Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite
Hands-on with Capcom’s other big fighting game
It is possible to mash light punch and your character will perform a basic combo
Given the growth of Marvel into a colossus, it’s surprising to see a new MvC game. You can only imagine how much more complicated it is to secure the rights to this scrap for the ages, but here we are. This time it’s been reworked into a two-on-two format, as opposed to three-on-three battles. In doing so, there’s been some interesting changes. The game now uses a four-button layout for strikes—light and heavy punches and kicks—plus a button to use an Infinity Stone and one to tag in your partner. Accessibility is one of the game’s main design pillars. Executive producer Peter ‘ComboFiend’ Rosas stated that the team “expects a lot of new players to show up, so however long they have they’ll be able to pick up a pad, see their favorite hero and have fun”. It is possible to mash light punch and your character will perform a basic combo, for example, while pushing heavy punch and kick will unleash a super move.
For intermediates, everyone has a ‘launcher’ combo. Light punch, light kick, heavy kick, and then down and heavy punch becomes your go-to punish combo and sets up the aerial stuff that the MvC games are known for. Should you find yourself in one of these situations, you don’t have to take it. Holding the tag button will cause a Counter Switch, with your partner coming to your aid at the
cost of some of your super meter.
Before the hardcore start screaming about the game being dumbed down, fear not: The technical side of things comes from elsewhere. Previous MvC games had rules as to when you can switch out your fighters, but now you’re almost free to do it whenever you want. It’s a versatile system and one that is going to be what brings, as they say, ‘the hype’ during play.
“The Partner Switch mechanic,” says Rosas, “is more open than it’s ever been. It’s another reason we [went] two-on-two. If we tried it with three or four characters it’d be completely mind blowing!”
Infinity and beyond
Infinity Stones are also key to technical gameplay. The three in the current build—Space, Time, and Power—all have two uses, one of which you can use whenever you want. The Time Stone LETs you teleport/dash, Space pulls your opponent towards you, and Power gives you an attack that causes a wall bounce. Once a meter has filled, you can perform an Infinity Storm—a momentum-shifting power that changes things in a major way while the meter depletes. Out of these Space is the most interesting, as it sticks a box around your opponent, restricting their movement.
The trick here is whether you use the stones to emphasize strengths or cover for potential weaknesses. Hulk has a hard time getting in on characters who can keep him away, but a well-timed use of the Time Stone will cover that ground in an instant. Then a Hulk with the Power Stone is brutal, bouncing you around the screen for mega-damaging combos.
What will make or break Marvelvs Capcom: Infinite is how these new systems flourish outside of the launch period. Will skilled players find enough flexibility in the new two-on-two battles and Infinity Stone systems to allow for creative play, and will there be enough in the game to encourage newcomers to move on from the one-button basics before they get bored? The promise of a story and arcade mode with the suite of multiplayer and training options indicates that Capcom are wary not to repeat the mistakes it made with Street Fighter V. It may have gone through some changes, but it’s still very much Marvel, baby. Andi Hamilton