UMVC3
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Best of the Rest: Jordan's picks for 2011
Catherine I have a soft spot for the bizarre and the esoteric. If something is complicated, either through the machinations of its mechanical workings or through the intricacies of its conceptual nature, its hard for me to focus on anything else until I feel like I really understand what I'm looking at. Catherine gave me something to think about, and also made me think about myself, which isn't something I can usually say about puzzle/dating games. The experience is complicated in both the literal and metaphorical sense; its ever-changing puzzle gameplay and surprisingly deep, multifaceted story are the result of brilliant design decisions, exceptional writing and an amazing localization job by Atlus. Catherine managed to satiate my craving for the intellectually surreal while immersing me in the delightfully idiosyncratic world of Japanese storytelling.
Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2011
To the Moon Sometimes we play games to ease real-life frustrations, to cure boredom, to slaughter enemies or to participate in a captivating story. To the Moon, developed by Freebird Games, can do all of these things. It doesn't require you to murder any foes, although its very foundation is in death, and it offers a soothing, philosophical story with more depth than its pixelated graphics initially suggest. As a point-and-click adventure, To the Moon is more of an interactive tale than a full-on game, yet it is so engaging that the lack of quests, boss fights or bullets becomes irrelevant. To the Moon chronicles the last day of an old man's life, but that day includes a Benjamin Button-style adventure through his past as a duo of snarky scientists attempt to change his memories. Why? So that his final wish can come true, at least in his mind, before he dies. In the end, To the Moon is a beautiful and complex love story and, though I don't want to give the entire plot away, I'll tell you his final wish has something to do with interstellar travel.
UMvC3's various Vita attributes outlined via trailer
The PS Vita version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 will largely be the same experience as its console-captivating big brother, save for the touch controls, however Capcom has snuck in a few little extras to whet the whistles of anyone who may be on the fence about purchasing a Marvel vs. game for the third time in one calendar year. In addition to sporting Heroes and Heralds mode out of the box, Vita's UMvC3 variant also includes a spectator mode for watching online matches, as well as the ability to record and save match replays, a feature sorely missed from the console release. Players will also be able to import DLC from their PS3, as well as "trade content" with other Vita owners. Which content specifically is tradable, however, is still up in the air. Let's just hope it isn't Pokemon-style character trading; we don't trust ourselves to not accidentally trade Sentinel for a second Hsien-ko.
Latest UMvC3 patch live, includes Heroes and Heralds mode and various fixes
Heroes and Heralds mode, one of Capcom's biggest power plays to convince Marvel vs. Capcom 3 veterans that Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would be worth their time and dollars, has finally been delivered to patiently punching patrons the world over. In this new mode, players can either fight to save the Earth from Galactus and his cosmic crew of ne'er-do-wells, or join said group of miscreants and work towards the planet's inevitable chomping. The mode's big selling point, beyond the shiny silver costumes of course, is the new Ability Card mechanic, which allows players to equip their characters with cards that provide ridiculous and otherwise unobtainable power-ups, such as an X-Factor burst or projectile immunity. Ability Cards are limited to the online and offline versions of Heroes and Heralds, however, so purists need not worry about the numerous balance implications inherent to the system. The patch also fixes several game breaking bugs, including Wolverine's Spencer-assisted Swiss Cheese infinite combo and the Reverse World, as seen in the video above. Most importantly, the "tech throws whenever you want, don't even worry about it" glitch has been corrected, much to the dismay of Wesker haters everywhere.
How UMvC3's Vita touch controls work
Portable versions of fighting games have a long and storied history of using alternate control schemes, although it's primarily been more out of necessity than for the sake of innovation. These days, however, modern handheld systems (like Sony's upcoming Vita) offer just as much input dexterity as their shelf-based counterparts, if not more so, to the point where developers are able to expand and experiment with their control paradigms. The Vita port of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, for example, makes use of both the device's touch screen and its rear capacitive touch panel for movement and attacks. Moving your finger horizontally along the back panel moves your character left or right, moving it down makes them duck and moving it up makes them jump. Attacks are initiated by tapping the screen, and hyper-combos are triggered by tapping the hyper meter; assists are called in by tapping the respective character's icon. It sounds like an awful lot of furious tapping and awkwardly loving strokes along the back of the device, and considering that all of your characters' meters could be on the left or right side of the screen, a bit of ambidextrousness may be required as well. Fear not, however: Conventional control methods will be included at no extra charge.
Welcome to UMvC3's Reverse World
Glitches usually come in one of two varieties: The hilarious, and the game breaking. Sometimes, however, you'll stumble across a bug so profoundly weird that it falls into both categories. Enter the "Reverse World," an Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 error which flips the camera 180 degrees on its Z axis, turns the characters into silhouettes and reverses all input motions. As explained in the above tutorial video, the glitch is activated by performing Morrigan's Astral Visions hyper combo and then sliding down a wall as Strider. The effect is devastating to the match, but since the glitch requires the participation of both parties, it doesn't seem like it could be abused for trolling purposes. In fact, we'd take a smiling, floating Servbot over Wesker's DHC glitch any day.
UMvC3 pre-order costumes include Cyber Akuma, Casual Friday Morrigan and more
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 may be out in less than 48 hours, but that doesn't mean you can't cancel your existing pre-order and re-pre-order somewhere else in order to snag one of the exclusive costume packs Capcom detailed on Capcom Unity last Friday. People willing to pre-order from Gamestop will receive the Femme Fatale pack, which provides protective and/or provocative outfits for Morrigan, Chun Li, Storm and X-23. Amazon pre-orders grant the New Age of Heroes pack, which reskins Strider, Sentinel and Doctor Doom in their classic garb, while transforming Akuma into Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter's Cyber Akuma. Best Buy patrons will receive the Villains pack, which includes an Elvis MODOK, as well as less confusing alternates for Wesker, C. Viper and Super Skrull. Capcom also announced two new skins for vanilla MvC3's DLC characters Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorrath, which will be automatically included with new purchases, as well as made available to those who purchased the characters in MvC3. Jump past the break for galleries of each costume pack, and remember to choose wisely. No pre-order bonus is worth buying multiple copies of a game, no matter how unbuttoned Morrigan's shirt is.
Cross-examining Phoenix Wright in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
I'm not the world's biggest Marvel vs. Capcom fan -- I prefer Street Fighter's comparatively slow-and-steady pace to what I often describe as "a bunch of insane stuff flying all over the screen for the entire match" -- but one particular addition to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's roster has me excited. The character in question: None other than ace attorney Phoenix Wright, who's made the jump from his own niche Nintendo DS courtroom adventure series to one of Capcom's biggest fighting game franchises.%Gallery-137983%
Prelude to punches: 11 gameplay videos for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
First Soulcalibur 5, and now Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3? We don't know what the French have done to get into such good graces with Japan's fighting game developers, but we're going to start taking notes. We want in on some of this pre-release expo-match lovin'. While we're out buying cigarettes and complicated foods to up our Frenchness, take a long gander at these 11 UMvC3 videos from a recent expo-match event at Paris' Manga Cafe, lovingly captured and uploaded by YouTube user Pharaon92i (with permission from Capcom France). Most of the new characters are represented, including the very best new character, so head on through for a look at the many punches you'll be receiving come November 15.
Capcom releases Ultimate MvC3 change log for Marvel characters
Capcom's time-honored tradition of updating its existing fighters proudly marches on, as Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3's November 15 release draws ever closer, filling the super meters in our hearts with a palpable anticipation for punches. As with any Capcom fighter update, the changes being made to existing characters are just as important as the new characters being introduced, and any fighter worth their salt knows how imperative it is to be prepared for those changes ahead of time. Lucky for you, we've posted UMvC3's massive Marvel characters change log after the break, so you can start making adjustments to your match-up strategies accordingly.
