Everything You Need to Know About Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

On show at the Sony 2011 Holiday Preview Party was Capcom’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. While I was unable to actually get my hands on the game itself, I spoke to the representative from Capcom about what’s new, changed, and the reasons for an Ultimate version.

My first question for him was the obvious one: why an Ultimate version rather than a DLC package? The answer was fairly simple and made sense: The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan this year put a halt on the development of patches and downloadable content that was planned for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, so they’ve decided to make an updated, and discounted, version of the game.  In my opinion, this is a good compromise, considering the reason.  I’m sure, however, that there are fans and owners of MvC3 that will disagree with me, as they now need to buy another version of the game for new characters and game patches.

Once I knew the reasons for the new release, I asked the rep about we should expect with UMvC3. There are some slight changes being made to enhance or balance gameplay.  Most notable, off the bat, is the new stage and character selection screens, as well as the new in-game heads up display.  These were changed purely to make the game look more like a stand-alone title, rather than a re-release.

There are subtle gameplay changes included to increase the overall experience.  The X-factor mechanic is now slightly shorter, but can be activated mid-air, with tweaked speed and attack boosts per character.  Button-mashing hyper combos have been given to each character, allowing more damage to be delivered for spamming a single button.  Also, an improved online component is available, adding rematch and spectator options.  Furthermore, there are several behind-the-scenes balance changes for each character, making battles a little more even, with less cheap attacks winning games.

Also being added are twelve new characters, six for each side.  From the Marvel roster we have: Ghost Rider, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Nova, and my personal favourite, Doctor Strange.  Countering them from Capcom are: Firebrand (Ghosts n’ Goblins), Frank West (Dead Rising), Nemesis T-Type (Resident Evil), Strider Hiryu (Strider), Vergil (Devil May Cry), and last but not lea – Objection! – Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney).

All in all, there is a lot that will be jam-packed into Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.  Whether or not it’s enough to justify a new release will be entirely up to the fans to decide.  Regardless, the title more than sums up the game, as this will be the ultimate MvC experience.  With new characters, a fresh menu system, and plenty of balance changes, UMvC3 is on its way to rock your socks off on November 15th in North America and November 18th in Europe!

Update: Capcom has announced one of their new game modes of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, entitled Heroes and Heralds.  Heroes and Heralds, available as a free DLC post-launch, is a new single player and multiplayer, team-based mode in UMvC3 where players may unlock brand-new abilities with upgrade cards, customize their favorite character with new powers, and compete in groups as either Heroes defending Earth from Galactus or as one of Galactus’ Heralds.  For a more in depth look at this new mode, you can watch the trailer here.