We knew it was coming eventually. With the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 earlier this year, there was no question that Capcom had expansion in mind somewhere down the road, adding new fighters and features to keep the latest entry in the series fresh for the fighting community. And lo and behold, not even a year later, we have Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, a quasi-sequel that features tighter balancing, new backgrounds, an interesting new sub-mode with the final boss and twelve characters that help mix up the roster a little bit. Now it’s just a question of whether you want to fork over $40 for it. Unfortunately, Capcom didn’t provide the option to simply upgrade the game via downloadable content, as they did with Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition earlier this year. This is a sorely missed opportunity, as many angry fighting fans will be grumbling as they hand over their hard-earned cash for the upgrade. But fret not, for it’s an upgrade that is worth the cash in the long run.
Let’s first talk about the new backgrounds. They mix in rather well with the old ones, including a magnificent city that sits in the distance and plenty of Marvel-inspired wallpaper that’s bound to make any comic book fan go bonkers. We would’ve preferred to see something more nostalgia based from Capcom’s history (maybe the swirling chamber from Strider?), but these aren’t too shabby. Now let’s talk about the characters themselves. These will obviously be the huge draw for the game, with six new Marvel characters joining up with six veterans from Capcom’s side of things. As a veteran of the MVC series, I’m overjoyed to see the return of Strider Hiryu, as he’s one of the most able fighting characters in the game. It’s also good to see Nemesis get his due, a big hulking behemoth with a bazooka strapped to his back for good measure. And, of course, Firebrand getting the nod – for the first time since SNK’s take on SNK vs. Capcom – is a nice touch.
Meanwhile, on Marvel’s side, Ghost Rider is an absolute bad-ass, quite effective in combat and packing the best Super combos we’ve seen on a fighter to date. (“LOOK INTO MY EYES!”) Iron Fist, Nova and Doctor Strange are equally effective, and Rocket Raccoon is a quirky new addition to the game. Not everyone’s a winner, though. For the life of me, I’m still trying to figure out how to get a hang of Phoenix Wright. While he’s been added merely for the sake of fan service, his legal antics don’t entirely translate into a well-balanced fighter. That said, some folks will easily get used to him. In addition to the new brawlers and visuals, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 also features an easily accessible mini-game where you play as Galactus, the hulking final boss. Here, you’ll use his slow but devastating abilities to crush opponents in waves, as if you were on some mad task to overtake the Earth. It’s an interesting mode to be sure, but it gets tiring after a while, due to the fact that, well, Galactus never really changes. It would’ve been interesting to unleash a few more minions or maybe even adapt to certain techniques, so he can adjust and crush his opponents flat even quicker.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to find out our final thoughts on Capcom's Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
