Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 10/May 04:54

Invincible VS – Review

When it comes to tag-team fighting games, we have extremely fond memories of the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, even though the last new entry didn’t blow us away. Nonetheless, it’s our go-to game if we want chaos, fast action, and a massive roster of characters to choose from. Other developers have tried to emulate the experience, and even Capcom has tried to create similar games, albeit with different franchises. None of them truly had the same success, but we’re always looking forward to original ideas in the fighting game genre, as many games end up feeling almost the same. In comes Invincible VS, a tag-team fighting game based on the animated series, Invincible. With the initial visuals giving us Mortal Kombat vibes, we were quite eager to delve into this one. We had fun for the most part, but the game sadly suffered from a lack of content. Story Invincible VS features an original story that, sadly, only lasts an hour when you play on regular difficulty. What seems to start as a regular Invincible vs Omni-Man storyline soon turns into more than meets the eye. It becomes clear that many characters are not behaving the way they normally would and that there’s clearly some manipulation happening behind the scenes. We are purposely keeping things really vague here, as it’s hard not to completely spoil a narrative as short as it is in Invincible VS. If you’re a fan of the series, you’ll definitely enjoy this spin-off story. Graphics Graphically, Invincible VS looks fairly good. The character designs really respect the source material, which is already a huge plus. We did notice that some of the movements were a bit stiffer than other, bigger fighting titles, but other than that, everything looks almost on the same level as other triple-A fighting games. There’s also quite a bit of blood and gore in this one, making the game feel more like a Mortal Kombat meets Marvel vs Capcom experience here. The blood effects, in particular, are very nicely handled, and characters will be covered in it as fights progress. It’s small details such as this that show that care was put into the design process. The stages themselves also look nice, albeit perhaps a bit too basic and too static to be considered memorable. Sound In terms of sound design, Quarter Up did an amazing job. Most of the original voice actors from the show return to voice their respective characters, except for Steven Yeun, who normally voices Invincible. Even so, the developers made sure a great replacement took his place to make the experience as authentic as possible. There is quite a bit of voice acting present in the (short) story mode, and there are also some voiced lines during regular battles. The sound effects pack a hefty punch, and they provide great audio feedback for the onscreen onslaught. The soundtrack will probably fade a bit more into the background, but even then, the music is really great to get the adrenaline flowing. Gameplay Invincible VS is a 3v3 tag-team fighting game. The offset here is really simple, as you just pick three characters you want on your team, and then you can play through the story mode, the arcade mode, or the multiplayer mode. The game does not have that much content at this point, as these modes feel pretty barebones. Nonetheless, the core mechanics are decently handled and very accessible for newcomers to the fighting genre. For the most part, everything here is very straightforward, and Invincible VS doesn’t hold any real surprises. Even though the game barely has any modes or content to offer, the mechanics themselves are decent and very enjoyable for newcomers and veterans alike. The combo system feels intuitive, and there are even possibilities for less experienced players to pull off special moves with only one or two buttons. This closes the gap between more experienced players and those trying out the genre for the first time. The character roster consists of 18 key and lesser-known characters, with one original character, Ella Mental, added to the mix. There is reasonable character diversity in terms of speed, power, and range, which allows for some interesting team compositions. We do feel, for the game’s current asking price, there should be more characters, more modes, and more story content. This title could have been a lot more than it currently is, and while it’s clear that a lot of characters will be added as DLC, we reckon that will drive up the price even more. Conclusion Invincible VS is a competent tag-team fighting game that is only suffering from a lack of content and a price tag that feels too steep. If you do decide to take the plunge, you’ll find an accessible fighting game with a great combo system, lots of gore, and an interesting story that fleshes out the Invincible universe even further. We quite enjoyed what the game had to offer, but we were left wanting more, and we are hoping that additional content doesn’t come with an unreasonable price tag.