One of my top three fighting games of all time is Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The Dreamcast version got worn out in years past as friends and I spent countless hours beating the hell out of each other. While I enjoy the PSN/XBLA port of the game, I’ve been spending much more time with Super Street Fighter IV. After getting a good deal of hands on time with Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at E3, Spring 2011 can’t come soon enough. The fast-paced frantic multiplayer action is better than ever, especially on the Mad Catz Tournament Fight Sticks plugged in to the consoles at Capcom’s booth. Yes, Capcom is hitting another one out of the park.

In the demo we played in the private area of Capcom’s booth, only eight characters were playable (currently a selection of the announced characters). While many more will be available when the game ships, Capcom chose to focus on favorites and newcomers on the show floor. Dante from Devil May Cry is already one of my favorites after only a few matches, and classics like Iron Man and Ryu are strong competitors, as expected. Balancing felt good in the short time we played, although a few moves did seem a bit too powerful, which will certainly get worked out in the time before the game’s Spring 2011 release. The art style is terrific with a very hand-drawn feel to both the characters and backgrounds.

The controls were simple and easy to pick up for both veterans and newcomers (Justin isn’t a big fighting game player, but put up a good showing). I strongly recommend getting a solid joystick for all of your fighting games and the Mad Catz Tournament Edition stick is the best in the business. It’s absolutely worth saving up your money to get one, which is why Capcom chose to only use those fight sticks on the E3 show floor for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 demos. Pulling off special moves and combos came with ease for both of us, residing on opposite ends of the fighting game spectrum.

I’m looking forward to seeing what other characters ship with MvC3 and what DLC plans Capcom has for the game. Based on how they’ve handled Super Street Fighter IV, I would really hope they build in a more upgradable engine so we don’t end up seeing Super MvC3 a year down the road, but as long as they continue to support the game with new characters, costumes, arenas, and balancing, we’ll all be winners.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 was one of my favorite games at E3, partially because I’m such a big fighting game fan and a fan of the series. Even in such an early build, it felt great, which is the most important part of any fighting game. This will be a day one purchase for me next Spring on the PS3. (This has nothing to do with it being better on any one console, just that I’m already invested in joysticks and fight controllers for that system)