Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite is the latest fighting game in a long-running series from Capcom. Featuring a roster of fighters from the popular video game developer and the celebrated comic publisher, MvC:I seeks to reclaim the glory of past iterations. Unfortunately, the resulting product falls a bit short of its lofty aspirations.
I purchased Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite to play with my nephew, who loved the limited demo that Capcom made available over the summer. He loves the game and its mash-up of characters like Spider-man, Hulk, Thor, Mega Man, Ryu, and Dante. The game ships with a base roster of 30 characters, but there are several notable omissions from both sides (Capcom and Marvel). There are already six additional characters confirmed as paid downloadable content, with more rumored to be on the way. The roster is decent, but I really miss many characters that appeared in previous games, such as Captain Commando, Jin Saotome, Akuma, Doctor Doom, Wolverine, and Deadpool. The game's presentation leaves a bit to be desired. The graphics aren't awful, but they aren't as good as other fighters on the market (Injustice 2). Some of the characters are incredibly bland compared to others on the very same roster. The DLC characters look great from what I've seen, but you have to pay extra to use those (they are free to those who purchase the Deluxe Edition).
Where the game really shines is in its gameplay. Capcom has crafted another great fighting game and really refined the system to make the two-on-two gameplay feel deep, but also accessible. The addition of the Infinity Stones/Gems is notable, as it adds a great mechanic to the game while replacing a third or assist character. I've seen many a match turn on the proper use of the Infinity Stones. The only negative to the gameplay is that I would have liked to have seen the addition of a mode allowing two players to fight on the same team against the computer. This was present back in 1999 with Marvel vs Capcom on the Sega Dreamcast!
Overall, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is a decent game. It could have been so much more. I would recommend caution when buying this game, especially in its current state. Maybe we'll see an "ultimate" edition down the road.
