Title: Marvel vs Capcom Infinite
Platform: PC, PS4, and Xbox One (reviewed)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release date: Out Now
tl;dr:: At least it has more content out of the box than Street Fighter V.
Price: $60 / £60
Family Focus: Click here for more information.

Unlike previous entries, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite features an interesting story mode which can be briefly summed up: in order to save the world from Ultron Sigma, and stop his plan to turn the remaining lifeforms of the planet into mindless slaves through a virus, the group of heroes must scour the world in order to find the missing Infinity stones.

The game’s strongest point is definitely the gameplay. Marvel vs Capcom Infinite has perfectly balanced gameplay, as it is both easy to pick up for newcomers to tempt their fates, but also deeper for returning players. New players can simply mash the light attack button eight times and they’ll be able to pull a decent combo in order to give them a fair shot, while returning players can use a mix of all attack buttons to create a massive and long running combo that’ll suck the life from their enemies.

As you successfully land combos and attacks, a Power meter will slowly build up over time, and once it’s filled up, players will be able to pull off devastating attacks, either by a sequence of attack buttons, or simply pressing a combination of buttons (Y and B on Xbox One, for example). You can accumulate up to four meters, so it can be really helpful if your back is against the wall; unleashing four Super moves back to back can reverse the tide of the battle quickly and efficiently.

Of the game’s most interesting mechanics, the best by far, is the possibility to use Infinity Stones during combat. Each of the six Stones has a different use for it; for example, one of them will give an attack ,while another can restrain your opponent’s movement. Much like the Power meter, the Stone’s gauge must be half full in order to be able to use it.

Thankfully, unlike the glorified demo that was known as Street Fighter V, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite comes with a handful of modes straight out of the box. Along with the aforementioned Story mode, players can also tackle Arcade mode, take on other players online, practice and fine tune their skills with Training mode, or launch a quick battle against a friend or the CPU.

The little addendum of Arcade mode (and obviously Story mode as well) is the final boss. Without spoiling anything, the final boss is once more a giant thing that takes half of the screen and it requires a buttload of damage before going down. This is where the easy combo mechanic comes in handy as newcomers will be able to do some damage to the overpowered and cheap boss.

And much like Galactus in Marvel vs Capcom 3, Ultron Omega is an overpowered cheap piece of shit. On Normal, during Arcade mode (as Story mode, the battle is a bit more “fair.”), I lost Dante after 4 hits. FOUR. HITS. It was frustrating. This is unfortunate because the overall feel of the game is for perfect for newcomers, they will most likely lose their shit and quit once they face off against Omega. And oddly enough, it’s never really clear “where,” to hit it. I often unleash combos on Sigma’s face and the health bar wouldn’t budge; sometimes, I was required to keep pulling off Air Combos on Ultron.

The game’s presentation is definitely the worst aspect of Marvel vs Capcom Infinite. First off, visually, the game could’ve easily been a last-gen title. As a prime example, the Chris Redfield character model from Resident Evil 5, a game released in 2008, looks miles better than the version of Redfield seen in this game. Additionally, Spiderman, a teenager, looks like a bodybuilder on steroids. I can certainly understand wanting a more comic book like design, but this is just ridiculous. Thank God they fixed the horrible Chun-Li design they had in the demo. On the sound side of things, it ain’t getting better. The game features a generic score pretty much drowned out by the noises of the fight or poor dialogue during cutscenes.

Speaking of dialogue, the voiceovers could’ve benefit from much better interpretation or, hell, even better performers. The worst of the bunch being the voice behind Rocket Raccoon, which sounds wrong. It’s kind of difficult to properly verbalize it, but the voice doesn’t seem to fit the character. The lack of original Japanese track is also quite baffling; Capcom could’ve given us the choice in order to avoid the atrocious work done by the English voice actors. The game also has surprisingly long loading times between matches during story mode; we’re talking 30 – 45 seconds at times.

So how do I feel about Marvel vs Capcom Infinite? It’s both a hit *and* miss. I say a Hit because the gameplay is actually very easy to pick up if you’re a newcomer, but also has some depth to it, so returning players can perform impressively long combos. The story is actually pretty fun except for the shit final boss. I say Miss because the overall presentation is severely lacking. Horrible character models, mediocre voice acting at best; this could easily pass for a PS3/Xbox 360 game. Should you buy it? Considering the game has DLC and Capcom’s tendency to release complete editions of their games down the line, you might want to wait for the complete version of the game.

The Good

  • Easy to pick up and play
  • Addictive gameplay
  • More content than Street Fighter V

The Bad

  • Fugly character models
  • Questionable roster decisions
  • Atrocious loading times

Family Focus

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite is rated T for Teen and PEGI 12 due to the presence of mild blood/Language, partial nudity, suggestive themes, use of alcohol, and violence. It *is* a fighting game after all. Characters won’t win fights by arguing.

This review is based on a review copy of the game provided by Xbox UK.