Review: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

The online multiplayer is disappointing to say the least. Even though there is support for eight player lobbies, you can’t spectate matches. Seeing as fights can take as long as a full 99 seconds, not being able to watch your opponents is definitely a problem. Instead of watching the match, you get to see health bars going at it. It’s as underwhelming as it sounds. Considering the options set by Super Street Fighter IV, it’s a shame that Capcom set the genre back a couple of years with MvC3. You can’t even kick people out of a lobby for some unknown reason. It’s amazing how little effort went into making the online mode practical. At least the voice chat and invite system works as intended.

To Capcom’s credit, they did add a brilliant new function to 1-on-1 player matches. There’s actually a rematch option now, just like the one that’s in offline versus mode. This is a great feature to have when you want to run it back without going to the character select screen. It’s completely instantaneous and should be in every fighting game from now on. There is a problem, though. The rematch option is only available through random matchmaking. You would think that it’d be possible to rematch in private 1-on-1 lobbies but it’s not, for some reason.

Overall, the netcode is pretty good. From my experience, it’s either equal to or better than Super Street Fighter IV’s online. The problem with playing a fighting game online is that lag becomes very apparent since it can disrupt gameplay easily. After playing the game for nearly a week, I found that the PS3 version is far more stable online. I couldn’t even get into a game on the 360 version by normal means. I had to turn on fight requests and play in training mode or arcade mode until someone challenged me. It’s a workaround that hasn’t failed me yet, but it shouldn’t be the only way to get into matches. There have been reports of custom game searching working but I had no such luck. The good news is that Capcom is fully aware of the situation and is working to provide a solution soon.

As with Super Street Fighter IV, you can apply titles and icons to your profile to show off various feats you’ve completed in the game. Capcom takes it a step further with the new License Cards. These cards, which can be viewed by other players online, shows the characters you played as, the amount of times you’ve used each character, and a bunch of other stats like your win/loss ratio and hours played. One of the more practical features allows you to save three teams as reserves for quick access during the character select screen.

There’s not much variety to the gameplay modes in MvC3, with only Arcade, Versus, Training, and Mission modes available outside of online multiplayer. While one might think that this is a bad thing, it’s really not that big of a deal as there’s still tons of unlockables to collect. The gallery mode is also pretty nifty and allows you watch all the movies and endings, view artwork and character models, and listen to the sounds and music that make up the entire game.

Mission mode is just like the trial mode from Street Fighter IV. Each character has ten missions to complete, with the first half being pretty basic. This mode ends up being invaluable because it actually shows you how to do some relatively useful combos. The problem with mission mode is that you need to press the start button to see the actual inputs for each move listed. If you don’t happen to know them by name, you might have to frequently pause the game. It would have been far more intuitive if you could switch between the names and the inputs like you could in SFIV.

The training mode is most likely where most of your time will be spent. Players can practically manipulate every option imaginable in this mode. Capcom even added the ability to imitate online lag, giving players the chance to practice moves while dealing with harsh input delays. It’s also possible to record a training dummy’s actions, allowing you to create very specific situations to train against and play them back. If you need to figure out how to counter or avoid certain tactics, training is where you’ll want to go. Unfortunately, there still isn’t an option to train online with a friend in any fighting game.

Arcade mode is pretty standard and takes you through a series of battles. The loading is surprisingly fast in this game and you’ll be taken from battle to battle almost instantly. Unfortunately, the storyline itself is pretty lame and nearly nonexistent. It’s disappointing, seeing as Capcom actually hyped it up to be something that it’s not. Aside from the four opening sequences, the rest of the story is told through images with a few lines of dialogue after you beat the game. Oddly enough, there’s more value in the pre-match and post-match banter than anything else. All sorts of references are made to Marvel and Capcom canon.

For instance, when Phoenix encounters Akuma, she will actually point out his inner evil. Wolverine and Hulk will make reference to their past encounters that always end in a draw. Deadpool actually welcomes Magneto to die, which is a reference to the hilarious X-Men Arcade game. There are so many interactions like these it’s impossible to list them all. The trophies/achievements will also encourage you to form specific teams and settle known rivalries. There are even multiple shout-outs to Yipes, a legendary MvC2 player known for his unique (not safe for work) commentary. Capcom actually immortalized his infamous “where yo curleh mustache at?” line into the game. How’s that for fan service?