Shortly after the fighting game X-men Children of the Atom, Capcom wasted no time in putting out more games featuring Marvel’s pantheon of super heroes. This game in particular is one of the more slept-on Capcom fighters (although not to the degree of Project Justice and Tech Romancer). Taking control of one of six Marvel heroes (Spider-man, Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Psylocke) or one of six villains (Shuma Gorath, Blackheart, Juggernaut, Magneto, and Thanos and Dr Doom via use of a code), you must fight your way up the ladder to meet Thanos in a plot loosely based on 1992’s Infinity Gauntlet storyline.

The game play is similar to most other Capcom fighters, with six attack buttons, three for punches, three for kicks, each differing in speed in power. Special moves are done via quarter and half circle motions, as well as charging. However, since these are superheroes, don’t expect your garden-variety martial-arts maneuvers like in street fighter. Your fighter can jump up to several feet high, ‘normal’ attacks fire projectiles, special attacks can cause serious damage, and super moves take up the entire screen. It’s not as zany as in Darkstalkers, but you’re still not gonna see any of these moves in the next Street Fighter game. The main difference that sets this game apart from other Capcom fighters, although it isn’t much, is the addition of the Infinity Gems. They appear throughout the match, and grant your character special powers when you use them. Of course this regulates multiplayer games into bouts of “who can get to the gems the fastest” although an experienced player can destroy any newbie player who plays in that manner.

This game is often overlooked due to the fact that at the time of it’s release, it was just one of many 2-d fighting games. However, it was a Capcom fighter. Moreover, it was a good game based on a Marvel property. Capcom of course went on to use the engine to produce several more Capcom fighters, most important of which being the Marvel Vs Capcom games. This is still a good game to check out if you run across the arcade cabinet, even better if you can find a copy of any of the home ports. Also of interest is the SNES spin-off “War of the Gems”, which is a side scrolling beat-em-up in the vein of Capcom’s “X-men Mutant Apocalypse”.

It would seem I haven’t been keeping up on my gaming news as much as I should. Madhouse animation studio had been pumping out trailers for the new Devil May Cry animated series well before it’s June 14th debut in Japan on the WOWOW network.

Based on the popular action/sci-fi gaming series by Capcom, the anime series will focus on Dante’s exploits between the storylines of the games. It would appear that the series takes place somewhere after DMC1, as Trish and Lady both are slated to make appearances as well as some new characters not seen in the games.

Thus far, the artistic styles used for the animation look top notch and the character designs are dead-on in terms of looking like their gaming counterparts. Twelve episodes have been announced to comprise the series, making it short, but that’s probably a good thing considering you don’t want the story of the anime to get too over-involved to where it seems unrealistic to the story of the games. I suppose that’s why they have Bingo Morihashi as a writer, since he was also the writer for the second, third and fourth games.

Here’s the teaser trailer that was released on the Japanese website.

Secondly only to Capcom’s Tech Romancer in terms of obscurity, this is one of the few times that Capcom bought their fighters into 3D. With a unique control scheme, crazy characters, and a high school setting, this game was something different. Not only was it different from most Capcom fighters, it was different from other fighting games in general. Even though Capcom fans like this game even more than the Street Fighter EX series, the fact that there hasn’t been many follow ups to this game, as well as the fact that Capcom continues to make (or at least Re-make) 2D fighting games more frequently than 3D speaks volumes of Capcom’s apprehension towards 3D fighters.
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Constant re-releases of Street Fighter 2 notwithstanding, Capcom shows us how to do a remake the right way. (Check Maverick Hunter X and the Gamecube Resident Evil for proof.) With that said, what better game to remake than the beginning of one of the most classic and recognizable franchises in gaming? Mega Man Powered Up is a remaking of the original NES Mega Man, complete with new polygonal graphics, a remixed soundtrack, two new boss characters, and even a level editor! Players can either play in original mode (the original Mega Man with new graphics) or remixed mode, which adds in new bosses, different level layouts (even the old weapons won’t work on who they originally worked on), different item placements, and the ability to play as the bosses. There are also several unlockables to be found, and when you get tired, you can create your own stages in the level editor and upload them online. If you can get past the ultra-cutesy look, you’ll find the ultimate update to one of the greatest games in history.

This week’s Lost Classics and $20 GOTW are dedicated to the casual gamer. You know, your mom, dad, grandparents, or girlfriend. They may like video games, but may not be into them as much as you are, so here is a little something for them. These games may not reinvent the wheel, but they’re guaranteed to be fun for the whole family. So with no further ado, lets get it started with this little RPG/Board Game Hybrid, in which you must defeat the evil dragons and their minions by answering their quizzes. Get it? Quiz and Dragons!
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Capcom isn’t particularly known for puzzle games, but the few they have put out are pretty solid. This is a small collection of 5 puzzle games great for quick bouts of portable gaming. Included in this package are Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo (a Dr. Mario-esque game in which you play as super deformed versions of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters), Block Block (a good break out clone that was featured on Capcom Classics Reloaded), and the Buster Brothers Collection (three games where you use a grappling hook to destroy balloons). Even though Puzzle Fighter, which is due to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, is the highlight of this collection, the other 4 games aren’t shabby either. Puzzle games fit excellently on portable gaming systems, and this is no exception. Weather you’re a hardcore Capcom fan or a casual gamer, you can’t go wrong with this.

Almost forget that Devil May Cry 4, the newest installment in the acclaimed Capcom series, had been shoved to the wayside in terms of development news? Well thankfully, it is not so. Seems some new news about the game has leaked out.

Newcomer Nero has gotten a little more exposure this time around, and some additional info. Nero, a member of the “Order of the Sword” whom greatly resembles the Demon Knight Sparda, whom the Order worships, is on a quest against Dante after he witnessesthe son of Sparda killing off members of the Order. Packing his doubel-barrel revolver “Blue Rose” and his motorcycle-hilted sword “Red Queen”, as well as the mysterious demonic arm known as the “Devil Bringer“, Nero would seem like a decent match for the half-breed demon Dante.

Apperently the Devil Bringer is not just for show – as shown in the new fully playable demo released – but will couple as a weapon and a mechnism used for juggling opponents during combos, earning more red orbs for the player. Devil Bringer will also be key in ascending to multiple pathways by using rappeling actions and grappling onto higher ledges. Another secret revealed by game producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi was that, indeed, Dante will be playable in DMC4. Whether or not he’ll be an enemy of Nero’s throughthe entire game or will only be opposed to Nero for a portion of ithas not yet been established. IGN has more on the article HERE.

Devil May Cry 4 is slated for a release sometime late summer/early fall of this year for PS3, as well as Xbox 360 and PC. (thank god)

While arcade perfect and enhanced for online play, Capcom’s release of Street Fighter II Turbo on Xbox Live Arcade was not without faults. The dated graphics and lack of widescreen support didn’t hinder the timeless gameplay, but it didn’t add anything.

Capcom is now committed to beefing up their support of Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network with new releases of Super Puzzle Fighter II in the summer and Super Street Fighter II Turbo in the fall. But they won’t be ports, they’ll be completely remade and redrawn from scratch to take full advantage of 1080p High Definition displays. The masters at Udon comics will handle the artwork and designs, while Backbone Entertainment will recreate the games.

1up got some comments from Backbone’s Christian Svensson that you can read here.

So the full title is Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix… wow, what a mouthful. A pity its not a fully new Street Fighter IV, but if Capcom insists on milking their classics, at least they’re not being lazy about it and giving the games the full on Mario Allstars treatments!

In related news, a not online, not enhanced, not arcade perfect, SNES port of Street Fighter II Turbo is coming to Wii Virtual Console soon. It will be $8, just like the regular Street Fighter II you just bought.