Marvel vs. Capcom 3's a charm

It's been a long time since I owned a gaming console. Last time I had one, it was the PS1.

I remember all those days I spent in front of my boob tube, the PS1 plugged into it, playing NBA Live 2003 with my friends and having Tracy McGrady dump some 20-30 points on them. Those nightmares that Parasite Eve 2 gave me. The memorable stories of Final Fantasies VII, VIII, IX and Tactics. The combos for Breath of Fire IV. The road rage born from playing Crash Team Racing. Daydreaming of strategies and weapons in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. And above all, handing my playmates' asses to them with some fighting games.

Back then, I had a decent collection of fighting games. But the one that stood out the most was Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes.

During the Pre-PS1 era, the Super Nintendo is one (the other being the Sega Genesis) of the game consoles that mattered. It was during this time that Capcom made a name for itself with Street Fighter, the game that brought the Hadouken into this world. Unfortunately, I was nothing but a mere spectator to this phenomenon, as my 6-year old brain had a difficult time pressing ←, ↓, →, PUNCH, especially when I considered holding down B while running around in Super Mario Bros. 3 an achievement. I had to settle for platformers and puzzle games to enjoy video games.

When the PS1 arrived, one of the few first games that made noise was X-Men vs. Street Fighter. But again, the complicated combos that require numerous commands didn't appeal to me. It wasn't until Marvel vs. Street Fighter that I started enjoying this genre. Thanks to a Beginner Mode, I was finally pulling off not just the Hadouken but super moves as well, with just one button. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes then took my renewed interest in fighting games to a whole new level. Soon enough, I was giving away cans of whoop-ass to my friends and family members.

Zangief: KO'd in a threesome

Bored with executing moves with just one button, I finally decided to shift to Manual Mode and learn how to become Hyper Megaman the old fashioned way. Several years of exposure to video games definitely made a difference. What I failed to do when I was six was a piece of cake several years later.

However, it was the early 2000s. Counterstrike was at its peak, while RPGs, MMOGs and MMORPGs were slowly taking center stage. It signaled the start of a new era in the Philippine gaming industry - PC gaming.

And as I went to war in de_dust, continued playing NBA Live on the PC, had brief stints on Ragnarok, Gunbound, O2Jam, Flyff and Tantra, Marvel vs. Capcom became a distant memory that even Marvel vs. Capcom 2 wasn't enough to breathe life back into the franchise. The result - a very long hiatus.

It's been 11 years since Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and finally, the two companies involved in this project decided to get back together again and send their best fighters to a brawl of epic proportions.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.

The fifth installment in the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise will utilize a simplified three-button control scheme and features a wide array of characters from the Marvel and Capcom universes, majority of which are making a debut in the fighting genre.

(Click here to see the playable characters in Marvel vs. Capcom 3)

Aside from the game's eye-popping 3D character models, MvC3 boasts a very special boss battle with a villain so powerful, it eats planets for breakfast.

Does Galactus ring a bell?

The MvC franchise has been known for larger than life/screen bosses, from Apocalypse to Onslaught to Abyss, that Galactus shouldn't come as a surprise.

But as seen in the video above, Galactus appears to be beyond massive and can bring the pain on anyone bold enough to cross him. And his making it clear that he ain't no pushover when he said, "Just like the Fantastic Four, you mean nothing to mean." Talk about delivering a message. You only get to play three characters at once and this gigantic a-hole tells you he can easily take on four guys. Just not sure if he's been visiting IGN or reading my blog. Duh. There's no more Fantastic Four you cosmic cuckoo.

Bottom line, Galactus should provide a tough boss battle. In fact, some gaming aficionados claim that this is one of the toughest boss battles ever to come along. Just think about it. This guy sends two bastards to beat the crap out of you while he's munching on some planet in the background. After you take care of his minions, you face him -- fresh from a snack, he'll presumably burn some of those planet fats while sparring with you -- with whatever amount of hp you have left from the first battle. And to intimidate you, he'll give you a helluva of a beating with just the flick of a finger, then show off his fancy yet devastating lasers.

Think you got what it takes to teach this monster a lesson? Then brush up those button mashing skills and prepare yourselves for Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The game is expected to come out on February 17 in Japan with the rest of the world expected to follow suit.