Capcom VS SNK millenium fight 2000 is the game that we have been waiting for. The two biggest 2D fighting game creators go head to head to answer the question who is the strongest. The next game in the 'vs' series returns us to the old school fighting style, in all honesty the game should have been called Street Fighter VS King of Fighters, as only Morrigan [from Vampire Savior] and Nakoruru [Samurai Spirits] come from outside these two series. Fighting Style There are two fighting styles or 'Grooves'. The Capcom groove has your super meter split into 3 levels as in the alpha games, whilst Snk groove has one bar which you can charge by fighting or pressing HP and HK. Generally this is the only difference between the two grooves, however certain SNK characters can only pull of moves if they are in SNK mode.

The fighting system returns us to the old school system, so the game plays as a cross between Street Fighter 2, and King of Fighters. Capcom have pulled this off successfully as the game is much tighter and mistakes will get punished, also the super moves are not as powerful as they were in the alpha series, which inturn means more tactics are needed.

Game Modes

You can battle with a team from 1 to 4 characters, this is governed by the ratio system. Basically all of the characters have been ranked in terms of strength and power, so Dhalsim appears as a ratio 1, Ryu is ratio 2, Vega [M.Bison] is ratio 3, and Gouki is ratio 4. The idea is that you have 4 ratio points to pick your team, this is an excellent idea as I found in Marvel VS Capcom 2 certain characters were never played because they were in a word rubbish, but with this ranking system more tactics are bought into play.

The Groove Point System

As in Street Fighter 3: third strike, every move you do is ranked, and you earn GP's [groove points] for your efforts. However many of you old 2in1 combos and too much reliance on super moves will see you losing points, this game rewards on tactics and skill. More information on how to earn these points can be found in my capcom vs snk faq.

Art Work Something which people seem to be in two minds about is the character selection art. The reason is that all the Capcom characters are drawn by SNK artists and all SNK characters are drawn by CAPCOM artists. The results are good, all the Street Fighter cast look ultra realistic and generally good, whilst the SNK characters go all 'anime'. The main sprite art see's all the SNK characters return as normal from the King of Fighter games, but for capcom they have redesigned some of their characters to fit in better.

Basically Ryu, Ken, Gouki, and Vega [M.Bison] have been redrawn in 'alpha 3' colours but based on their Super Street Fighter 2 character art. The final product is very good, it is just a shame that they didn't do the same to the other characters.

Secrets

This game is full of secrets and as in Marvel VS Capcom 2 you have to buy them by earning points in the main game. The secrets on offer are good, they range from extra characters [Gouki, Mad Iori, Morrigan, and Nakoruru] new stages are available as is new costumes but best of all is the new music available. Here you get some of the music from Street Fighter 2 and its various sequels, including the excellent opening music for SF2 [the bit where you scroll up the building]. The secrets on offer are good but as before this game stands well without all the added extras like costume editing and the like.

Music/SFX

The music is excellent, not on the same par as MVSC2, but it set the scene of a big battle excellently. Also many characters have new voices. Guile now says much more before the battle, as do Cammy. the only bad musical point is that the announcer sounds like some fool playing with a sound filter, and why after you win a round you can here in the background 'hey wake up whats happening here?'

Graphical Frippery All of the projectile attacks are computer generated, and look much brighter and flashier. However it does look strange in some instances, namely Chun-li's move [Tenshou Kyaku] where she flys up into the air and does a vertical kick rotation, for some reason flashes of light have been added, and it looks kinda weird. The super move shadows work well as they have been slowed down a lot.

Capcom VS Snk is interesting to say the least. The game is much tighter and is better for it, however you will not be able to pick up this game and play it and do well [GP wise]. All the characters have been cleverly altered so you have to learn them again, characters have special EX modes which return them to their 'classic' versions.

Personally Capcom VS Snk is disappointing, that is that no game was going to live up to all our expectations. However after playing the game for a couple of days, I began to get into it big time, the game is great. Those people who enjoy capcom's 'VS' games should stay clear from this game as it plays very different. Also if you are a 'alpha fan' and don't like the more tactically sound streefighter games [SF2, SSF2X, SF3:3S] then stay away as well. And as for you people into the SNK games, you are in for a shock as many of the SNK cast have lost moves. However if you are hankering for an old school fighter then go ahead and buy the game.