Infinity and Beyond: A Marvel vs Capcom Infinite Preview with Genxa

May 16, 2017

Written by Donald Duong

Hey Everyone, Genxa from OzHadou here with my first impressions of Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite.

General Impressions

There are a number of popular fighting games on the market right now, but the current generation still lacks a fast-paced and exciting title to fill the hole that was left by Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is definitely there to do that job. I feel the game has a lot of potential for creativity which the current roster of fighting titles seem to lack.

Judging by the roster available in the preview build, it is easy to see that Marvel is putting a heavy emphasis on characters from the massively popular Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Capcom: Ryu, Mega Man X, Chun Li, Strider Hiryu, Chris Redfield, Morrigan (Sigma has since been added)
Marvel: Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Ultron (Rocket Racoon will also feature in the game)

Although the build that we tested is still a little away from the final product, gameplay is already top notch. People familiar with X-Men vs Street Fighter will feel right at home, as it is a 2v2 hyper fighter with no Assist calls. Capcom has improved upon this formula with active character switching — even during combos and specials — to kick the intensity up to 11.

Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite also introduces the Infinity Gem system, a pre-selected Gem which give your characters a unique skill coupled with a unique activation as a comeback factor (Think Street Fighter V).

In-depth gameplay mechanics

For the hardcore competitive fans out there who I know have a multitude of very specific questions, I have tried to test as much as I could.

If you are expecting this to play like Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, you will have a bad time. This is more akin to X-Men vs. Street Fighter with a combo system similar to Street Fighter X Tekken.

Some quick notes; do bear in mind that I did not test the final build, so all of these are subject to change:

• Button layout: LP, HP, LK, HK, Tag, Gem
• Wavedash/Crouch dash: Yes
• Plink dash: No as far as we could test (also applies during Fly)
• Fly cancelling: Yes for normal, no for specials. No more Bullet Hell
• Alpha counter: Done by holding the Tag button while blocking, but it is a bit unreliable/timing is odd
• No TACs
• Infinity gems give you essentially a pre-set V-Skill and a V-Trigger (with its own meter)
• There is a sort of comeback mechanic, not similar to X-factor
• Superjump: Yes
• Air dash: Yes
• DHC: No, but you are able to actively tag in at any time for free (even during a Super).
• Happy Bday: Yes, and happens easily if you are not smart with your tags.
• Snapback: No
• You don’t gain any meter from whiffing normal/specials.
• Meter gain feels very, very slow.

Final Thoughts

Although we did manage to find some perhaps unintentional weirdness, the game is much more polished than we first would have thought. The art style is modern and takes influences from American comic books and the speed is what you would expect from a hyper fighter. From what we have seen, it will be a mainstay for the current generation of fighting games. It will be another welcome addition to the Capcom line-up, and much needed boost to the currently small line-up of fighting games on the market.