Consider the Ride... Taken (YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!): The "Marvel Vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds" Review

Besides school and car issues, I've been busy trying to save the world from a giant, purple, people eater. A succubus, a man that crawls on walls, a green power house, and even the world's most awesome politician were all powerless. Then, by the skin of my teeth, I won using a masked madman, who with the final blow, screamed, "Yo MAMA!" It fell, I did a victory dance. Then I realized something: it only took me three tries, even if the giant had moves that I couldn't avoid.

This is where one would say, "Then I woke up," and it'd all make sense. Unfortunately, my story is true. I saved the world from a planet eater. Of course, this was in a video game. Also, in my defense, yes, the fight was incredibly cheap.

That's the biggest bad thing I can say about Marvel vs Capcom 3. The final battle is cheap and highly improbable for someone out of practice (like myself) or someone new to pick up and play. Yes, you'll build up skills during the course of the game, but here's the trick: the hits are completely unavoidable. He has moves that you cannot block. Period. The last boss can also kill you in less than three hits, at full health, depending on the move, too. Before that, you have to fight two characters at the same time. Capcom has had an issue with cheap bosses before this (Street Fighter 4), and yet, despite my griping, this one is still easier than Seth. Seth took me 20 times to beat... on Easy. Of course, I sucked back then, and Super Street Fighter 4 is less cheap...

In speaking of difficulties, there are no levels for it. At first this didn't make a lot of sense to me, but I figured out why later on. Instead, you have a "Normal" or "Simple" control scheme. "Simple" binds a button to a hyper combo, and binds other buttons to certain, difficult to pull off moves. This does, in fact make the game a lot easier, but still no where near accessible for new players. A big part of this is some balance issues with certain characters. The biggest ones are M.O.D.O.K. and Jean Grey. M.O.D.O.K. can barely pull of a combo because his moves are slow. But, the most unforgiving is playing as Jean Grey: two well timed hits and she's down. This is bad for a fighting game, but interesting for someone who knows how to use her, seeing as she does have some powerful moves. ** EDIT: Yes, there are difficulties. My stupid ass didn't see them at first, but they're the first option after selecting characters. This means I beat the game on normal mode, though, so awesome.

Normally, I don't harp on the bad things in a game first. Why change it up for this? Are my reviewing juices running dry, and I'm turning into a bitter British "Journalist?"

No, it's more simple than that, actually. It's because this game is an absolutely brilliant piece of technology, and I'm turning into a hyperactive British "Journalist." All I have to do is loose my American accent, find a car, and meet up with Captain Slow and a giant smoking baffoon. But, I digress.

I can't argue that the controls, while simplified, are very well implemented, if not dumbed down. We went from six to four attack buttons. Really, this makes sense, considering no one used the weak attacks. To add to this, all of the characters seem to fit into the game. Instead of having three or four Ryu like characters, we have Ryu and Akuma. Though, we still have two Wolverines, only one is faster and has breasts. For the most part, though, each character is different, and plays to how they're supposed to fight.

To add to this, each character seems like they were all a labor of love. She-Hulk and Hulk call each other by their first names, and Jean apologizes to Wolverine for having to fight him. My personal favorite is the character specific banter when starting a match. Especially Deadpool to Magneto. Let's just say that it references one of the greatest and cheesiest arcade game moments in history. It is a little jilting that, once again, there are characters missing from the game that were announced as DLC. It feels like they thought of them at the last minute, and decided to slap them in at the end. But, we do have cameos that are funny, too.

Graphically, it's beautiful to watch. The faux comic style adds to the feel of the game. Sadly, the music is hit and miss. Yes, the "Gonna Take You For a Ride" song returns, but everything else feels stale and sampled. For example, why is Rammstein's "Hallelujah"sampled in Asgard? Lastly, voice work ranges from acceptable to amazing. Nolan North returns as Deadpool, the woman who voices She-Hulk sounds like her (and like she enjoys the script). But, really, Wally Wingert as M.O.D.O.K? No Dee Bradley Baker for Viewtiful Joe (and he doesn't say, "Henshin a Go Go, Baby!" anymore, either). It's not bad, but not the same, or in some cases, the character sounds, well, not like the character. M.O.D.O.K. doesn't have that villainous high pitched voice that he should have.

It's not flawless, but Marvel vs Capcom 3 is definitely a very good game. It's pretty to look at, fun to watch and play, and feels like a labor of love. While still a sequel, it could also been seen as a tribute to MvC2. Chances are, it you're reading this, you're tossed up about it, or actually curious of what I'm going to say. If you're the former, get it... NOW! If you're the latter, why the hell aren't you playing it?

Over all: B+

- Cheap boss battle

- Some questionable characters

+ Most aren't duplicates

+ All feel like they fit in

+ Amazing to play

+ Tributes!

+ ... seriously why are you still reading this review?