Okay, okay. I know the game’s been out for over two weeks now, and I’m just now getting around to making this post I promised you last week. But come on, I’m a busy guy, as you all know, and there’s no rest for a Vatican Assassin Warlock (Google that, if you don’t know what I’m talking about).
Anyway, let’s cut right to it, shall we?
So, how is it? Fun, deep, and engaging. So much so that I’ve been playing heavily since the game’s release, and I still feel like I’ve only scratched the surface of my three main characters (Zero, Dante, and Chun-Li, in case you were wondering). It seems like every day, a video gets posted on some fighting game website or another that highlights another strategy, combo, or glitch that changes how the landscape of the game is perceived. So, let’s just say the game itself has a lot going for it, even if there are still a lot of things that have yet to be discovered.
Speaking of the game’s unknowns, let’s talk for a moment about balance. Someday, someone somewhere is going to compile a list of match data between high-level MvC3 players using the various characters and create a tier-list. Those tiers will then be further dissected between the character’s usefulness as the on-screen or “point” character versus being an off-screen “assist” character. Then, team dynamics will come into play. And at the end of the day, that person will proclaim that Team X/Y/Z is a top-tier team. The one thing to realize about this game, however, is that (due largely to X-Factor) any character in the game can kill any other character in the game with a single combo.
As much controversy and teeth-gnashing that X-Factor seems to be causing in the fighting game community, I still feel it brings a very unconventional sense of balance to the game. Characters can die quickly, and some characters (such as Sentinel) seem to be too strong, but the game rewards practice, execution, and experimentation in training mode more than most other fighting games, meaning that if you know your team inside and out, any hit can lead to a big swing in momentum.
That isn’t to say that it’s easy to land these character-killing combos. Unless you’re taking out Phoenix (who has laughably low health to offset Dark Phoenix’s incredible power), killing a character in a single combo requires the use of one or more bars of your Hyper Gauge and/or use of X-Factor. Also, don’t let anyone tell you it’s easy to get in on a character with strong zoning capabilities, especially when assists are being called in every couple of seconds to keep you on your toes. The point is, there is no “hopeless” scenario between two characters. If you have the knowledge, the skill, and the resources, you can win.
So, with all that high-level mumbo-jumbo out of the way, what does this game have to offer, say, a Marvel fan with no real fighting game experience? Well, there’s “Simple Mode”, where the controls are condensed to a single button for regular attacks, another button for special attacks, and yet a third button for Hyper Combos (in addition to the two partner assist buttons and the ubiquitous “Special” button, which sends the opponent flying into the air). As someone who’s played fighting games for years, I don’t really feel like I’m in the best position to say whether or not Simple Mode achieves its intended goals. That’s why I got some of my friends over at Chainsaw Buffet to come and test the game out with me.
As you’ll see, Simple Mode isn’t really made to give a beginner the opportunity to compete with a seasoned veteran, but simply allows one to perform moves and combos with relative ease, though the access to a character’s full move set is restricted. Even so, beginners should find enjoyment in Simple Mode, as long as they have someone to play with at their own skill level.
One last thing worth mentioning is the presence of online play. There have been issues with the game’s servers, making it difficult to find opponents online. These issues haven’t been persistent, however, and what time I have put into playing online, the game seems decent, though precision needed for extended combos seems to be difficult to find due to the lag. Fortunately, however, the game’s Training Mode has an option to simulate online conditions, so you can practice your combos with simulated lag.
All in all, Marvel vs Capcom 3 may be a lot of things, but “disappointment” isn’t one of them. Even so, it may not be the beginner’s fighting game of choice.
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