For everyone who has played from "X-Men: Children of the Atom," you already get the gameplay mechanics here. However, this game is NOT like the last installments of the (very expansive) series. I'll explain better in my natural breakdown:
GRAPHICS: VERY different from what you're used to. Instead of 2D backgrounds, you've got fully-rendered 3D backdrops. This is only the first time it's been done, but for those who have played Resident Evil, you'll notice it's another one of Capcom's "stick fake models against a realistic background" system. The graphics are Dreamcast-par (which explains why it wasn't released for PS1), but the game still uses character sprites. The sprites are nicely detailed, and animation is fast-paced. However, the sprites are a bit pixelated. Attack effects are superior, too...instead of hand-drawn "blast" effects, you get 3D-rendered particle effects.
SOUND: Still contains the same grunts and yells from the previous games, so nothing new here. It's satisfactory, and there's nothing to complain about (at least I don't think so). The characters' respective American and Japanese voices make their presence known once again, but the disappointing thing is that these guys weren't billed in the credits. Perhaps Capcom tried to screw them over...?
GAMEPLAY: It works the same as the gameplay from "Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter" and "Marvel vs. Capcom," with the easily-executed Specials. But here's the saddening part...NO VARIABLE CROSS-OVERS! How can it be any fun if both partners can't beat the snot out of their opponent at the same time? This is probably because there are now 3 team members to a team, which would be a little confusing for a Variable Cross-Over. Speaking for the Dreamcast, MvC2 is the only home version of an arcade game that is EXACTLY like the arcade version (unlike the previous home versions in which the gameplay was changed around in order to be a watered-down system). Chain Specials make a re-appearance, though...the maximum number of Specials you can perform in one chain is 3, but in Training Mode, you can pull off an infinite number of Specials in one chain. Not very useful there, though. The only thing close to the blitz-fast Variable Cross-Over system from MvC is the ability to have all 3 of your members perform their Specials on one enemy simultaneously. Pick your team members wisely because not everyone's Special is a useful one in a 3x Special Attack. This time around, you can "snapback" your opponent and bring out an alternative teammate of theirs (not useful if the opponent has no team members left). Unless you REALLY want to bring an alternative teammate out and you have Special power levels to waste, go ahead and snapback. The buttons you press to snapback will determine which teammate will come out. Also, the Final Boss is hardly even challenging! In the last installments, the Final Boss actually needed work to fight (i.e. Cyber-Akuma, Onslaught), but the boss here, Abyss, is nearly a cinch. He may have 3 forms for you to fight, but there's not much careful play against him. His final form may be a big bad monster, but believe me, you'll have a more difficult time getting hit by his attacks than for YOU to hit HIM. There are also no other unique gameplay elements. You fight till you win. In other games, there were actually extra elements thrown in (like, in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, you have to fight your partner at the end, and in Marvel vs. Capcom, Onslaught tries to stop you before reaching his stage, and he actually has beef with the characters). In MvC2, there's nothing to do but fight.
STORY: Okay, THIS is where the game fails miserably...THERE IS NO STORY. This is how it goes...you select 3 characters, play through to Abyss, and that's it. In the previous games, all characters had epilogues to their stories, and they had special reasons for participating in the fight. In MvC2, like I said before, you fight until you're done. You get NOTHING out of it except Credit Points you can use to purchase more characters and stages from the Secret Factor. None of the characters have reasons to be here...they're just HERE. It would have been nice to know why Tron Bonne decided to fight Abyss, but the only ending we see is during the end credits. The Marvel characters and the Capcom characters seem to be having a party on a boat, and the party is told through still pictures. That's what you see no matter who you select during the game.
BOTTOM LINE: Only get this game if you're just looking for a decent fighting game to play (buying or renting is your choice, depending on how good you think it is), but if you were waiting to see what everyone was up to after the Onslaught trials quieted down, you'll want to pass this by.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10
GRAPHICS: VERY different from what you're used to. Instead of 2D backgrounds, you've got fully-rendered 3D backdrops. This is only the first time it's been done, but for those who have played Resident Evil, you'll notice it's another one of Capcom's "stick fake models against a realistic background" system. The graphics are Dreamcast-par (which explains why it wasn't released for PS1), but the game still uses character sprites. The sprites are nicely detailed, and animation is fast-paced. However, the sprites are a bit pixelated. Attack effects are superior, too...instead of hand-drawn "blast" effects, you get 3D-rendered particle effects.
SOUND: Still contains the same grunts and yells from the previous games, so nothing new here. It's satisfactory, and there's nothing to complain about (at least I don't think so). The characters' respective American and Japanese voices make their presence known once again, but the disappointing thing is that these guys weren't billed in the credits. Perhaps Capcom tried to screw them over...?
GAMEPLAY: It works the same as the gameplay from "Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter" and "Marvel vs. Capcom," with the easily-executed Specials. But here's the saddening part...NO VARIABLE CROSS-OVERS! How can it be any fun if both partners can't beat the snot out of their opponent at the same time? This is probably because there are now 3 team members to a team, which would be a little confusing for a Variable Cross-Over. Speaking for the Dreamcast, MvC2 is the only home version of an arcade game that is EXACTLY like the arcade version (unlike the previous home versions in which the gameplay was changed around in order to be a watered-down system). Chain Specials make a re-appearance, though...the maximum number of Specials you can perform in one chain is 3, but in Training Mode, you can pull off an infinite number of Specials in one chain. Not very useful there, though. The only thing close to the blitz-fast Variable Cross-Over system from MvC is the ability to have all 3 of your members perform their Specials on one enemy simultaneously. Pick your team members wisely because not everyone's Special is a useful one in a 3x Special Attack. This time around, you can "snapback" your opponent and bring out an alternative teammate of theirs (not useful if the opponent has no team members left). Unless you REALLY want to bring an alternative teammate out and you have Special power levels to waste, go ahead and snapback. The buttons you press to snapback will determine which teammate will come out. Also, the Final Boss is hardly even challenging! In the last installments, the Final Boss actually needed work to fight (i.e. Cyber-Akuma, Onslaught), but the boss here, Abyss, is nearly a cinch. He may have 3 forms for you to fight, but there's not much careful play against him. His final form may be a big bad monster, but believe me, you'll have a more difficult time getting hit by his attacks than for YOU to hit HIM. There are also no other unique gameplay elements. You fight till you win. In other games, there were actually extra elements thrown in (like, in X-Men vs. Street Fighter, you have to fight your partner at the end, and in Marvel vs. Capcom, Onslaught tries to stop you before reaching his stage, and he actually has beef with the characters). In MvC2, there's nothing to do but fight.
STORY: Okay, THIS is where the game fails miserably...THERE IS NO STORY. This is how it goes...you select 3 characters, play through to Abyss, and that's it. In the previous games, all characters had epilogues to their stories, and they had special reasons for participating in the fight. In MvC2, like I said before, you fight until you're done. You get NOTHING out of it except Credit Points you can use to purchase more characters and stages from the Secret Factor. None of the characters have reasons to be here...they're just HERE. It would have been nice to know why Tron Bonne decided to fight Abyss, but the only ending we see is during the end credits. The Marvel characters and the Capcom characters seem to be having a party on a boat, and the party is told through still pictures. That's what you see no matter who you select during the game.
BOTTOM LINE: Only get this game if you're just looking for a decent fighting game to play (buying or renting is your choice, depending on how good you think it is), but if you were waiting to see what everyone was up to after the Onslaught trials quieted down, you'll want to pass this by.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10