Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes - Sega Dreamcast

All your favorite Marvel characters are available, each one a joy to play. The Hulk is huge, powerful, and slow, while Spider-Man leaps and web-slings around the arena, attacking with outrageous handsprings, flips, and lunging punches. Capcom's familiar Street Fighter heroes, as well as a few other heroes such as Mega Man, round out the character selection. Some of the lesser-known characters from both franchises make special appearances. It's pretty funny when Arthur from the old game Ghosts N' Goblins jumps onscreen to throw lances at Captain America. Each of the battles is a two-on-two tag-team match. Players can swap characters in the middle of a fight, and clever players quickly discover how to launch devastating double-team attacks on the opponent. Up to four people can play.

If Marvel vs. Capcom has a fault, it's super speed. The action is fast--really fast--and can quickly overwhelm a player who is used to the feint-and-strike gameplay of more sophisticated 3-D fighting games. In fact, gamer novices may be able to beat video game veterans by resorting to the old "randomly mash every button as fast as you can" trick. Aside from this, the game is a triumph in 2-D fighting. --Mike Fehlauer

Pros: Great cast of characters Tests superiority of superheroes Devastating tag-team moves Faithful hero animations Cons: Cramped fighting space Difficult, hyper-speed gameplay