Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Ultimate All-Stars looked like it wasn’t going to be released in the west after all. In fact, next to Yakuza 3, it seemed like it would be the most likely game (since it was revealed) not to make it to Europe and North American shores. Well thank God that Capcom managed to pull it off. It’s a bit complex how the localization came to be but in a nutshell, Ultimate All-Stars will have some new characters and online play via Wi-Fi.

And it’s about time, since we haven’t had enough fighting games that can showcase the frantic, over-the-top action Capcom managed to produce when they teamed up with Marvel. While the Super Smash Bros series, Guilty Gear series, and Blazblue contained hectic gameplay, I don't think those games came close to the action MvC 2 provided, something that Ultimate All Stars promises to deliver.

The ‘All-Stars’ part of the game’s title might raise some questions since there’s almost half of the characters that were in MvC2 and secondly, many characters are going to elect shrugs when it comes to trying to recognise where they are from. But over 25 characters being available is still a respectable number and quality wise they should deliver.

On the side of Capcom you don’t just get the usual reliable characters of Ryu and Chun-Li but guys like Zero and Frank West have been added to the mix. Yes, the main character from Dead Rising is included. Hey, if he can lay the smackdown on zombies then I guess he’s good enough to go toe to toe with Ryu.

And on the other side we have Tatsunoko, who may not be a familiar brand with many but the characters that is associated with it might recall some memories; The old skool generation will sport a delightful grin at seeing characters from the cheesy but enjoyable anime Battle of the Planets and anime fans will recognise Karas. For a full list of characters check here - http://tatsunoko.vscapcom.com/charactor.html

Gameplay wise, it’s similar to the way the Capcom vs. series play out. So players familiar with the techniques in those games should be able to apply it here. There are however some new features in the combat - the Mega Crash and Baroque; Mega Crash allows you break away from an opponent’s combo at the cost of some of your life and Baroque, a.k.a Baroque Cancel, gives you the possibility of extending your combos and makes you more powerful depending on how much red life you have left.

It’s all shaping up to be a fantastic fighting game and come February 29, Wii owners will have another reason to brag to PS3 and Xbox 360 owners and watch them shake their heads. Expect a review shortly after Ultimate All-Stars is released.