Review: Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO
Capcom vs. SNK 2 debuts on the GameCube and helps out younger fans with its ?easy operation? system. Is EO OK or PU?
Helping out the younger GameCube fans with its ?easy operation? system and keeping all the arcade trappings for the older crowd sounds like a good idea, but Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO comes up short.
GameCube Controller vs. You
Having seen action on the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the arcades, the sequel to the match of the millennium has covered a lot of ground. GameCube owners will be glad to know the long wait has paid off as Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO does pack some new features, namely the revised controls. With its smaller directional pad and oddly placed buttons, the GameCube?s controller is highly unsuited for Capcom vs. SNK. To cope with this, the GC-ism move allows you to use the C Stick as a shortcut to all special moves, and it also maps other attacks to the shoulder buttons. You won?t get the full range of attacks you would with the standard arcade controls, but you do get something that works. It?s almost insulting in its simplicity, but the less apt can now perform dragon punches at will. You can still tough it out with the full coin-op button configuration, but that?s a less than ideal experience.
Capcom vs. SNK 2 was never a visual tour-de-force, and the GameCube does the best it can considering the source material. All the animations and flashy special move effects are intact, and load times are fairly swift. The sound is one of the highlights with crisp-sounding punches and bouncy background music. Some sounds seem a bit muted, but that?s how things sounded in all previous versions as well.
Easy Operator
Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO introduces a nice feature for newcomers, but its implementation of ?easy operation? is handled as a novelty rather than something that can be expanded upon. That?s a shame as the C Stick could have added a new dimension to how combos are handled, but it doesn?t help players get any better at the game. Young players who just want to mash buttons have flashier fighting games to choose from as the nuances that distinguish Capcom?s fighter will be completely lost on them. Gamers who own only a GameCube can still have fun since it?s the only 2D fighter available so far on the system, but all others should pass.