Hands-on: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (XBLA)
by Xav de Matos 
{ Jun 3rd 2009 at 3:30PM } 
click to enlarge
If you've played Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in the past, you'll know what to expect. However, in our opinion, the game loses a lot of what made the original fun by hitting the XBLA service completely unlocked. Meaning, all 56 characters are available to players as soon as they click 'Purchase Full Version.' Part of the charm of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was collecting points to purchase the insane number of unlockable items -- ranging from costumes to characters themselves. Sadly, from what we've played of the XBLA/PSN revamp ... Marvel vs. Capcom 2 has lost a lot of its charm.
Gallery: Marvel vs Capcom 2
Our demo of the game was the full version and after a few sessions, using various characters, we walked away satisfied. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 can really go either way. Some players love the game's intense speed and action while others knock it for being too basic in comparison to more technical fighting titles (which is especially true in this generation).
It's difficult to give realistic impressions for a game that puts most of its weight on being an online experience, when the game is not demoed online. Capcom says the game uses net code from Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (which has minimal issues), but we cannot comment on the game's online performance -- and we're wary of how it will perform online because of the game's speed. Make no mistake, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is an online game. With everything unlocked from the start, online fighting game fanatics are the only group that should look into purchasing the game.
As we've covered in the past, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 ships with three graphical filters: Classic, Smooth and Crisp. Regardless of our selection the game ran smoothly and as fast as we remembered; however, classic looked extremely rough on the televisions used to promote the game at the booth.
It may not carry the same kick as it once did, but online fighting game fans may want to take notice when Marvel vs. Capcom 2 drops this summer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:33PM
I want to take you for a ride.
-Vexx- @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:36PM
Iwannatakeyou4aride
BPMOmega [GT,Steam] @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:37PM
I'm a member of STARS!
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:38PM
The Power is YOURS!!
Oh wait...
Let's go bub... *snikt!*
Desert Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:40PM
I'm ready! *spins pistol*
Matt_M @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:46PM
Spider-sense... tingling!
Storm Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:44PM
We are Venom.
Spider Sense is tiggling! This one's for J.J. Web Swing! Web Throw! Web Ball! Maximum Spider!
Proton Cannon!
Rocket Punch. Rocket Punch. Rocket Punch.
Viper Beam. Hyper Viper Beam. Scimitar!
Behold! Optic Blast! Optic Sweep! Gene Splice!
Berzerker Barrage! Drill Claw! Rookie....
Lightning Storm!
I'm sorry :/ I'm done.
Desert Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:52PM
IS MAHVEL BAYBEE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZZUMjoxfZA&fmt=18
mr nimblewick @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:54PM
My favorite:
Roll standing innocently.
Opponent approaches to attack.
"I'm Juggernaut!" comes swooping in.
MystileArmor @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:36PM
I will atleast try the trial version to consider a purchase, but I don't know.
Oh and btw, a bit off-topic, but Wolfenstein 3D just went up on the XBLA for 400 ms points.
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:41PM
A bit off-topic-er:
GM sells Hummer brand to Chinese company. More as it develops. The time is 12:40.
Jerk Face @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:43PM
A bit off topic-est: Great Cthulhu lies dead and dreaming, in his house at R'lyeh.
MystileArmor @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:46PM
Off-topic-erest:
4 tablespoons of ketchup has about the same amount of nutrition as a ripe tomato.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:49PM
Most of topic-er-est-estest
Mel Blanc, who played the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.
Desert Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:51PM
Off-topic and spoilerish:
The cake is a lie.
MystileArmor @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:53PM
Ok, wrap your brain around this one; An on-topic off-topic comment
Hitler grew his mustache, because he was a big fan of Charlie Chaplin.
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:54PM
Off-topic-er-estest-er:
It has been discoverd that hagfish slime can be used as an acceptable substitute for egg whites when cooking.
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:55PM
Off-topic-er-spoilerest-spoiler:
Snape kills Dumbledore.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:57PM
A bit off topic-est:I do believe is not butter.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:02PM
Off topic-est-est: Everyone dies alone and afraid.
MystileArmor @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:02PM
Inbetween-Topic-est:
NUTSHIT!
NoughtSoClever @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:10PM
Annnnnnd...the horse is dead.
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:12PM
5 HIT OFF TOPIC SUPER COMBO:
1. Captain Planet's arch nemesis is not pollution, but rather those that engage in pollutionistic behavior.
2. Pollutionistic is not a real word.
3. 1,111,111 x 1,111,111 = 1234567654321
4. According to the Newton dictionary the longest word in the world is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanocon.
5. Mary Poppins is/was a whore.
MystileArmor @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:18PM
Beating a dead horse is my favourite:
HORSE 10x MULTIPLIER ULTRA COMBO:
1. Leonardo da Vinci liked to draw horses.
2. An adult horse’s brain weights 22 oz, about half that of a human.
3. Horses can not vomit.
4. The first cloned horse was a Haflinger mare in Italy in 2003.
5. Until the 1960’s Dartmoor ponies were used to escort prisoners from local prisons while they were on outside duties.
6. The word chivalry comes from cheval the French word for horse.
7. Chariot racing was the first Olympic sport in 680 B.C.
8. The Dubai World Cup is 6 million dollars, the richest horse race purse in the world.
9. Horses like sweet flavors and will usually reject anything sour or bitter.
10. Like a fingerprint, every zebra has a unique stripe pattern.
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:39PM
ON-TOPIC FATALITY:
No one gives a shit about horses and/or horse related facts.
OFF-TOPIC PUPPALITY:
http://fabulousblueporcupine.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/puppy6.jpg
PedoJokerBear (aka Deeznuts) @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:53PM
OFFTOPIC SUPER BERZERKER BARRAGE
In ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose.
The word "nerd" was first coined by Dr. Seuss in "If I Ran the Zoo."
A 41-gun salute is the traditional salute to a royal birth in Great Britain.
The bagpipe was originally made from the whole skin of a dead sheep.
The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear. Any cup-shaped object placed over the ear produces the same effect.
Revolvers cannot be silenced because of all the noisy gasses which escape the cylinder gap at the rear of the barrel.
Liberace Museum has a mirror-plated Rolls Royce; jewel-encrusted capes, and the largest rhinestone in the world, weighing 59 pounds and almost a foot in diameter.
A car that shifts manually gets 2 miles more per gallon of gas than a car with automatic shift.
Cats can hear ultrasound.
Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.
The highest point in Pennsylvania is lower than the lowest point in Colorado.
The United States has never lost a war in which mules were used.
Children grow faster in the springtime.
On average, there are 178 sesame seeds on each McDonalds BigMac bun.
Vidikron @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:56PM
I think that's the longest string of consecutive max upvoted posts I've seen on Joystiq.
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:31PM
Captain Planet aims to please ;)
MystileArmor @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:37PM
We should've gotten a sponsor for this thread. We'd all be rich, I tell you.
That said, did you know that a ‘jiffy’ is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second!
Captain Planet @ Jun 3rd 2009 8:10PM
Interesting, "jiffy" is also the unit of measure when measuring MystileArmor's penis size.
"You could measure MystileArmor's penis in a jiffy!"
And that's where we get the term.
captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Jun 3rd 2009 8:57PM
Off topic jump-in to feel socially accepted m-m-m-m-monnnnstterrrr comboooo
1. a dork is a whales penis
2. when a whale orgasms in its mate only about 10% of its multi-hundred gallon fluid goes inside. (and you wonder why oceans are so salty)
Storm Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:39PM
As I can see how not being able to go through and earn all that crap again might take from the replayability, understand one thing: I figure most people who are going to buy this game, will be doing so for one reason: online. And of those people, most of them have probably already played through the game once and earned everything first time through. I for one, do not want to have to do that again.
Martin @ Jun 3rd 2009 5:35PM
Not to mention the outcry at having to unlock all the SFIV characters, that was the last gripe I thought I'd hear about this game.
whymog @ Jun 3rd 2009 10:30PM
You are 100% right. I spent countless hours plowing away at the DC version, and at this point I'd just like to get online and beat the hell out of my friends with whomever I please.
Supino @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:39PM
I got a feeling this game won't sell very well. Isn't this a typical "few-hardcore-vocal-fans" type of game?
I'm not saying it's a bad game - Its just bad timing. Am I Wrong?
Orion @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:41PM
Yes
Desert Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:41PM
Yes.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:46PM
Stop it! You're killing me with your wrong-ness!
Batzarro @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:05PM
Bad timing? Like, too late? I do not get it.
-Vexx- @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:54PM
When you mean only online fighting game fanatics should buy it?
If its based off of the Dreamcast version which had training and single player modes o.o
Buying it regardless im just saying it can be enjoyed offline as well
DeShaun @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:42PM
Really? You found charm in the chore of unlocking 56 alt. colors, some characters, and stages? Most of which you've already painstakingly done once on Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox?
I think it's fantastic that, on a game as old as this one, they took the footwork out of it. People have already been playing with a full roster for so long, that it makes little to no sense to ask anyone to do it again.
When it originally came out in Japan and you had to bring your VMU to the arcade and play online to get all the unlocks, THAT was a brilliant idea. The North American versions basically amounted to grinding. I earned mine the hard way, but I know plenty of people who just left their consoles in training mode overnight.
What would be REALLY nice, is if they brought back that crossover mode MvC1 had on dreamcast. It would be nice to play a tag match cooperatively with a friend, or 2v2, 3v3 matches...although that might pose a problem if your friend calls you in for an assist and you get killed without doing anything =/
baby sea tuna @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:47PM
I agree. I thought it was a HUGE pain in the ass to unlock the other characters. So much so that I gave up after about 12 of them.
Maybe if I'd know about the Training Room exploit...
HamalSharatan @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:55PM
Agreed. Oh, joystick, you have some of the worst ideas...
hiiro @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:59PM
Yeah if they are so concerned about unlocking characters... They are doing it wrong.
Hexen @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:42PM
The most fun part was unlocking everything on your own so that's a let down but whatever is going to be fun.
Bitter Kevin @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:42PM
I still fire up the Dreamcast just to play this game and I unlocked everything 10 years ago.
FINAL JUSTICE!
Thumbs up, soldier!
ampMOD @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:43PM
Still buying this, it doesn't bother me at all that all the characters are unlocked. I don't know, maybe it's just me. I mean... how can I resist when there's achievements I can get! ;)
atrimus @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:44PM
"Part of the charm of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 was collecting points to purchase the insane number of unlockable items"
imo, the lack of this charm is made up by online-play. even back in the day, unlocking characters on the Dreamcast version paled in comparison to playing one-on-one against a real person at the arcades.
lanceyami03 @ Jun 3rd 2009 3:52PM
I always sucked at Street Fighter-esque fighters......doesn't stop me from still playing them lol. I can't wait to play this. Time to spam Spider-Man's web swinging attack again =D.
Rudger @ Jun 3rd 2009 4:04PM
Again, a reviewer who has no idea about the game attempts to add his two cents to it.
Why would anyone want to go through the pain of unlocking all the characters? It's a terrible idea. It was novel at first because you had no idea who to expect, so it was actually exciting..but now you can read about what characters are coming up on the internet.
This game is going to do amazingly well at its $15 pricepoint and will extend the life of the game even more than it's already been alive for.