Capcom Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes

Overview

Marvel vs. Capcom II boasts an incredible array of 60 heroes and villains, from both the Capcom and Marvel universe. The basic mode of game play is arcade. You can choose any three characters that are unlocked and fight through seven stages until you have a chance to fight the final boss.

The storyline is very vague. The only real clue the player gets as to the storyline comes in the form of a short congratulatory cutscene at the end of arcade mode.

As far as the cutscene says, an evil force had arisen and threatened the world. Setting aside their differences, the heroes and villains teamed up, along with characters from another dimension (universe?) to quell the evil force. Once the force is defeated, they all rejoice and set sail into the sunset on a flying pirate ship.

Enjoyment Value

With very unmemorable graphics and music, this game is only enjoyable from the first time you pick it up until the time you realize you're doing the exact same thing over and over again, which doesn't take very long. Although it is easy to play for the most part, the CPU will anger beginners and provide little challenge to the pros. A game worthy of renting, not buying.

Character Controls

The character controls are a little tricky to pick up at first. Many of the special moves have button sequences that are hard to get the hang of. Also, the moves list for each character is incomplete, only detailing around three special moves for a character when in truth they have six to ten at their disposal.

Arcade Mode

At the start of Arcade mode, the CPU’s are mildly difficult to beat on normal difficulty. Thankfully, as you get closer to the final stage, they become more challenging. So challenging, that it almost feels like you're fighting against another person, with the exception of linear moves. This mode tends to lose its zest the longer it is played. The benefits of beating the mode wane and the CPU become frustrating as they always manage to kill off your characters with only one person.

Many times, in the heat of battle, the CPU will bust out a combo, and continuously use that combo until you have a chance to break the cycle. Also, whenever the CPU has built its power gauge to maximum capacity (level 5), it has a tendency to use a string of hyper moves. Adding to the frustration and making the game that much more linear. That aside, the A.I. (artificial intelligence) is very good, but not great.

Vs. Mode

Standard Vs. mode is where you and one other friend can fight against each other. You may use all the characters you have unlocked up to that point as well as any additional stage. Arcade stages are also available.

Other Modes

There is a Standard Training mode in the game which allows players to hone their skills and learn how to better fight against particularly dangerous enemies. Whilst using this mode, you can gain a small amount of points by any means.

The Secret Factor mode is the shop where you may buy additional characters, stages, and other things. It is flawed in the sense that it has a very difficult loop. Once you buy a certain number of characters, a "sold out" icon appears instead of a new character. Also, as you buy things, the price goes up at an absurd rate while the reward point's players earn for buying items continues to go down.

The Normal Option mode is where you can tweak the game difficulty and the amount of damage inflicted upon yourself and your opponent. Others aspects of the game may also be changed here, such as audio, video, and button configuration.

There is also a mode that allows you to see your battle rankings in Arcade and Score Attack modes, as well as character rankings. This mode is called Score Rankings.

The last mode, which is Score Attack, is a mode that lets you challenge the CPU in a match of skill and endurance. The option rules do not apply in this mode, therefore the setting that allows you to fight easier opponents does not work here. The CPU is very challenging in this mode right from the very beginning, so would only be suited to intermediate / semi-pro players.

There are seven stages as well as the final boss, just as in Arcade mode. This mode is only there to let you try and obtain a high score. The number of battles you win does not affect your score, how you fight does. If you continue to use the same moves, your score will not climb as steadily. Varying your attacks, assists, and hyper attacks will result in a higher score. Using air combos and tech hits will also raise your score if you interchange those attacks with others.

Character List

Ryu
Strider Hiryu
Spider-Man
Venom
Jill Valentine
Sonson
Megaman (Rockman)
Sakura Kasugano
Hiyakenshita Sakura (Sakura transformation)
Zangief
Mecha Zangief (Zangief transformation)
Guile
Morrigan Aenslade
Anakaris
Cyclops
Wolverine
Psylocke
Iceman
Rogue
Captain America
The Hulk
Doctor Doom
Tron Bonne
Hayato Kanzaki
Ruby Heart
Amingo
Marrow
Cable
Chun-Li
Roll
Akuma
B.B. Hood (Beretta)
Felicia
Charlie (Nash)
Dan Hibiki
Cammy
Dhalsim
M. Bison
Ken Masters
Gambit
Magneto
Storm
Sabertoothe
Sentinel
Shuma-Gorath
War Machine
Silver Samurai
Omega Red
Spiral
Colossus
Iron Man
Thanos
Blackheart
Gouki
Jin Saotome
Captain Commando
Adamantiumless Wolverine
Servbot (Kobun)
Vega
Juggernaut

Release Date: 2000