Capcom released yet another Streetfighter title with Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO, in old fashioned 2D gameplay. Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO is more or less a compilation of many years of fighting games. We all know what Capcom is capable of, SNK might not immediately ring a bell, but they are responsible for titles such as Fatal Fury, Samurai Showdown and King of Fighters, all classic titles. Can these good old arcade brawlers still leave their mark in this epoch where 3D fighters reign, or should they be a thing of the past?

Graphics

Why fix something if it isn't broke right? This surely must have been Capcom's purpose because all the visuals are pretty similar to those early 90's Streetfighter games. Two dimensional character models on dynamic 3D backgrounds, it is the same graphical formula which granted them so much success over the years. They could have done a lot more upgrade though, as it is a game for a rather heavy 128 bit console. The graphics still look picturesquely as artwork yet on a technical perspective you could consider it antique.

Sound

Nice and versatile soundtrack, from rock to rap and everything in between, although you will hardly notice the background music during the intense arcade gameplay. There is also a news commentator who gives pre-, and after match commentary, this is a nice audio addition but it becomes very repetitive because of its rather confined 'vocabulary'. The exaggerated sound effects are of crystal clear quality and the pre match pep talk catchphrases from your characters give you more motivation to crush your opponent to smithereens.

Gameplay

Traditional modes like training, survival, versus and arcade are represented, where in the latter you have three battle options on your way to the championship. You have ratio match, where you have to divide power points over your players, there is the single match and 3 on 3.

The most important features in this game are the groove modes. With six modes in total to choose from, each mode will give your character a slightly different style of fighting. Also your tactics on executing signature moves can vary with each groove. Most groove styles are based on gameplay elements from different fighting games released over the years. For instance, the N groove comes out of King of Fighters, the P groove comes out of one of the Streetfighter III games and so on. But when it comes down to it all, those grooves hardly serve any purpose when you fight those last matches on your way to glory. Then it's all nerve-racking romp and stomp till you get numb bashing away on those buttons. Would you have it any other way?

Controls

There are two ways of controlling your character. You have the AC-ism mode, which represents the usual arcade type of control and there is the exclusive GC-ism mode, in this control setting you can execute special moves by simply move the C-stick into a direction. This is a good way to attract the young and/or average gamer, which will be able to execute the most amazing and flashy moves at ease. The real die hard will most likely despise this mode though.

This game exposes the little flaws of the controller design, it may be close to perfection for platform games, but in this game the two notoriously disagree with each other. In this case you can point the finger on Nintendo; the D-pad is too small and the control stick just isn't accurate enough. This is a pity, because it could be so much fun to get that Streetfighter vibe on your cube without the frustration of not having enough control over your characters.

Lastability

Because you can save your high scores on your memory card it gives good replay value for single player, and there are plenty of game modes where you can improve your scores. The difficulty level depends on various settings in the options menu; you can change the game speed, difficulty level and damage level.

Overall the Streetfighter games have always been annoyingly hard, and in times where gameplay is focused on a merely mainstream type of gamers, this game probably suits the need for those hardcore arcade action lovers. Anyone else will most likely be fed up after about an hour and look for a somewhat milder equivalent gameplay.

Final Say

If you want to relive those glorious 2D fighter days on your Gamecube, Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO is a good title, though another controller is recommended if you want to play the game with some enjoyment. Besides that, the gameplay still holds up against its three dimensional competitors and we have to give Capcom credit for that, though it might be a good time to call it a quit after 16 years of Streetfighter games.