When I was a kid I remember having a bunch of action figures from different TV shows and games. I’d play with them altogether and concoct crazy storylines that made no sense to their respective origins – at one point I think I had Batman teaming up with Goku to take down Leonardo the Ninja Turtle. The whole thing was heaps of fun and entertaining, but held no logical standards when I look back on it.
The same can be said for Capcom’s latest instalment of its long-running fighting franchise in Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite. The sixth main entry in the company’s series of crossover games, MVC:I takes a step in a different direction; it ditches the 3v3 fighting mechanics of the previous iterations and instead focuses on a deeper 2v2 experience that is enhanced with the powers of the ‘Infinity Stones’ – mystical gemstones from the Marvel universe, each with their own power. These powers can enhance each team depending on which stone is used, and have two functions – Infinity Surges, which are brief glimpses of the stone’s power that assist your fighter (for instance the Time Stone allows you to boost back and forward quickly) and Infinity Storms, which power up your team for a set period of time and allow for special attacks that are almost unavoidable. Charging the stone gauges takes time unless you like being beaten up, but can turn the tide of battles in an instant if used correctly, and make for a good equalizer. These stones are also selectable prior to battle, allowing for players to get a feel for which stone suits their game style.
The tag system replaces the call-in assists from previous games; instead players are given an active switching system which provides immediate transitions between team members that can assist in helping the current on-screen fighter. This gives way to the ‘Counter Switch’ mechanic which, when in a pinch, can be used to prevent an enemy’s combo from trapping your fighter and instead allows you to counteract it.
While several of the characters make sense in terms of upcoming Marvel movie projects, the lack of classics make this game feel quite removed from its origins as an X-Men VS Street Fighter successor, which is disappointing. The DLC characters lined up leave a lot to be desired as well, with Black Panther and Sigma appearing in the story yet having to be paid for. And can I just throw in a quick one about imbalance? Only 5 out of 36 characters are female.