After some prodding from friends, I decided to give “Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds” a shot, and liked what I found. “Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds” offers a fighting game that anyone could pick up rather quickly. With some memorization of key combo moves and special abilities, you can make your way to the end of arcade mode, or you can try and play through arcade mode as I did: a ham-fisted button masher.
There was a lot of hype leading up to the release of this title, and there was even a series of animated trailers that showcased the many characters available. There are a lot of characters to try out: 19 from both Marvel and Capcom, making a total of 38 different characters you can unlock or download. Each character has idividual pros and cons: the Hulk, for instance, does an incredible amount of damage, but is also very large and easy to hit. The character Viewtiful Joe is shorter and can dodge many attacks because of his stature, though his damage output relies on combos rather than strong single hits. You also don’t get just one character when fighting, you get three. During the fight, your allies can be used for an extra attack, or you can switch to one of your allies if your current characters health is low. With so many choices, players will spend a lot of time finding their favorite setup.
There are two different modes of play: online and offline play. Offline play allows you to play through the arcade mode, which people who haven’t played a game like this may find difficult near the end. I’m rather new to this style of fighting game, so my first instinctive tactic of button-mashing didn’t really work against the last boss. Every character has their own comic book style ending, and the arcade mode is also how you unlock some of the available characters. The mission mode allows you to work through a series of missions that walk you through the different combos and special attacks of each character. After playing through the first couple of the missions from my Avengers team, I was able to play through the arcade without losing a single battle.
There is plenty of online content available, and it seems more is on the way. You can download new characters, or even special computer player teams that are modeled after the developers of the game, for a small fee. The online play allows you to pit your skills against other humans over your chosen console’s network system. I enjoyed playing with friends locally.
“Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds” doesn’t have much of an extensive storyline, but that’s not what this game is about. It’s a game that anyone can find enjoyment from, even if they have never played a title like it before. The over-the-top attacks, combined with the pretty graphics, make this a good title anyone could add to their game shelf.