
	Platform Xbox 360 Genre Fighting Publisher Capcom Developer Capcom ESRB T (Teen) Released November 15, 2011

- New characters (with new alternate costumes), new levels and new balanced gameplay exceeds the original game’s already entertaining playability offering tremendously

- Trying to figure out a good, effective Heroes and Heralds deck of Ability Cards can be confusing

Review: Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (360) Review: X-Men: Destiny (PS3) Feature: Top 10: Best Cleavage Part V Review: SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos (XB)
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Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Score: 8.5 / 10

Street Fighter will always be the most famous Capcom-created fighting-game series, but close behind is its decades-long Versus titles, pitting Capcom characters from a variety of franchises against an entirely unrelated franchise or collection of characters, such as SNK and Tatsunoko. The latest Capcom Versus fighting-game entry brings back one of its most popular character sets facing off against Capcom’s

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- Xbox 360 Game Reviews
- Fighting Game Reviews
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universe: an updated version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom: Fate of Two Worlds Ultimate Marvel v. Capcom 3 on the Xbox 360.

As popular as Capcom’s fighting games are, none in the Versus series combine with such a hugely popular non-Capcom universe more than Marvel Comics. With the addition of 12 new characters, most of

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the Marvel universe stars are here, with Ghost Rider being one of the new Marvelites joining the ranks of Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor and of course Mr. Popular himself, Wolverine. On the Capcom roster, Phoenix Wright, Dead Rising’s Frank West and Resident Evil’s Nemesis are the well-known newbies. Combined there are 48 characters to select from during the 3-vs.-3 battles, along with eight new levels and rebalanced gameplay. Once one character is defeated, the next tags in, until one team’s trio is eliminated. Some of the most spectacular moments while playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 are when all three characters join together in a massive, multi-hit combo.

Once downloadable content for the original game, the Ultimate version includes the Heroes and Heralds mode, including its full Ability Card decks (cards get unlocked by winning matches). It can get somewhat confusing, though, trying to find a “good” deck of three abilities based on the in-game characters that supposedly help during furious fighting. There are A, B and C cards, with A the rare ones, and C commons (S cards are also part of the equation). Knowing what particular card does in relation to your on-screen fighter is the biggest puzzlement, so much so that gamers may just choose to select the randomizing option and head into the fighting foray letting the game select three cards for them and just going with chance instead of trying to figure out exactly how helpful/powerful/effective an individual card may be. Gamers will be too busy brawling during any fighting skirmishes, anyway, to give much thought about the Ability Cards and their effectiveness in winning a match-up.

Great colorful graphics, a staple of Capcom fighting games, shine bright in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Fluid movement and furious attacks are seamlessly translated visually, and huge hit combos explode the entire on-screen action. Triggering moves, both universal and signature, are timed perfectly with the appropriate button-mashing combination, giving gamers ferocious fighting power at their fingertips.

Online gameplay is much more challenging than the single-player fighting, especially when battling against another gamer or group of gamers that are strong fighters with one particular character. There is also the choice to spectate online, for those looking to analyze others online and possibly pick up some hints for online domination.

Plenty of offline modes are available in addition to the Heroes and Heralds. An Arcade mode sets gamers up in a tournament, with a final boss battle deciding the true champion. Mission mode provides 10 missions that gamers must clear for each character. A training mode allows gamers to hone their skills, and of course there is a Versus mode to decide living room supremacy.

More, more, more. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has more of everything from the original: more characters and costumes, more stages, more modes available already on the disc, simply more fighting possibilities than ever starring some of the most popular Marvel and Capcom characters.

– Lee Cieniawa
lcieniawa@armchairempire.com

(January 24, 2012)