When Street Fighter V launched last year, it did so with issues. Not with the gameplay, but with the content. Or lack of it — just 16 fighters and no single player campaign. Capcom has listened and resolved not to make the same mistake again, and so Marvel vs Capcom Infinite comes fully formed — 30 characters in the base game (with six more available to download) and a full story mode.
The plot is this: the Capcom and Marvel universes have converged and a new enemy Ultron Sigma (a being fused together from Ultron and Mega-Man villain Sigma) releases a virus designed to wipe out biological life. The Marvel and Capcom characters have to work together to stop it. It’s obviously ridiculous, but plausibility isn’t a concern here. Especially when, as well as the likes of Ryu, Chun-Li and Resident Evil’s Chris Redfield, who sit fairly naturally alongside the Marvel characters (in terms of how they look, at least), you’ve also got Arthur — the cartoon knight from Ghosts ’N Goblins — or Mega Man. It’s a style choice that doesn’t quite work, but these types of characters are at least kept to a minimum.
In terms of gameplay, there’s been a big change compared with past games — out go three-character teams, they’ve been replaced by tag-teams of two and Infinity Stones. There are six Stones, each with two different powers (depending on how full your Infinity Storm meter is). The Mind Stone, for example, will throw your opponent to the floor, and they’ll still be stunned as they stand up, allowing you to unleash a combo on them. But, with a full meter, your Hyper Combo Gauge is continuously filled so you can pull off stronger attacks.
If all that sounds off-puttingly complicated, worry not — it’s a game that’s kind to newcomers, allowing you to pull off combos using only one button. They’re not particularly spectacular combos, but it’ll tide you over until you’re ready for something more intricate.
It all adds up to making Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite another strong game in the series. And, for casual players, it’s helped by its Marvel licence, which adds intrigue in the way the lesser known characters in, say, Street Fighter V can’t. Put it this way: who would you rather see fight each other — this game’s Iron Man and Thor, or SFV’s Karin and Birdie? Exactly.