King Of Fighters XII Review – Available Soon on PS3 and Xbox 360
King Of Fighters is a long-running fighting game franchise whose latest installment was recently released on arcades in Japan. This version of the game will soon be ported to both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360. It will be the first game in the series to be released on next-gen consoles, and it’s about time.
While most fighting game franchises have upgraded in graphics and technology over time, King Of Fighters has, save for a couple spinoffs, stayed true to it’s classic style. For years it has stuck with 2D sprites and animations, but don’t let the lack of technical prowess fool you. KOF XII is entirely(everything from sprites, to animations, to the main menu) hand drawn, rendering it a genuine work of art in a way most all of today’s games cannot boast.
And yet, for all the individuality of the King Of Fighters series, XII adopts many gameplay mechanics and modifications that have become customary of today’s 3D fighters. One such adjustment is the pressing of two buttons in order to perform a throw, instead of just one. Not only was the risk factor concerning a proper throw almost nonexistent in past KOF games, but throws were also often activated on accident. Which is a legitimate mistake considering that it only takes the press of one button instead of the combination of a specific two, while at the same time moving either backward or forward with the joystick. Changes such as these may be subtle at best, but they make a substantial difference in how the game is played.
Some adjustments have been made to some of the characters and their skill sets as well, and believe it or not they are pretty major. For example, Iori can no longer perform his own signature fireball and uppercut move. This may seem like a strange alteration, but it’s in any case a perfectly relevant one. After all, Iori lost his Orochi powers in the ending to King Of Fighters XI, and shouldn’t be able to use his fireball technique anymore in the first place.
The exact amount of characters is still unconfirmed, but there’s at least quite a few. In any case the majority of the series’ trademark characters will be there. These characters can either be taken into multiplayer in an online match, or played local with a friend. There’s also a singleplayer storyline, though it’s much less plot oriented as KOF: XI was. Each character has their own specific story ending that can be unlocked and viewed at the completion of the game with that character. SNK does intend to continue the storyline it left off with XI, but just not right now.
King Of Fighters will be coming to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 this July 2009.
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