Xbox Gaming in South Africa

There would have been very few raised eyebrows of surprise when Capcom announced an update to Marvel vs Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds - dishing out remixed versions of Capcom brawlers has been pretty much standard operating procedure for as long as I can remember. So it was really just a matter of time before we saw a "Super", "Hyper", "Ultra" or similar prefix stapled on to MvC 3's name. More surprising though is that this enhanced edition has appeared so soon - a mere 9 months or so after the release of the original. Still, here it is, leaving us to ponder whether or not it deserves its "Ultimate" moniker.

Marvel vs Capcom 3 - Standard Classic Vanilla Edition - was (or, since it's barely had time to cool on the shelf, is) a fantastic beat-em-up. This new version, while offering a host of balancing tweaks and new characters, is essentially the same core experience. So instead of rehashing what we've said before in our review of the original, I'm going to suggest that you give the full review of MvC 3 a read over here and then dash back here to have a look at what has changed for the Ultimate edition.

On the surface, the most obvious change for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 is the addition of twelve new fighters - split in half between the Marvel and Capcom universes - joining the original cast for a full roster of 48 playable characters. It's quite a diverse selection of newbies too: Nova, Rocket Raccoon, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Hawkeye for Team Marvel, and Frank West, Vergil, Phoenix Wright, Nemesis, Firebrand and Strider filling out the Capcom ranks.

It's a group well balanced between straightforward brawlers - loaded with more traditional moves and combos - and the more avant-garde fighters that the MvC series is famous for - characters like lawyer Phoenix Wright, who spends his time tossing legal documents around, apparently looking for evidence, until he switches to turnabout mode and goes mental on his opponent. Rocket Raccoon, who I'll admit I've never seen in my life, presents quite a different play style due to a small hit box, and his selection of traps which catch opponents unaware. Dead Rising 2's Frank West keeps things interesting by taking photographs which give him access to increasingly powerful handheld weapons throughout the fight. Besides Firebrand, who doesn't really shine like the rest of them, each new character brings something worthwhile to the roster. The standard game's 36 fighters, while still a huge selection for any fighting game, felt a little thin compared to Marvel vs Capcom 2, so it's good to see the roster expanded somewhat.

The new characters may be the first thing players will notice when booting up this Ultimate edition, but Capcom has been hard at work on the actual fight mechanics under the hood too. Admittedly a lot of this is lost on someone like me, someone who spends far too much time spamming Hadokens instead of coming up with unblockable hypercombos, but these are play tweaks which the pros are bound to appreciate. The X-Factor boosts from MvC 3 have been toned down significantly, now both less powerful and also shorter, and the couple of exploits which players discovered in the original have also been resolved. Naturally there will be changes that will annoy and those that delight - when you've spent so much time as the pros do to master your chosen fighters, it's a savage blow to suddenly have your character slowed down, sped up, or his damage ratings altered - basically any change to the original model. But ultimately these are called "balance" tweaks for a reason; a more balanced beat-em-up is more fair, more challenging, and generally makes for a more enthralling fighting experience. Again, in the middle of a three-on-three button-bashing battle, drenched in multicoloured supermoves and multi-hit combos, a lot of these changes will barely register on all but the most hardcore players, so don't go in expecting a dramatically different game here.

We've got our new fighters, and our reworked fight model, but where Capcom have really let me down is with a distinct lack of new game modes. Marvel vs Capcom 3 was pretty slim pickings in this regard, something I had hoped would be resolved this time around. Supervillain Galactus now has his own game mode, where you get to fight as the screen-filling end boss and take on teams of three fighters at once, but it's a fun distraction at best, something that most will try once or twice and then forget. We didn't lose much sleep over the lack of game modes in the original game, but since then we've been treated to the deep, rewarding single-player elements of Mortal Kombat - with it's immense Challenge Tower and compelling story mode - and to be honest we've become spoilt. A straightforward Arcade mode, Versus mode, Training mode, and misleading Mission mode, just isn't enough meat on these bones anymore. I say the Mission mode is misleading because it's quite rich calling "chuck a fireball and an uppercut" a mission, isn't it? I also think that more detailed training options would be a great addition, especially for those new to the Capcom way of doing things. This is actually a hugely complex game beneath the surface, and newcomers need far more guidance than they are given with the current training mode.

A lack of ways to play Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 becomes a moot point for most fans though, simply because they will be spending the vast majority of the time punching each others heads in online anyway. Here you don't really need a lot of complicated modes and play options to get in the way - what you need is an efficient lobby system, silky smooth netcode, and lots of people lining up to be kicked in the face. While I didn't have any real trouble with the online component of the original, there have been many complaints of sloppy code, inconsistent frame rates and the like, something which Capcom has supposedly sorted out for this new version. Since I didn't take issue with the original it's hard to say that this one is that much of an improvement. But I will say that the new user interface is a step up, and the inclusion of a spectator mode is a vast improvement over just watching health meters being chipped away as a fight progresses.

Having looked at the various changes that Capcom has brought to this game, how do we now decide whether it is a worthy purchase, especially for those who already own the standard garden variety version? I'd say that compared to MvC3, the Ultimate edition is a genuine improvement. Besides a sizable addition to the fight roster, we also now have a shiny new comic book style menu system, more stable netcode, and a host of subtle tweaks to the fight mechanics. Even though there are some things I would have liked to have seen implemented - new game modes, better training - in no respects does this edition lose any ground to the original. So, yes, it is clearly the better game. But to be honest, I wonder if the additional content here would not have been better suited to a couple of DLC releases, updating the standard game to Ultimate status without possibly pissing off those who bought the first one a few months ago. My suggestion is that if you enjoy beat-em-ups but missed MvC3, then this is the new gold standard and a definite purchase. But if you've already got the original, then only the most hardcore fans will get their money's worth from Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, even at its reduced retail price. Still a staggeringly good fighter, but maybe not the leap forward it could have been.

Pros:

• Improves on the already brilliant fight mechanics of the original.
• Twelve new combatants add fresh play styles to master.
• Still the same gorgeous visuals that burst from the screen.

Cons:

• Not really enough new content to offer value for money those who bought the original.
• Was originally planned as DLC, should perhaps have stayed that way.

Rating: