The Marvelous Countdown, Day 12: Frank West

The last remaining supplement to the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roster is none of than zombie photographer extraordinaire, Frank West. This isn't his first time appearing in a fighting game, as he was first on the Wii's Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, but his playstyle has been revamped and refined into something that fits the character.

The first thing you'll notice about Frank is that he can "level up" by taking pictures of his opponent, much like in the original Dead Rising. As he gains experience and levels up he gains access to more and more moves, and many of them improve as he powers up. At the maximum level of 5, Frank is one of the most effective and powerful solo characters in the game. He can throw various objects to keep the opponent away from him, as well as several variants of zombies that can attack and grab the other player to grant you a free combo.

Leveling up looks to be a pain at first glance, but there are ways around it. For each hit in the combo, the photo will give Frank 1 extra experience point, so snapping it during a 10 hit combo is 10 experience all at once. The fastest way that's been discovered to max out his level is through the use of a Team Hyper Combo after a long combo. Certain hypers (like Dante's Million Dollars) last a lot longer than Franks's shopping cart, allowing him to snap a photo or two and level up in one fell swoop. That will be the goal when using him, I believe.

I think he'll be a tough character to get the hang of, but once players find easy technology for landing the big combo and getting to level 5, he'll end up as one of the best characters. And why shouldn't he be? He's covered wars, ya know.

And that wraps up my Marvelous Countdown for Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. The game hits shelves tomorrow; are you ready?