SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos
Score: 60% ESRB: Teen Publisher: SNK Playmore Developer: SNK Playmore Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Fighting
Graphics & Sound: Unless you’ve been living under a rock, chances are you’ve played plenty of games in Capcom’s Street Fighter series. And while chances are much slimmer that you’ve played any of SNK’s Fatal Fury games, you’ve probably seen many of their characters in the recent VS. series games. The latest one in that series is SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos. For some reason, and it’s one of the great mysteries of the video game world, Capcom insists on using extremely dated and low resolution sprites in it’s fighting games. Because of this, I can’t say much good about the character graphics. Sure, the backgrounds are as attractive as always, but as usual, there are hardly any to speak of; there are only about five stages in all. The animations are the same as ever, and except for some of the newer characters, it’s nothing you haven’t seen at least ten times before. Likewise, the sound effects are fine, but it’s the same old recycled stuff, none of which is very engaging anymore. I remember when every character would have a stage, and each stage would some really catchy music. Not anymore. You get about five stages with this generic techno-pop beat that you’ll forget after about three minutes, thank God.
Gameplay: Unlike the tag-team system found in one form or another in just about every other VS. title, SVC Chaos focuses on old-fashioned one-on-one brawls. Unlike the high-flying acrobatics of the tag-team games, the gameplay of SVC Chaos is of a decidedly older flavor. No turbo mode, multiple power supers, or air blocking here. There are two new gameplay ideas introduced though, exceeds and a new twist on the super meter. Exceeds are super moves with some extra oomph that you can only perform when at least half of your health is gone. Additionally, you can only use them once per match, so time them carefully. As for the twist with the super meter, it has the usual three separate levels, except when you hit the maximum level, you can perform supers without using up any power. The tradeoff is that you can’t stockpile three super levels. Once you hit maximum, the power meter will slowly drain back down to two. So when you hit level three, you get a short period of time where you can perform super moves with impunity.
Difficulty: Unfortunately, SVC Chaos feels very rushed. The game is very difficult to play well over a long period of time because frankly, it just doesn’t feel finished. For starters, some moves really aren’t balanced well with others. Grabs, for example, don’t do nearly enough damage, and certain super moves, such as Sagat’s knee/kick super don’t leave him open even after you block the whole super. Mix that in with the fact that you can do as many supers as you want when you hit your max super level, and you have some pretty cheesy abilities. The collision detection in the game is also some of the worst I’ve ever seen. You can be right next to someone, perform something like a dragon punch, and go clean through your opponent without touching him. That’s not all though, some of the priorities of the moves also don’t feel well balanced. Add those together and you can get some characters that are just completely overpowered. For example, a total amateur can pick Vega and pretty much beat the ever-living snot out of anyone they face. No matter what you throw at Vega, his move will always win out and smack you good.
Game Mechanics: If that wasn’t enough, the game seems to have even more problems. The difficulty setting of the game is totally screwed up. Not only does turning it down not work, it frequently makes computer matches even harder. Going through Arcade mode, the difficulty also scales up far too quickly. No matter what setting you have it at, the final fights are nigh unbeatable, even for a hardened veteran. The game isn’t without a few charms of its own. I’ve already mentioned the exceeds and new super bar, but there are also a few new special characters worth mentioning. Characters like Mars People and Zero add quite a high novelty value to the game. But even Zero and state titles like “nude place” just aren’t enough to win me over. I’d have to call SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos a big disappointment.
-Alucard, GameVortex Communications AKA Stephen Triche
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