The new age?
User Rating: 8.8 | KOF Maximum Impact PS2
Welcome to my KOF: Maximum impact review. King of Fighters a series that begun as a Fatal Fury spin off to become to the main franchise of the SNK brand. It has been running for over 10 years now, with a new game being released every year with each title always have been under serious especulation and each has it's own little cult following. SNK fighting games were always prone not on graphics but instead on gameplay, this pleased the hardcore fighting game community very well. However few people in the US have actually heard or played the series, my best guess is that CvS was a wake up call for them. Now onto the 10th year anniversary celebration game review. The game was meant to be played and feel like its 2D counterparts however they have failed and that but instead created a exquisite mesh that you would get the feel from Rival Schools. The basic controls are the same of 2D fighting games, using the D pad for both blocking and jumping. The roster consists of old SNK veterans such as Terry Bogard, Ryo, Athena and Ikari crew with exception of Leona with somewhat new popular characthers from newer SNK series such as K' and Rock. As all KOF games all characthers are not balanced, some go well beyond the top tier rank however an experienced player can certainly use the full extent of a characther even if his or her style does not fit the odd 3D engine well. Many people complain about the knockback condition when an opponent is throw against a wall and bounces back and when a characther is knocked down. The bounce back feature has been used before in KOF games, in 2001 it was named the wire move which every characther had a single move that would make a characther bounce off the edge of the screen and be averagely air juggled. Well if you add bounceback and a slight delay to get back on your feet to avoid punishment, the price can be devastating if you do not make use of emergency roll (when you roll into safety as exactly you touch the floor) which is already an old KOF maneuver or to sideroll should you miss the timing or to make a strategy. Your opponent can simply combo you, bounce you, air juggle you and wreak merciless havoc until you manage to get up. Yes it does sound frighting, however people new to Tekken have the same trouble, here you should be in a lot less since the fighting system is less complicated. Also all damage you take when mid-air or fallen is reduced to over 55%, juggled Maiden Smashers will make nearly as much damage as a kick so it makes it all fair. Also the rounds can be finished in seconds, especially if you managed to save all power gauges for the last round. KOF:MI is frantic and frenzied fighting at one of it's better forms. The game also has been made much more comboable due to the addition of 'stylish arts' your normal moves can now be comboable into more different normal moves in a chain reaction, some characther have huge ammounts of follow ups and also in varieties. Stylish arts will add to your combo count and make you win this game, so master them. Desperation moves seem to have lost some priority , but not for the powerhouse characthers and the boss, since KOF2000 not all DMs have full gauge levels. This influence is present in MI, the average characther present a single lvl DM and a lvl 2 DM. However some characthers go as far as having a lvl 3 DM, or lvl 1 DM followups that can only be activated after the completion of the master DM. This can be seen with Iori and Athena. This about ends the fighting engine section, although I have the faint impression something's missing. Now onto graphics, after all they finally made a presentable looking 3D game right? Characther model is extremely stylish, with choices of two outfits of each characther and set of colors for each. The third set of color is almost a complete variation of the costume, some salute other SNK characthers that did not make it to this game such as Haohmaru and Kaede. Although the models are not as well detailed as those in Soul Calibur 2, they are stylish and overflowing with attitude and coolness, honoring their 2D forms. Although some people complain about the larger characthers such as Maxima and Seth being oversized, it's not really an issue. Due to the fact all characthers have grown in comparison to the 2D games. Now the background is the same issue with characther model, not masterpieces graphically but they are beautiful in their own way. Just stare at the waterfall stage at sunsent in front of the temple face, it's amazing. Also some characthers will make occasional cameo appearances in the background, so far I've noticed Geese and Rugal but I have heard there are more including Kula. The special effects look in par to the other games, this game is an amusing mesche indeed. However my only complaint, is that they next time they should add facial expressions in combat because the characthers already have them in their intro/victory poses. Moving on to sound, here will start your nightmares if you own the US version of the game. The dubbing is without a doubt awful, with no comparison to the original Japanase voice actors. They were foolish trying to appeal to the American audience of the game and completely killed a major factor of the game, it's unmatched voice acting. Although some characthers can appear to be not mad, they are well below the original voice. This is sad and this mistake should be not be repeated. Now on to music, which gamers such as myself appreciate a lot. The themes of some stages are completely awesome, while others are not superb but are still fitting. I still can't get that awesome chorus out of my head. Wrapping it up, this game is well beyond the average fighting game if you can overlook its flaws like myself. I own both versions and I must say I only have used the American with the extra DVD for keepsake and translation issues however I constantly play the JP game here by myself at story mode and practice mode and with my other KOF fanatic friends. Some KOF fans are very against this game, believing this is everything that SNK once used to be against for. But that is just harsh, I believe they have done a good job although it's certainly not their best. Bottom of the line, must buy for fans and worth a rent for the fighting genre fans. If you can... stay away from the US version and order the JP version instead.
