• Posted February 19th, 2011 at 05:30 EDT by Adam Dolge
• 11 Comments

Review Score

Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

PSU Review Score

8.5

Avg. user review score:

5.8

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Summary

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is an over-the-top brawler with a surprisingly deep combat system. Fans of both brands will love the new characters, but the lack of overall content keeps it from being a complete K.O.

We like

• Flashy yet surprisingly complex combat
• Sharp comic art style to levels and characters
• Gameplay runs extremely smoothly

We dislike

• Lack of real story campaign
• Very light on modes, both offline and online
• Online experience is smooth, but has noticeable functional omissions

See PSU's review on Metacritic & GameRankings

(continued from previous page) ...course, some sacrifices that were made along the way. The roster is smaller than MvC2 and there is a serious lack in story mode. Actually, the entire game mode section is extremely light. While offline, you can train or progress through a Mission mode to learn each character’s abilities and combos. These challenges are just that: challenging. You are given a series of combos or moves to pull off, but you have to pause the game and check out how properly mash-up the buttons. Playing the arcade mode is a lot easier and more enjoyable than the challenge section.

There is a valid argument for the game’s focus on doing one mode right — it certainly has the basics down. No, we don’t fault the game for not offering some random game modes, but it all feels too underwhelming. All of the characters have huge, rich stories, but they are all reduced to simplistic (yet artistic) stills once you win the arcade mode.

You will without a doubt notice a vast gulf separating the good players and the great players online. The really great players will knock you around so fast that you’ll never get a chance to block, let alone land a hit. You can have plenty of fun offline if you are not that great of a player, but if you take your skills online, you should prepared for some tough competition.

The servers seemed to work pretty well online, as I experienced little to no lag. The problem I had, however, was the clear cuts in the online experience. In fact, the different game modes offline and online are seriously light to the point I could see casual brawlers getting bored in short order. You can hop into lobbies of up to eight players online, and compete in a round robin, winner stays competition. If you’re not in a battle, all you can do is wait because you cannot watch others' matches. This isn’t a deal breaker, but the little irritations in the online portion of the game add up to downright disappointment. Real fans of the series will probably keep playing online for months to come, but if you wanted to dabble in the online portion and get your kick offline, best look elsewhere.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a very solid experience, and the devout fans of the series will probably fall in love all over again. Ultimately, your reaction to MvC3 rests in your opinions of Capcom, Marvel, and the mash-up idea. It’s a strong, flashy fighter with some great depth in the combat, but it ultimately feels a bit light. The longevity of the game rests in multiplayer, and right now it’s a bit lackluster. For that reason, the game has modest staying power for the general public, but the diehard fans will undoubtedly gush with praise in the months to come. If you want to keep your game offline, there isn’t all that much to do. Still, the actual gameplay and graphics are superb, meaning you’ll get your kicks extremely fast. How long the game stays in your PlayStation 3 will depend on how badly you want to win collectibles, hone your skills, or succumb to another jittery fit of sheer, immediate excitement.

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