Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Xbox, 2003)

Let me just lay it out there right now: I love this game. I loved it in the arcades, I loved it on the Dreamcast and I still love it here, three times around.

MvC2 is exactly what it sounds like: characters from the Marvel world and the Capcom world duke it out in over-the-top 2D graphics. With over 50 different characters to choose from (including Cable (from the X-Men universe), Jill Valentine (from Resident Evil), and Tron Bonne (from Mega Man Legends), among others), part of the fun is just coming up with new and different three person teams.

Which brings me to the fighting. Players choose teams of three, adjusting settings (such as what type of support attacks your non-active partners do, etc) and then they head out to fight. While the characters are 2D, the backgrounds are in full 3D...which is a nice touch, but since they do nothing to affect gameplay, you'll quickly forget about them (especially the one with the giant clown face - ugh). The controls are loose and responsive, allowing even beginners to piece together combos and special moves with relative ease. Anyone who has played any Capcom fighting game before will feel at home with these tired and true controls.

What really lets this game shine is how much fun it is to just sit down and play this game. Three character teams allow for a lot of trial and error when it comes to creating your own "perfect" team. Fighting is fierce and fast, constantly keeping you on your toes while also making this game a quick and easy pick-up.

But what it all boils down to is two player action. Nothing beats finding a great, working team of characters that shutdown a friend's favorite team or unleashing your entire team's super moves on a defenseless player, turning the tide of a close battle. You can still have plenty of fun with this game alone, unlocking all the secrets, but once that is over, what keeps this product such a high level product is multi-player.

As I said when I opened this review, I love this game. The Dreamcast version (and to a lesser extent the PS2 version) is slightly superior than this one, as the graphics are cleaner and less pixelated. But that hardly makes this game worth any less than the $60+ it consistantly grabs on eBay for a complete copy. If you love 2D, over-the-top fighting, any of Capcom's other Vs. titles or are looking for a new multiplayer title, give this game a try! It will not disappoint!