assist isn't all that great. There's a constant sense of progression as you endlessly experiment with new tricks and new combinations.

From beat to beat and blow to blow, it's the little touches that sell the experience. It's that slight pause at the start of a hyper combo--a breath just wide enough to fit a single expletive before the hammer falls--or the feeling of weight right as you launch someone into the air. It's the fact that combat can just as easily take place vertically as it can horizontally. The addition of the new launcher button helps expedite this process. And once you're airborne, a few quick hits lead you to an important crossroads: either end the combo safely or press your luck. If you go with the latter, you can bounce your opponent in one of four directions, after which you switch characters and continue the combo. That is, unless your opponent inputs the same direction as you, in which case you're the one who's sent tumbling down. It's a gamble, and one that keeps both sides of the beatdown engaged.

All of this would be enough, but then there's the x-factor. True to its namesake, the x-factor is your wild card in any match. Activated by pressing all four attack buttons, this ability temporarily increases your character's attack power and speed--and resets his or her current animation. Its potency and duration are determined by the number of team members you've lost, making it an excellent last resort to turn the tables on your opponent. But its applications run deeper than that. The simple animation reset lets you chain together moves that would otherwise be impossible, such as two super moves back-to-back. Or, if an opponent manages to flank you while you're caught helpless in a big attack, you can burn the x-factor to cancel that attack and face your opponent. The amount of diversity gained for something so simple makes this new feature a valuable tool rather than a mere gimmick.

Combat in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is an enjoyable blend of violence and intimacy. Surmounting your opponent is just as much about getting in his head as it is about getting around the controls. Some people like to mix things up and have fun, while others just want to win no matter the cost. Whatever your calling, finding characters who fit your style of play is paramount. This game offers a wide array of variations on a single character theme, as most of the rosters' techniques are executed in the same way. Several of the basic moves and combos you learn for one will easily transfer to several others. However, while these inputs may be similar, their outputs are wildly different. Every character brings something unique to the experience, and the game quickly moves from the tedium of learning individual commands, to the joys of mastering their timing and situational uses.

At the heart of the game is Ryu, whose iconic trio of moves--the fireball (hadoken), the uppercut (shoryuken), and the hurricane kick (tatsumaki senpukyaku)--serve as the foundation for many others. Some characters, such as Morrigan and Zero, emulate this style closely while adding their own variations to the execution. Arthur and Chris are characters who explore a single aspect of this style, the fireball, with a variety of different projectile attacks. Dante takes it to the extreme with a staggering lineup of 32 unique attacks. If you've ever had trouble perfecting the motions for these moves, the game address this with a new simplified control option. This aptly named simple mode condenses each character down into a few key moves which can be executed at the press of a button. While this severely limits your offensive options in battle, simple mode's simplicity makes it ideal for series newcomers.

Is this game's roster perfectly balanced? No. If it were, it would have only two characters who each played exactly like the other. Battles aren't won on spreadsheets using numbers and averages. They are won with experience, mind games, and a bit of luck. Capcom delivers a roster where every character feels powerful and fun to play. In a game this over-the-top, there's a way around everything. One strategy isn't going to work in every situation. The deadly trio of Storm, Sentinel, and Magneto is still a mighty combination. But this time so is everyone else.