Just for the Shell of It

Back in the 1990s, Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were in an unending struggle for the eyes, ears, and hearts of arcade goers. The latest Mortal Kombat would put up a good fight with its dazzling digitized graphics and splashes of blood, but in the end, Capcom's franchise would always come out on top, buoyed by gameplay designed to stand the test of time.

The latest Mortal Kombat games
brought the series back to its
roots, a welcome return to form after the
crapfests that were Deadly Alliance
and its two sequels.
(image from the Mortal Kombat Wikia) 

Twenty years later, a funny thing happened. Capcom is still making Street Fighter games, and we're still seeing Mortal Kombat titles from Midway's successor, NetherRealm. However, the script has flipped. Strengthened by the deep pockets of its new parent company Warner Bros., NetherRealm brought the Mortal Kombat series back to life in 2011, and followed up that reboot with an even more impressive sequel. Mortal Kombat XL is the franchise at the top of its game... it's never looked better, it's never been more fun to play, and judging from the cheeky script and several oddly appropriate guest characters from horror movies, Ed Boon's team has never had so much fun designing it.

Capcom started out strong with a successful reboot of its own, Street Fighter IV, but strained the patience of its fans with constant costly updates, bewildering crossovers, and downloadable content that leeched from players' wallets while adding little to the overall experience. Worst of all, while NetherRealm is clearly having fun bringing the Mortal Kombat series back from the dead, Capcom seems like it would rather be doing something, anything else. Each new Street Fighter game brings with it a sense of morbid obligation that weighs as heavily on the player as the poor bastards who had to design it. Street Fighter V was released ahead of schedule with large chunks of the game missing, and the cast was built from characters too lame to make the cut in the previous game. Nash? Rainbow Mika? Laura, Sean's previously unmentioned big sister? Really now.

Wonder Woman is done with Harley Quinn's crap.
Not to anger the fanboys, but I'm kind
of sick of her too.
(image from EB Games New Zealand)

Things haven't changed with the latest releases from NetherRealm and Capcom. Injustice 2, a clash between DC comic book heroes with action influenced by the Mortal Kombat series, is a labor of love that makes the most of its famous cast. Characters have history with their opponents, and express their grudges and rivalries in brief conversations before each match begins. A button on the controller is dedicated to each fighter's exclusive ability... for instance, assassin Deadshot can set his bullets ablaze, while Cyborg calls drones to offer backup in a tough fight. Fights are fast and flashy, but there's depth hidden under the pretty surface if you're willing to look for it. There's also a variety of play options and tons of gear that'll keep you entertained even after you've burned through the four hour long story mode.

Dear comic book publishers: there are too
many superheroes named "Captain Marvel."
Please eliminate one. I am not a crackpot.
(image from MobyGames)

By comparison, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite feels tired and unenthusiastic; an obligatory entry in a series that longs to be put out of its misery. It's just done with this shit, and wants to shuffle off to the retirement home to play mahjong with its best friends Mega Man X7 and Devil May Cry 2. It doesn't want to exist, and after you play it, there's a pretty good chance you'll wish it didn't either. Teams have been pared down to two members, with infinity gems offered as a (poor) substitute for character exclusive abilities. The gameplay is button-mashy and frustratingly chaotic, perhaps more than any other game in the series. Key characters have been omitted from the cast thanks to (presumably more exciting) fights between Marvel and Fox, while other fighters have had their move sets needlessly scrambled. The graphics and sound are, at best, functional... sometimes not even that, when Venom leaps at you and turns into a massive clump of bubbling tar. Where the hell is the hit box on this thing?

I'd bring up the story mode, which brings together the Marvel and Capcom universes in the way a small child might introduce a square peg to a round hole, but that would be beating a horse that's already begging for death. Suffice it to say that Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite is one of last year's biggest letdowns... and that disappointment is only amplified when you see what Injustice 2 has to offer in its latest character pack.

Turtle combat! Wait, wrong game.
(image from Gamerant)

The rumors are true... NetherRealm added the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the cast. Picking an individual turtle is a pain, requiring you to make different custom builds of the base character and selecting your favorite from a drop down menu, but everything else about their inclusion is fantastic. They're the best looking versions of the characters I've seen in a quarter of a century; startlingly realistic, yet with a friendly roundness missing from Nickelodeon's 2012 cartoon series. The voices are pitch perfect, capturing the personalities of each turtle, and the animations are a gas... I crack up every time Leonardo bows to a tiny rat or celebrates knocking out an opponent by busting out his best dance moves with his brothers. 

There's no logical reason for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be here, but who cares when they're this much fun? You know, fun, the quality you no longer find in Capcom games.