My thoughts are a little scattered this week due to several pieces of hardware going on the fritz, so rather than a feature-length column I’d like to go for numerous smaller topics.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 ’delayed’: Depending on who you ask, MvC2 has either been delayed, or the June 29 release was ’just a rumor.’ Capcom has stated instead that we should expect a release closer to the end of July. I have trouble being upset over this; Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is one of those games that is fun if played at the casual level or even intermediate skill, but at its highers levels... well, the Youtube video below is just a sample of how insane the game becomes.

Please bear in mind these are the kinds of opponents you’ll be facing on Xbox Live, and you will be earning Frequent Flier Miles from how long they keep you in the air with a single combo. Truth be told, I may pass on this one.

An example of the pain you’re likely going to face in MvC2 online:

Clover’s lack of sales: The folks at Binary Tweed have stated they are disappointed with Clover’s sales on Xbox Live Community Games. Conversely, I’m hardly surprised it happened. After hearing so much hype about the game, I checked the demo out. While I normally hate to rag on indie developers (some of the best values on the system come from them)... it’s really no wonder this game did poorly. While their choice of what appears to be watercolor art is interesting, the actual animation is pretty stiff.

Worse, the plot is an anvilicious slam at post-9/11 America that is about five years too late to be any sort of cutting edge social commentary, and that’s coming from someone receptive to most of the game’s message. Questionable graphics combined with very basic gameplay mean the plot has to be stellar, and unlike games such as Phoenix Wright or Sam & Max... Clover just didn’t deliver in the demo I tried.