Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is every comic and videogame nerd's wet dream.
The fighting game, released Feb. 15 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (reviewed here), swipes half its characters from the pages of Marvel Comics and half from Capcom's wide stable of games. The result pits Chun-Li against Captain America, for instance, and characters from Final Fight against The Fantastic Four.
If you think that anime-inspired Japanese videogames and American superhero comics make for a strange combination, you're wrong: Marvel vs. Capcom's collision of over-the-top characters from different worlds feels like the most natural thing in the world.
And naturally, the game boasts a beautiful sense of comic-book style. Deep shadows and bright colors make the characters look like they were ripped right out of the Sunday papers. The animation is spectacular, with smooth movements and distinctive expressions.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a great game to play in front of other people. Some of the special moves are so outrageous you can't help but laugh.
This is Street Fighter on drugs: Each fighter's special moves ooze style and creativity. For example, Spider-Man can swing on ropes made of webbing, while Iron Man can pull out a huge laser gun and blast shots across the entire screen.
The stages, too, blend aspects of both universes. The stage modeled after The Daily Bugle features a sort of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the background, with a Spidey float followed by the servbots from Mega Man.
The great big piles of nerd fan-service make Marvel vs. Capcom 3 hugely enjoyable, even if you're not a hard-core fighting geek.
If you're a series newcomer, you can experiment with a new "simple" mode that makes the biggest, baddest special moves available not through intricate joystick maneuvers, but at the push of a button.
But if you're familiar with brawling games like Street Fighter, you might not need the simplified controls. Most special moves in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 don't require anything more complicated than the classic fireball move that everybody had to learn for Street Fighter II.
By lowering the barriers to entry, Capcom ensures that anyone with the desire and patience can become competent at the game.
Each player fights with a team of three characters, which you can tag in and out during the battle. This means you must master three unique fighters, in contrast to other fighting games, which usually let you get away with picking a single character and sticking with it.
Since every character is balanced so well, you can easily get away with picking your favorites. If you want to roll with a team of Wolverine, Dante from Devil May Cry and Ryu from Street Fighter, go for it.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 can get complex, but it ramps you up with a smooth learning curve. I could feel my skills improving as I discovered more of the game's intricacies. It was hugely satisfying to go from being barely able to beat the computer-controlled opponents on the easiest difficulty all the way to being able to hold my own in online matches against other humans.
Unfortunately, when I went online, the game failed to find an opponent almost every time I searched for one. And it booted me all the way out to the main menu every time its matchmaking service failed.
Other online players can ask you for a match when you're in the game's single-player mode. Letting opponents find me worked much better than going out and finding them.
Unfortunately, players who have chosen the simple controls can be matched up with those who have chosen the normal ones. You could be great at the game but still get beaten to a pulp simply because the other player doesn't need to push as many buttons in order to pull off a super-mega combo of pain and suffering.
But it's OK, because I like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 even when I'm losing big. I may have a competitive streak, but the fan in me still loves being on the bad side of a pile driver if it's the Incredible Hulk doing the punishing.
WIRED Massive amount of fan-service. Polished fighting system. Awesome special moves.
TIRED Spotty online play frustrates more often than not.
$60, Capcom
Rating: 
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