I wanna take you for a ride… INTO HELL! Capcom screws up again, and in ways I couldn’t possibly imagine… but is it really that bad?
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Year: 2017
Played on: PS4
Also on: Xbox One, PC
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
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Not to infinity, nor beyond
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Date posted: February 27, 2018
PREMISE
Who doesn’t love Capcom’s premier fighting game series, Marvel vs. Capcom, or the “Vs.” series as it is come to be known as? Taking a the crazy premise that started with Street Fighter characters sparing with characters from Xmen, the series soon became something even more insane. Encompassing the huge spectrum of both teams to create several fighting games- everyone of them being crazy, frantic and surprising technical fighting games that both casuals and serious fighting game enthusiasts can enjoy. Then comes Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, which sadly comes along and breaks that streak that Capcom had been building nearly over two decades. So what went right? What went wrong?
Some history- Infinite was announced five years after Ultimate MvC3- a game that pretty much fixed a lot that was wrong with the vanilla MvC3. A lot had happened in that time- most notably, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was now in full swing- releasing multiple superhero movies mere months away from each other, making not millions but billions for Marvel, and therefore, Disney. This actually shows in MvCI- you can feel the mouse taking over everything, and once again, are friend, Mr. Copyright shows up and ruins everything- I’ll explain more in the CONS section. For now, lets see if they actually got anything right!
PROS
For all intents and purposes, I think MvC:I actually had good gameplay- even though it was severely dumbed down from it’s predecessors. In UMvC3, you actually had to learn how to play as different characters- a shocking revelation, I know! However, in MvC:I, they have made things much easier- hell, you can now spam the punch button to perform a simple, yet satisfying combo. You can also do an easy special move, which is a simple button combination that’s the same for every character. However, this doesn’t mean the games a cakewalk- I lost so many matches in story mode that I actually went back and trained with whatever character the game makes you use. So, yeah, the game isn’t a complete casual cakewalk in the park. The game play is it’s biggest strength.
A lot of people hated the graphics for this game. To quote Mr. Plinkett- “What’s wrong with your face!?”- a lot of characters did look off – most of the human ones, who didn’t wear a mask, at least. However, I think people were slightly to critical- why it doesn’t even look as good as UMvC3, it doesn’t look completely horrid- some of the characters look fine- (Spiderman, Hulk, Morrigan, X, just to name a few) and the backgrounds are not too bad looking either. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the game could look better, but it’s not a total disaster… unlike Puzzle Fighter’s horrid ugly models. God, now that was a bad crossover game!
The new story mode… is just okay. It has it’s moments, and is a welcome addition- but it just lacks any real substance. Like many others have said, Netherrelm does a better job with fighting game stories- whether it be Injustice or Mortal Kombat X. In fact, Netherrelm does a better job then Capcom for most things… Makes you think… Again, this feature is just “Okay”.
The music isn’t too bad either…. when you can hear it. The game is also kind of messed up in the audio department- some of the worst sound mixing. However, listening to the music in the bonus menu, it sounds pretty good. Look, I’m trying my best to find something positive… give me a break!
CONS
Where do I even begin? Okay, lets talk about the roster.
I did the math- of the 30 characters, only five are new. Compare that to UMvC3, which overall, had about 50 characters, a slew of them being newcomers- theres just too many to count! Also, all of those 25 characters were in UMvC3, except Thanos, who was a boss in one of the other Vs. games,and was in MvC2, I believe. What really sucks is that these returning characters are pretty much unchanged from their UMvC3 counterparts- making them feel like they were simply copy and pasted into the new game. And of course, lets talk about the juggernaut in the room- the omission of X-men and Fantastic Four characters.
That’s right- they made a new Marvel vs. Capcom with no X-men- the very team that pretty much started the series! No Wolverine. No Cyclops. No Storm. Not even Iceman! No one! No Fantastic Four either- so no Dr. Doom for you! The reason is clear- are friend Mr. Copyright rears his ugly head! Since Fox owned X-men and FF, the right to these charters were pretty much held for ransom- I imagine they wanted a gazillion dollars for every character! I miss the Nineties, where comic books were a dying industry, and could get the rights to use the characters whenever you wanted. Now though? They’ll need an arm, a leg, some of your organs, and maybe your dignity- just so you can put in Beast in your Visual Novel. It’s become my catchphrase- this is the future we chose!
The roster also smells of the aforementioned Marvel Cinematic Universe, as all the new characters on the Marvel side have had a movie, or are going to have one in the immediate future. Same goes for the rest of the Marvel cast. It’s just really fishy. Add to this the fact that they made Iron Man in the story just like Robert Downy Jr., in voice and face, and you have all the evidence you need that hollywood had their grubby little hands all over this project.
Capcom cannot keep themselves from releasing DLC, can they? The DLC characters should have been in the base game, as they are all newcomers except Venom. So many wasted slots- who asked for Spencer? Did anyone even play the Bionic Commando reboot? Oh, and there’s plenty of cosmetic DLC as well. I hope that an Ultimate version comes out, but now its time for a terrible truth.
MvC:I is already dead. A rumor has been going around as well- apparently, the license for all these characters has just about ran out, and MvC:I will not only lose all online capabilities come this October, but will be pulled from all online stores as well. I have no idea if this source is credible, but if this is true, then wow- Capcom f@#ked up royally.
Here’s a link to the rumor:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/493840/discussions/0/1700542332328613093/
This is not the final nail in the coffin, though- guess what game didn’t get a slot in this year’s EVO tournament? (EVO being a big fighting game tournament, for those out of the loop) That’s right- Justice League Task Force…. and Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite. After years of hosting MvC:I, you’d think that they would host a new Marvel game- but nope. Not enough interest- a first for the series. This is big- every fighting game enthusiasts knows- if it ain’t at EVO, then it ain’t going nowhere!
Also, no Arcade endings. Way to look out for us casual players, Capcom!
FINAL VERDICT
I don’t hate Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite, but it does feel like a letdown, overall. I’m not the best at fighting games, but I can tell when one is not up to snuff, and sadly, MvC:I simply is not. I would only recommend this game if you can get it dirt cheap- or hopefully, Capcom releases a “Ultimate” version with all the DLC and what not. For everyone else, your better off getting UMvC3 instead, or if you want something newer, Dragonball Fighterz. Hopefully, Capcom can get it’s s@#t together, or we might be looking at yet another series that’s dead in the gutter.
Agree? Disagree? Good! Leave a comment about how terrible my taste is in the comments below!
Gamer's Edge 