Just in case you don't know, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is somewhere in the region of 2 years old now and it has only just made its way on to the PS2. Although it is dated and in need of a revamp, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 still looks very good for its age. The sprite based characters are a far cry from Guilty Gear X, but they are still animated very well. All the animation is the same as that on the Dreamcast, it's a direct port so that is no surprise. The backgrounds are very sharp and pleasing on the eye and they also feature the use of some polygons for the background animations.

Everybody knows what to expect from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 as most people reading this have already played it in one form or another. To put things simply it is the best vs. title in the series, well some may say Capcom vs. SNK 2 is better, but that's OK as both games are quite different. Capcom vs. SNK 2 lacks the extreme over the top action that makes Marvel vs. Capcom 2 so distinguishable and great. Capcom vs. SNK 2 plays much like the Street Fighter series it's more technical and less fun as a result. Marvel is much faster and much more fun to play due to the extreme moves and the Marvel characters. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is huge, it boasts 56 fighters to choose from of which a vast majority of these have to be bought with points earned in the games points reward system. Every time you play Arcade or Score Attack Mode you will be rewarded with points that can be spent in the games secret factor shop. There you will be able to buy a whole new set of characters, new stages, costume colours and even galleries where you can view character art.

Instead of being a 2-on-2 tag fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is now a 3-on-3 fighter. There are various different combos that are possible; firstly there are the team super combos where all three characters make an attack in quick succession. Secondly there is the team hyper combo, this can only be carried out when your level bar is set to at least 2 or 3. What a team hyper combo does is make all three of your characters perform their respective super combo in succession. It takes some practice to master but it certainly isn't hard to do. If you're sick of fighting a particular fighter for what ever reason you may perform a snap back move. When executed the snap back move will force your opponent to change characters and leave the recently stunned fighter stunned and unusable. In terms of fun Marvel vs. Capcom cannot be beaten, but it certainly isn't as technical as Virtua Fighter 4 or Tekken 4, although it does have it's own merits that give the game a decent amount of depth.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 features quite a strange sound track compared to Capcom's other fighting games. It's a kind of chilled out lounge music which floats along underneath the Capcom standard sound effects of kicks, punches, hits, blocks and special moves. To be perfectly honest that's about it on the sound front you will have heard most of it before.

As for the controls I shouldn't have to go into any detail as this is based on one of the most played console games in history. There are some changes to the standard Capcom formula though. There are only two punch buttons and two kick buttons. It's strictly high and low and that's it. You can customise the button configurations as much as you like, you can even use the analogue stick for combat rather than the D-Pad.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a fighting game no one should be without, for two very good reasons, firstly it's great over the top fun and secondly there is a great nostalgia value. If you are one of those anti 3D fighter people this is also the game for you and it's a must. Visually it's a direct port of the Dreamcast version so if you own this on the Dreamcast there is no need to shell out for the PS2 version. To conclude this is one of the most addictive fighting games ever made, with a total of 56 characters, many of which have to be unlocked and tons of extras, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a serious fighting game that should be heavily considered.

7.5 out of 10