Great gameplay, but lacking everything else.
STORY- 1/10
There is none...
It has absolutely no story. Arcade mode ends with your team facing off against Galactus in one of the most anticlimactic boss fights of all time. Whoever ends up getting the final strike is given a short text 'ending' accompanied by comic book strip photos.
GAME MODES- 6/10
Aside from online play, there is a lackluster arcade mode, (mentioned above) a training mode, and a mission mode. Mission mode is a great way to learn combos. My only gripe about it is that rather than simply displaying the combo on screen, in order memorize the combo strings you must press start and go to the moves list. The moves list stays with the 'High Middle Low' thing instead of just inserting the controllers buttons. Albeit they are color coordinated, it is just inconvenient and only complicates things further.
CONTENT-5/10
You can unlock character profiles, models, vocal tracks, themes and endings etc. Nothing really exciting here. There are only 4 unlockable characters. FOUR EFFING CHARACTERS which were previously announced to be included in the roster. There are also very few levels.
GAMEPLAY-10/10
This thing plays like a dream. I'm nowhere near as skilled as most of the players I've met online but it's still very enjoyable and easy to pull off moves.
ONLINE-8/10
I've encountered a few issues with searching for games and inviting friends to play with me, but once you're in a match, it plays extremely smoothly. I have yet to experience any severe lag. The only drag about online play is that you cannot view the battle taking place while you're sitting in a lobby waiting for your chance to fight.
VISUAL DESIGN/SOUND-9/10
The game looks GREAT. It takes a similar approach as capcom did with SF4 but the cell-shading makes it very comic book esque. The music is good but there isn't a whole lot of variety. Fans will appreciate the "I WANNA TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE" song being included on the soundtrack.
Overall, capcom vs. marvel is a product lacking the content and variety required to make a great fighter. The game focuses on gameplay rather than content causing it to lose it's replay value. It's striking visuals and tight gameplay will entice you at first, but it's grip will loosen once you realize just how much this game is missing.
If you're not a tournament player and don't have friends to constantly play with, you may feel a bit cheated by this game.
Marvel vs. Capcom is all icing and no cake.
8/10
(and that's saying something considering I've stated that this game is all gameplay. The fighting genre demands as much content as possible to retain replay value)