One of the greatest genres that have ever emerged from video game developers…the 2d fighter…gets a new flavor with Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 for the Playstation 2! Lets take a look at this port from Sega’s Dreamcast and see how it measures up. Let’s first take a look at the graphics MvC2 brings to the PS2.
Graphics
First of all, its a 2D fighter…let me elaborate for all you 3D newbies: 2D is a “flat” image portrayed on the screen as opposed to a virtual “3d” world. Instead of worrying about things like texture mapping and specular bi-linearly interpolated highlights and pixel shading…we are now interested in how many individual frames the artists decided to draw to create each character. MvC2 is one of the most detail intense animated 2D fighters ever. Right up there with Street Fighter 3rd Strike for DC and Guilty Gear X, MvC2 has some of the best animated characters a 2D fighter has seen. But lets not forget about the backgrounds! Yes, MvC2 is a 2D fighter…however, who says 2D and 3D can’t live happily together? The backgrounds in MvC2 are completely 3D…and absolutely breath taking! There is so much detail in the background you almost forget that you’re supposed to be fighting on a 2 dimensional plane! The only thing I would have liked to see is a more interactive (with the characters) background.
Sound
Now that we know this game is visually pleasing, what’s the sound yield to the senses? Can you say “style”? This game has got the tunes! I wanna take you for a ride…yeah! This game has got the grooves! Jazzy and funky, you’ll be groovin to the tunes while kickin some ass. I don’t think
there is a better combination! As for the sound effects…top notch as we’ve all come to expect from Capcom, the greatest innovator of the 2D fighter genre. The sound really brings the game alive and the voices are great. I don’t think one could ask for better sound in a game! ItsGrrrrrreat!
Gameplay
Ok, its got the senses satisfied…but what can this 2D fighter offer that the others can’t? Well, lets state the obvious right off the bat…its from capcom! HELLO!! You know…the originators of the Down, Downforward, Forward + punch! MvC2 takes its cues from the classic Street Fighter control system. Marvel and Capcom characters burst into action with these button combos. Added moves are hyper combos and aerial fighting…along with a plethera of other wonderful moves! However…every system has its downfalls and MvC2 isn’t the one to change that. Although special moves and combos are relatively balanced between characters, there are very obvious draw backs. For instance, many characters (I like to call them combo characters) do not have any form of projectile attack…this makes it most difficult to beat the second form of the end boss. Other than some character imbalance, MvC2 is one great game. Did I mention there are 40+ characters to fight with in this game? Yep, this game is PACKED with replay value as you have to play over and over to accumulate points in order to “purchase” new fighters. Be aware of the V-points though…unless you wanna move to Japan, its not possible to accumulate V-points with the import version seeing as how these points are based on network play. As far as I can tell so far…it IS possible to unlock everything with just P-points, however this is one long game and I have yet to unlock every single thing (gimme a break will ya…I’m a computer science major for gods sake…I don’t have time for this :D) All in all..this game is a blast.
Overall
We’ve seen now that MvC2 has great graphics, perfect sound and some pretty solid gameplay. so what do ya think…buy it? As always I say rent before you buy…but considering this is an import that may not be possible. In all honesty I’m gonna have to suggest waiting for the title to hit your local shelves. The network play sounds like way to much fun to pass up…as it is I’m tempted to book my flight to Japan! So I guess if you got the mullah to travel…get the import..else, play the DC version for a little while longer…this is Trippyliquid…trippin out!