Posted in: Games, Review, Video Games | Tagged: capcom, fighter game, game review, marvel, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

Six Years Later, 'Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom' Finally Comes To PC

Published Wed, 08 Mar 2017 14:45:23 -0600

They say good things come to those who wait, which is kinda true in the sense that after a while we got a really cool game in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 way back in 2011. But for PC gamers who want nothing to do with console, that has been a long, long, long, long, long, looooooooooooooooong wait. For reasons we're not entirely sure of, the game didn't come to PC when the title made its debut across all other platforms and only recently got added to the PS4 back in December. Today the game arrives on Xbox One, as well as the long awaited PC release.

The game is what you've come to expect from the series—a large cast of characters from various Marvel properties and a combination of well-known and obscure characters from Capcom titles. There are hundreds of possible combinations with three character teams to build. My personal favorite from the list was Deadpool with Wolverine and Phoenix Wright. How can you possibly go wrong with a sharp-dressed attorney by your side ready to object to Magneto's use of metals? You'll make your way through several rounds, each getting harder than the last until you face off against Galactus for the final battle to save Earth from being eaten.

The combo system has it's ups and downs, in some respects it's much easier to pull off lightning quick hits and deal tons of damage in a short amount of time. The downside is that the computer can do the same thing, and in some cases, it's much better than you. Which is pretty much on par with the way the PS3 and 360 versions operated, with one exception—the controls are a little smoother on PC than they were on console. I have a lot more mobility, especially in the air when coming down on a target. Its a very small thing, but it makes the difference when you're dealing with a combat system like this.

The biggest frustration comes with activating your Hyper Combo at the right moment. Far too often will enemies make it a habit of jumping around you as you get higher on your meter bar, and seem to know the right timing to get on the other side of your combo. It works fine if you have characters like Doctor Strange where the thing comes out of the ground wherever they're at, but characters fighting in a specific direction will miss half the time. Other systems like the X-Factor and the Team Up system have received a little tweaking and work more in tune with the character as they flow through the action, which is a lovely bonus that can help you survive just a few seconds longer.

The graphics to the game are pretty good, bringing out both the gaming quality and the comic book style of everyone. The design feels a lot more fleshed out than it did on console, no major issues between character performance and the animation of the background. It would have been nice to get better reactions and opening montage shots and dialog that don't feel like a constant repeat, but they serve their purpose. The audio is awesome with the soundtrack getting you hyped for every battle, along with the voice commentary from all the characters as you fight. I could have done without the woman commentary voice who basically just states the obvious and repeats what defeated players say, but that's a minor talking point at best.

UMvC3 is a great fighting game with a couple flaws. It makes for a nice port from console, but it's also a little too slavish to the port. After all this time, there could have been some great additions to the arcade and online battle system, but it feels like a game we should have gotten years ago. The end battle with Galactus is an amazing challenge, but also can leave you feeling empty and wondering why this was chosen to be the end-all-be-all fight. Ultimately, it is a great game that fans of the series should snag if they haven't played it already on another system. And it doesn't matter which side of the fence you fall on as a diehard with character choices from just Marvel and Capcom, there's enough great choices in characters to make any two-player encounter really awesome.

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