Before I start describing this game to you, I should give you a little background. Marvel vs. Capcom is the third game in the Capcom "versus" series of games, the first two being X-Men vs. Streetfighter and Marvel vs. Streetfighter. As you can probably tell, they both featured Streetfighter characters as well as some from Marvel comics. This third one is different however. Rather than being limited with Streetfighters, Capcom decided to introduce old characters souped up and put into action. This adds a lot of variety, and makes it much more enjoyable. In the versus series of games, instead of choosing two characters, you choose four. You can then switch between characters during fights. This isn't just a gimmick - when a character is hit, they lose energy and a red bar appears. This is your "potential" energy. Just switch characters and the one waiting will begin to regain their potential energy. This allows for some very tactical play.

The first thing that hit me was this had more options than a usual Capcom fighting game. As well as the standard Arcade and versus mode, there is Survival mode (where you keep on fighting till you die), Training mode (self-explanatory) and "Cross Fever". This option is lots of fun, but requires four people, with one person per character, and you can all fight on the screen at the same time!!

What can I say about the game itself? Well, for one the animation is superb. Not a single frame is missing from the arcade game. All the characters are perfectly animated, each with their own unique style. It's a wonder to behold. The second point I should make is there is now slowdown. Even with the four largest characters on the screen, there is not even a slight hint of slowdown. Well done Capcom. Did I mention there wasn't any loading either? That's right, the game doesn't appear to load. The game truly is arcade perfect!

Many new things are now included in this game. You have a third "helper" character, which you can call onto the screen to do a special move and distract your opponent. Characters have new moves and "hyper combos", and there is a new special called "variable cross", where you can call your other fighter onto the screen and control them both. You can really dish out the damage!

However, the game is not without its faults. Capcom have just churned out the same sound effects and slightly modified music. Not too much of a gripe I know, but they need more variety. The real gripe with the game is the lack of characters. There are just 15 characters, meaning after just four matches you could have already used every character... There are a few secret characters but they are just normal characters with a new paint job. This is really disappointing. The two previous versus games have had 16 and 18 characters respectively (minus secret characters). Why do we have less with a new game..?

Finally, I must seriously recommend that you buy some joysticks for this game. The standard Dreamcast pad is absolutely atrocious. Its d-pad is small, there are only four top-pad buttons, and the L and R buttons are analogue and of no use. If you really want this game, you must get some joysticks...

Overall I came away impressed. If you like fighting games and have a few mates, buy this and some joysticks and have a mass tournament.If you're on your self, I recommend you look elsewhere...

Graphics: 9/10

Arcade perfect animation, super smooth and now slowdown help contribute to the graphical finesse of this game. The backgrounds are a bit bland though...

Sound: 7/10

Standard Capcom effects and music. Nothing really special.

Playability: 8/10

Absolutely great fun... if there's two or more of you. If you're on your own, don't bother.

Lastibility: 6/10

It'll last you a long time with all the different modes, but most of them require two or more players. The computer AI is pretty useless, so one player doesn't last too long either. Although the last boss is a git...

Overall: 8/10

Great graphics and gameplay have helped with this game, but the lack of any real difficulty and the fact that you really need joysticks to play this game properly doesn't help. Good for multiplay, but if it's just you, look elsewhere...

Review By: Matt Rees