| In my opinion, there is little reason to own a Dreamcast over a Playstation. Yes, the machine is technologically superior, but not so much so as to balance out the lack of game titles. The Marvel vs. Capcom franchise is an exception to that rule. The Playstation versions of the Versus series were quite lacking; they were slow and you couldn’t play as more then one character. Not so on the Dreamcast. So I picked up New Age of Heroes with some eagerness.
For the most part, I was disappointed. The game goes to great lengths in some areas; graphics and speed are excellent, and there is a soundtrack that is one step above porn music but better than usual video game fare. For a game called New Age of Heroes, there are far too many old faces, especially when you consider that they all basically use the same techniques. And what the hell is Zangief still doing around? He is one of the lamest characters from Street Fighter II, second only to Balrog. How did he make the cut? He can turn himself into iron now. Hmm, never seen that trick before, from a Russian no less. Being able to play three characters at once was cool, though some of the hypercombos are so ridiculously spectacular that they nearly blind you.
I would have to say the biggest flaw of the game is actually a result of hardware. Who designed the Dreamcast controllers anyways? They are awful. I feel like I’m holding a dinner plate. And this game makes it worse by limiting the punch and kick buttons to two, and reserving Y and Z for summoning the other characters. The old method worked well in the past; why change it? Play control was difficult to adapt to, and I found myself resorting to the spastic technique to fend off my opponent a few times. Plus, you couldn’t use the analog stick at all.
There are some cool features that make the game worth checking out. Not only can you play as three characters, but each character can choose one of three attack types. That was pretty fun, and I’m sure would add a cool dimension if you really got involved with the Vs.com competitions. Another innovation is the buying of secret characters, as opposed to winning them. You choose which you want to unlock when you have the right amount of points. Interesting idea.
So while this game is not a quantum leap in 2-D fighting, and not much different from the original Marvel vs. Capcom, it is entertaining. My advice would be to rent it first, and if you really like it, buy it used. | 
