Link: http://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/m/marvelvscapcom2xboxlivearcade/

No doubt you will have heard me on recent podcasts banging on about this blog that I was going to write when X-Men Second Coming finished.

Well, Second Coming has finished and so here I am. The first post was supposed to be this grand editorial (cue laugh from Marshall) but that could have taken me hours. So, to ensure that I didn't break my word of oak or disappoint the legions of Sidekicks out there, I have opted to launch a new feature, This week I have been mostly playing...

And so, this week I have been mostly playing... Marvel vs Capcom 2: New age of Heroes from the Xbox Live Arcade.

Follow up:

Who cares what the plot is for this game (yes, beat-em ups do usually have a plot!) but the premise is simple - pick 3 fighters from a roster of 56, each character hailing from either a Capcom game or the Marvel U, and then do your funky moves on the joypad to make them tear whacking great lumps out of each other until all of one player's team is dead as disco.

If you've played a Street Fighter game before then you will already have everybody's special moves stored in your gaming rolodex - each character's specials riff on those classic combinations of thumbstick movement followed by a punch or kick button.

The neat-trick that MvC2 pulls is the 3-fighters-per-team mechanic.

This, coupled with the massive roster of characters, is a fanboy's wet dream. The ability to assemble variously configured teams of X-Men, Street Fighter goodies, Avengers, Street Fighter baddies and Marvel Villains means that there is plenty of fun to be had in picking your crew.

And if you're up against another aficionado you can tickle each other's ivories by picking a team tailored to their team:
"Cyclops is it? Well in that case, and like your mum said last night, I'll treat myself to some Magneto."
"OK... Next up for me, I'll go Storm. The X-Men's greatest leaders fighting under my banner!"
"You know how I know you're gay? Because you think Storm is one of the X-Men's greatest leaders. If you're continuing with the heroic X-douches, I'll be adding Juggernaut to my roster."
"I bet you've picked the Vinnie Jones version, haven't you? I'm the Vinnie Jones version of Juggernaut bitch!"
"I don't recognise Vinnie Jones as a valid cast member for X Men: The Last Stand or the work of Bret Ratner in general."
"I guess that's actually fair enough. Finally, I'll take Wolverine."
"That's just not realistic. Where does he find time to be in several X-Men teams, several Avengers teams, his own comic and then be in your team too? I'm picking Sabretooth."

The identities of these gamers have been purposefully excluded to protect the innocent... but you get the idea.

Once you get into the game, the 3-fighter-per-team really serves to amp up the adrenaline.

To start with, you're looking at the usual 1 vs 1 affair, with your other team mates on the sidelines. Here we can see it all kicking off after Wolverine leaves the fridge open at the Avengers Mansion:

As the fight rages on and the air thickens with quips and banter, the extra fighters are brought in to perform assist moves and add a bit of spice to that meatball - tremble as Hulk dashes on to give Storm a slap after she's knocked Zangief into orbit!!

If your chosen warrior is getting his nose spread across his face, you can tag him out for another member of your team. The new fighter flies on and boots your opponent in the head, usually delivering a crushingly witty one-liner whilst he's at it! Or if you're tagging in the Hulk, he'll just clump 'em with both massive green feet!!!

Great is frakkin' right, On-Screen Text Announcement!!!!

By now you will have noticed the bars at the bottom of the screens.

These fill up as your fighters try to smash each other's teeth in. When you've filled a bar, you can unleash a Hyper combo. Gird your loins for love as the screen goes an insane shade of anime and your fighter lays the smack down! These moves take on various flashy guises and gratifyingly reference something character specific. Cower behind the couch as Jill Valentine of Resident Evil fame adopts the foetal position whilst her nemesis, the Nemesis, smashes Sabretooth off the screen in a 16 hit nightmare!!!!!

WHAMMY!!

At this stage your palms'll be sweating and your retinas fully dilated. Hammer your opponent!! Smash your joypad!!! Throw your gaming chair at your TV!!!! You can fill that bar up real pretty and store those Hyper combos to unleash in sequence or, if you can even believe this is possible, all... at... ONCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The fighting is so kinetic your heart'll be about ready to explode through your ribcage by the time the bout is over. Only one thing for it... REMATCH!!

The game has the usual single player Arcade-type and practice modes as well as local multiplayer and multiplayer over Xbox Live or Playstation Network. Even though this has been out for a while the serves are still buzzing with opponents (at least on XBLA) and this is likely due to both the game being a huge download hit and the recently announced sequel.

Playing over XBLA or PSN is a huge time sink. All it takes is one win against someone and you're on there for hours, ignoring every subsequent defeat as you search for those glory days of "1P WIN!" again.

As noted above the game feels instantly familiar due to the SF2 similarities and so means that you can easily pick this up and give someone a half decent match. However, the amount of characters and usual subtleties mean that this is a long one to master and you'll most likely be learning new tricks each time you play.

I'm going to have to give this one a 4* rating - pulse pounding action featuring your favourite characters and mine... those guys from Darkstalkers.

Catch me on XBLA under gamertag Neon Lynx and buzz me up if you want a match.

And thanks for tuning in to this blog and making it to the end! I'm pretty sure that I could have written my editorial piece quicker...