NY Comic Con Hands-On: Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 - Preview
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 19 October 2011 / 3,482 Views
Capcom has recently gotten into the trend of releasing the same game with some tweaks and improvements, selling them off for $40 to turn a quick buck. And as any fighting enthusiast knows, they have to pick it up if they want to have any sort of online community. Next month, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will drop, with everyone flocking to it, regardless of whether it's warranted or not (don't worry, it is).
Capcom's demo was filled with fight sticks clickity-clacking, with many "oos" and "ahhs" sounding off during each center stage match. Character tweaks are instantly felt, as Phoenix has definitely been nerfed, characters like Zero and Thor gained a step, and Wesker losing one. New characters Vergil and Phoenix Wright were fan favorites, but the entire new cast of challengers fit quite nicely with the rest. It's good to see balancing has been further attended to, opening up the playing field to some new characters that were thrown to the wayside. Though, something tells me we'll see a balancing issue arise with one of the stellar new combatants.
Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, and Nova make up the ranged additions, each specializing in different types. Dr. Strange is a true camper, having the ability to set many traps and perform upward striking attacks. Nova can fire off some beams pretty quickly, but is more area focused and is a wicked support choice. Hawkeye plays more like a straight shooter, with some other varied arrows to help.
Stryder (my personal favorite), Firebrand, Vergil and Iron Fist round out the rush selection, with Vergil being the clear winner in terms of popularity, and rightfully so - a great mix of rush and special attacks makes for a deadly combination. Iron Fist needs to be awfully close to be useful, but has a Bruce Lee style of fighting, albeit not as quick. Firebrand was an average yet viable option, with no real strengths or weaknesses. Stryder played like his great ol' self from MvC2, slashing his way to lightening quick and egregious combos.
Phoenix Wright and Ghost Rider were a mixed bag, utilizing both ranged and close attacks, though Wright was much more interesting for his hilarity factor, and Ghost Rider was far too slow. Nemesis is a hulking brute with a bazooka, playing similarly to the Hulk and other large characters. Unfortunately, Rocket Racoon, Frank West, and the new Galactus challenge aspect were unplayable, but will be ready for November.
It feels like the original, which is great, but simply should have been DLC. It's hard to be excited for another version of a game that came out 9 months ago, with only a dozen new characters added to the roster. Sure, the menus and music have been changed, and hopefully the debacle that was the online matchmaking is addressed, but a new challenge mode, which will actually be day-one DLC, might not appeal to everybody's $40. Yet, this really falls on deaf ears at this point, and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is just too damn fun to stay mad at for long. Bring the pain November 15th.
