Back within the heyday of sprite-based 2D fighters, I recall friends playing what I thought at that time would be a really bizarre Sega Saturn release: X-Men: Children of the Atom. As someone who had no care or concern for that Marvel universe in those days, I merely couldn't understand why-of all things-Capcom would pick that to base a brand new fighting game around. However, things would soon get even weirder, whenever a few years later the paths of these two companies properly crossed in X-Men vs. Street Fighter.
Seeing characters like Wolverine and Ryu face off against one another appeared like the stupidest idea I possibly could think of, but with time I'd end up bearing witness to many other ridiculous-on-paper gaming crossovers. (I'm especially looking at you Kingdom Hearts.) Something about the above worlds clashing clicked having a whole lot of gamers, and merely over 20 years later, we've now been given the franchise's latest chapter.
Admitted, it hasn't been a simple road to this week's release. While the game's reveal during Sony's PSX keynote last December caused huge excitement in the fighting game community and outside it as well, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has been as underwhelming as it's been impressive in every reveal or announcement since.
There are a couple of major points which have caused feelings of trepidation, and let me start with the larger in terms of the way it affects gameplay: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite'slaunch cast of 30 characters. To be fair numbers-wise, that's honestly not that far off from Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's final selection of 50 choices, particularly when given that rosters often reset to smaller numbers with the first form of any major new iteration (MvC3 began at 36). The issue is, those thirty boxes are full of too many familiar faces given the six years we've been waiting for this game. Excluding what we can expect from DLC, only five people in the roster are completely new to the Marvel vs. Capcom series, while 24 were last seen in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Curious, I compared that to how Street Fighter V faired at launch. Before any DLC characters, there were four completely new additions, four that were returning after a little amount of absence, and eight that we'd previously seen in Street Fighter IV-or half of its roster versus 83% of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite's. Whereas SFV's character selection felt fresh, here it may seem like we've experienced all of this already. Honestly, lots of Marvel choices probably have to be around, either because of who is popular or who's becoming pushed within their comics or movies. (Which in turn, of course, leads to the conversation on those that deserve to be around but who might never arrive because of Marvel not wanting them promoted.) The Capcom side, however, feels especially lazy. This form of Bionic Commando's Nathan Spencer was not relevant since 2009-why is he still here? Did we really need two Ghosts 'n Goblins inclusions at this point? And seriously Capcom, why are you torturing me by forcing meathead Chris Redfield on the world yet again-especially whenever you just were built with a completely new Resident Evil that has fresh faces who could offer a unique twist? If we were a few DLC batches in and already had a fleshed-out roster, that'd be something, however the Capcom side especially is removed like this would be a lower-budgeted project that had to re-use previously-created work as much as possible.
I know hardcore Marvel fans will argue the superiority of “their” universe of iconic heroes and villains, but because someone who has loved Capcom's characters since the times of the NES, there are plenty of great choices from the company's long history which i might have loved to possess seen here. Allow me to clarify, though-the Marvel side doesn't fully escape my ire. There is a level of inconsistency towards the representation of those characters that bugged us a bit, as if there have been three different schools of design at play: movies Marvel, comics Marvel, and Capcom Marvel. Iron Man couldn't be any nearer to mimicking Robert Downey Jr. if you don't got the man himself, yet Thor comes off like an awkward mix of old and new representations-and then you need heroes like Captain America and Spider-Man who are bulked up to almost laughable levels considering their modern-era interpretations. (And, really, there is no reason that there couldn't have been a much better character selection with that side too-even if the X-men and Doctor Doom aren't on the table at the moment.)
Of course, what does not help those designs any may be the game's visual style. Very reminiscent of King of Fighters XIV before its launch, people all across the internet have been pretty brutal when talking about how Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite looks. While some elements-like Chun-Li's previous and rather unfortunate face-were fixed by launch, my secret hope that Capcom was holding an expensive new visual filter close to their chest sadly wasn't to become. It's not really that the game is ugly, since it isn't-it's just terribly boring. After the more cartoony visual style that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 received, MvC: Infinite looks shockingly plain, a lot more like some throw-away Marvel free-to-play mobile game than a major title from one of the masters of fighting game graphics.
In fact, almost everything here's extremely average visually, with UI and menus more resemble placeholders than the usual end product, and backgrounds that provide the storyline but don't live up to the greater lively locations of previous outings. It really doesn't help that, among when MvC: Infinite was announced and when it had been released, a little game called Dragon Ball FighterZ would come along. I am not sure there is a wider gap between two directly-competing games in how they present beloved characters popularized in comics and animation, which comparison makes what Capcom has provided us here look even more embarrassing.
The thing is, the above elements didn't become as important as I expected them to be. Yes, the launch roster is disappointing, but there have been plenty of great fighters with time with this exact problem-and the cast selection here isn't outright terrible. I'll never think the visuals are anywhere near what they should have been, but again like The King of Fighters XIV, linked with emotions . fade once you are in heat of battle.
And that, really, is where Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite shines. As someone who's never been a super fan of this franchise, my still admittedly brief pre- and post-launch playing has won me over. The craziness the series has been known for continues to be alive and well here, but it's done in a way that does legitimately feel friendlier to dig into. I understand that's always a sensitive subject-leading to fears of “dumbing down,” especially given Capcom has made decisions such as changing numerous dragon punch motions to down-down motions instead-but I believe (hope?) that it's a good compromise between something which will be satisfying long-term up to the more hardcore and pro players, yet also be welcoming to those who are able to find fighting games too intimidating to even take a risk. In stating that, I think back to Marvel vs. Capcom 2-my personal favorite in the franchise-and how I'd play by using friends who have been not often the fighting game type. Which was an ideal example of a game title that could walk between each of those worlds, and that we need more games like this, not less. (Of course, I only say that while knowing full well how easy it's for pros to figure out ways to “break” games making them less newbie-friendly with time, so I may be eating those words later.)
The biggest and most obvious change present in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite are the Infinity Stones, which serve as one big, sweeping replacement for previous elements like X-Factor and assists. It's easy to get flashbacks of Street Fighter X Tekken's Gems when conversing about the subject, but they're really two very different things. First, there won't be any Infinity Gems sold as DLC-thankfully-and as opposed to the wide variety of combinations you might have depending on which Gems both you and your opponent used, here you will find six set Stones in which you instantly know what to anticipate from each. Given that teams are now two characters instead of three, and assists (and assist types) no longer come into play, the Infinity Stones are a way introducing a bit of variety and “spice” to matches while still lessening the sun and rain that players need to worry over and manage. To date, I love them-and at least as of this moment, I'm not worried about them resulting in the game being an unplayable mess anytime in the future.
Of course, it's hard to completely understand what a fighting game will evolve right into a year after release, not to mention a few months or weeks later-a point that always makes them so difficult to review-but I truly do have a good feeling concerning the core of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. After your day, this at the start of the sport, you just have to think about these questions: could it be fun to experience? After i lose, will i want to dust myself off and check out again? Will the experience offer me something I can't receive from every other fighting games? Do I think I possibly could put it down for some weeks and have interest in returning to it later? For me, right now, all of those answers are a solid yes.
What's also solid may be the rest of the package when it comes to modes. I'd not a problem with launch Street Fighter V-the absence of single-player content bothers me little in most fighting games-but I'm glad to see Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite be better off with that aspect for individuals who do care. Yes, there is an arcade mode here, along with a narrative-driven story mode that's humorous sometimes but overall kinda mediocre. The expected local versus options (CPU or human) are included, much like your standard Capcom training mode, missions both general and character-specific, and a gallery that features artwork, audio, and videos while you unlock them.
Online is where things get a little more interesting for me personally. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite offers up a new type of lobby system that, offhand, I don't remember seeing before in almost any Capcom games. After entering a lobby, you will find four virtual “stations” where one can jump into fights, and players not currently active inside a match can queue up at the stations to either wait their turn or just sit back and spectate. It's not as complex because the crazy stuff we have seen Arc System Works or some other companies come out, but it is a nice option which should come to Street Fighter V as well. Additionally, there are the Beginner's League, a spot for new or less-skilled players to compete with other such players without getting totally steamrolled by higher-level opponents while they're still getting the hang of the sport.
Options like this are actually important in releases such as fighting games, since it can be so easy for players to get instantly stomped by pro-level challenges and lose all drive to help keep playing. The down-side to the game's online, conversely, is that SFV offered up some niceties that may (and should) are also included here. First, you can't register a Fighter ID like in Street Fighter, which was a hugely-appreciated choice for many (including myself). Profile cards also feel lacking, and there is insufficient presentation of players stats for my liking. Thankfully, in playing online within the few days since the game's launch, I've had only the occasional laggy match here and there-so, to date, the netcode seems to be holding up just fine.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has a lot of elements working against it. It comes off like an under-funded project that desperately needed more of a financial budget, it's got one of the worst visual design choices I have seen in a game about this level in certain time, Capcom doesn't should leave without harsh criticism within the lackluster launch roster (regardless of reasoning), and that i can't shake the sensation that a few of the goofy-yet-charming fun of previous games has been stripped away now because Marvel is now actually paying attention and desires it to “align to current branding” as well as other nonsense like this.
However, the largest point that I have to stress is that this: what's more important than what Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite got wrong is exactly what it nailed, and i believe the positives here outweigh the negatives enough to make some of those failures forgivable. It's easy to go into a review like this and just knock off “x” amount of points in the score with this thing or that thing, but reviews are far more complicated and nuanced than just a point-by-point breakdown-and dragging a legitimately good fighting game down too far because of elements (like visuals) that don't legitimately harm its gameplay feels a little pedantic. Yes, the game won' doubt remain ugly throughout its lifetime-but as the roster fills out and players find more subtleties of their gameplay, the building blocks that Capcom has built in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite looks to provide us a pretty great new chapter of a still-kinda-ridiculous fighting game series for years to come.
