Marvel Super Heroes

Developer - Capcom
Publisher - Virgin
Players - 1-2
Extras - Memory card

The bit on the box

"Play as your favourite Marvel character - Wolverine, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Psylocke, Shuma-Gorath, Blackheart, Juggernaut or Magneto. Power up with an infinity gem - grant your super hero healing power, super attacks and increase strength. A spectacular translation of Capcom's No.1 ranked arcade blockbuster."

Graphics

The graphics in Marvel Super Heroes are about as close to arcade perfection as the playstation could have accomplished with this coin-op conversion. The characters look unmistakably like their comic counterparts and move well even though animation frames have been no doubt removed to keep up game speed. There is inevitable slowdown but it's not as bad as some that I have seen in other games, but it's still unfortunate because it does stop the fluidity of gameplay. The backgrounds are extremely well drawn and even animated, staying faithful to the arcade version and pushing the playstation beyond its limits. The rest of the game's presentation doesn't live up to the in-game graphics however, the main menu is barren and the intro is lacklustre, and the character endings are badly drawn and should have used speech instead of text (or even speech bubbles would have been better than what they have done).

Sounds

Apart from the usual punch, kick, and explosion sound effects common in fighting games Capcom have also used the digitised speech from the arcade version when various moves are pulled off (the taunts are still in there too). These are fairly clear and understandable, but for some characters lack variation (all Hulk ever says is "Let's Rock"). The music could have been better but I didn't find myself listening to it very much anyway during a fight. All in all it pretty much sounds like the arcade version which is no bad thing, but I can't help feeling sound took second priority to the graphics when Capcom designed it.

Gameplay

This is where Marvel Super Heroes comes into it's own, as the control is easy to learn and special moves are simple to execute. All the buttons on the playstation controller have been used and after a little practice it becomes second nature to pull off even the most complicated moves. The one thing this game has which others don't is Infinity gems, in which when collected give your fighter an extra power, which varies from character to character. This adds some strategy to fighting as if you hit someone hard enough they will drop their gem, which can then be picked up by their opponent and used against them. There are also infinity counters and each character have their own unique special move that does an incredibly large amount of damage when performed correctly, which can also be turned into a "finishing" move when the opponent is weak enough.

I feel a verdict coming on

I had alot of fun playing Marvel Super Heroes, even though I am not a huge fan of 2D fighters. Alot of it had to do with being able to chose some of my childhood favourite comic book characters, which were well represented in the game (no Judge Dredd though, but then he wasn't a Marvel Super Hero, and also when Dredd is in a game you can be sure it'll be less than marvelous). This game is at it's best in 2 player mode, as the one player mode, while good, leads to virtually no reward at the end (the endings really are that bad, and look rushed). In two player however the game turns into a free-for-all as you and a friend battle it out for possession of the Infinity Gems, until one is left in a crumpled heap, shouting various obscenities to all and sundry. Fun game, but could have been better.

Review by D.R.T.Barrett