Review by: Michael Barnes

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is a ludicrous game that finds Chris Redfield from the Resident Evil games shooting Captain America in the face with a shotgun.

You’ll also witness such bizarre sights as a pre-fight scene featuring Arthur, the diminutive knight from Ghosts n’ Goblins, standing alongside Spider-Man and Chun-Li while haranguing Magneto and his teammates Viewtiful Joe and Deadpool. It’s all decidedly non-canonical, ridiculous, and absurd. To top it off, the button-mashy gameplay balance is all over the map, full of tawdry spammable combos, cheap projectile attacks, and potentially seizure-inducing razzle-dazzle that borders on the psychedelic.

Between the goofy announcer that creepily warns you that he’s going to “take you on a wild ride” and the return of that terrible “gonna take you for a ride” song it even sounds silly. To top it off, there’s an outrageous final battle with the allied Dr. Doom and Albert Wesker and their buddy Galactus. Failure results in the message “Earth KO”.

In other words, it is exactly the game that fans of the cult classic mash-up fighter series wanted.

I absolutely adore MvC3 and in much the same way that I loved its equally obnoxious predecessor. It’s the kind of game that’s probably best with a couple of friends, in the living room, and enjoyed with pizza and ultra-sugary soda. Capcom’s mastery of the fighting game genre shines through in this triumphant sequel and although it doesn’t quite top Super Street Fighter IV in terms of gameplay or technical quality, it is considerably more accessible and arguably more fun to play.

It’s a three-on-three game with players selecting from a roster of 36 Marvel Comics and Capcom characters. During a bout, players can freely switch between the three characters, call on off-screen partners for backup, or engage in hyper combos that bring one or both teammates on the screen for insane damage and a phenomenal display of light, sound, and fury. Unlike the Street Fighter family of games, there are only three core attack buttons. Additionally, there is a Special button and buttons that call partners. It’s a simpler scheme that results in fewer unique moves, but it also pares down the learning curve substantially.