I finally got a chance to buy this game (in other words, I finally got $45 in my pocket to blow on a game), and I am happy with my purchase.

Now, being a fan of comic books for years, as well as have a long standing love of the old school 2D fighters ('specially "Super Street Fighter 2"), I knew I was going to love this game.

There really is no plot, but that isn't of any importance to me. The only real point is to destroy your three opponents with your team of 3 heroes (and villians). That's about it.

You have an average sized roster of playable characters to start with, but it grows as you buy more characters. After you have bought them all, you will have a total of 56 fighters. That's 28 Marvel characters, and 28 Capcom characters. That's an unbelievable feat for a game to meet. With all 56 characters (which I am still trying to get), you may not have the same match twice. It all depends on how often you play.

Also, the wide variety of characters is staggering. The Capcom team, besides carrying the best of the "Street Fighter" games, has Jill (of "Resident Evil" fame) and Megaman on their roster, while the Marvel team carries such heavy hitters like Cable (who is a welcome addition to the game), Gambit, and Thanos.

OK, comic book characters don't come in a wide variety. Sue me.

The controls are as simple as you will find. The easy one button punch/kick buttons, as well as the simple hyper-combo setup (just push the left and right triggers).

The best part about the game is the ability to use both double and triple teaming when you get enough buildup in your combo bar. Honestly, nothing beats destroying your opponant with all three of your characters hyper-combos. It's a thing of beauty to see this.

The only real problems with this game come with the music, graphics, and soundbytes.

Now, the graphics are pretty good. They get a little pixilated at times, but that's about it. That is expected from most 2D fighters that I have partook in.

The music is cheezy. There is no way to sugar-coat that without sounding like a moron. You have here a FIGHTING game, right? Well then, why does the music sound almost like it was taken off of a DANCE game? Sure, it's OK to listen to it for a little while. But, prolonged exposure of your eardrumbs to this may cause perminent mental damage.

The soundbytes really aren't a problem more than they are irritating. The reason for this has to do with a large number of the Capcom characters. Now, since I don't speak Japanese (or understand it for that matter), most of the attack calls made by the likes of Megaman, Sakura, and Akuma sound almost like garbled jibberish to me. This is not a slap in the face of anyone who is of Japanese origin. I'm just saying that the language just doesn't really click with my ears. I guess I ought to start taking Japanese, huh?

Overall, loyal reader, this game is a must have for anyone who is a 2D fighting game addict. MvC2 is one of the best (if not the best) Dreamcast 2D fighter around. Think about it this way, at the same place I bought this game(for over $40, as noted above), the seemingly overhyped "Capcom vs. SNK" game was wallowing in the clearance bin for $18. That has to prove something.

But, still, if you are a fan of either Capcom games or Marvel Comics, then this game is the perfect one for you.

Trust me on this one. You'll thank me later.


Recommended: Yes