Online play could have been better, but still this game kicks ass.
User Rating: 8.4 | The King of Fighters 02/03 XBOX
Both these games are great and make buying the collection worth spending what it's priced at, as they, surprisingly, present different gameplay experiences, both great and stick to the basics of the originals. Sure, the graphics haven't changed much from the previous installments, but the fluid, solid, and fun gameplay mechanics have remained in tact, with a few changes, especially for '03 with the addition of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 style 3 on 3 tag team fighting system, which is really fast paced and responsive. The character selection for both games is huge, although '03 has a few less characters than '02, both hold more than 40 total, something much expected from the KOF games. The sound effects are recycled form the previous games, which is a little dissapointing, a few new sounds for the special moves would have been greatly appreciated, but still nothing to fret over. Although this version of KOF 02/03 is virtually identical to the PS2 version, it does sport onlinie play, although not quite a step up from SVC Chaos, for some reason the SNK hasn't gotten the hang of online fighting yet. Also, the XBOX controller really gets in the way of the fluidity of the matches as I find myself stopping in the middle of some Iori combos because of how uncomfertable my hands are. Once you get used to it, however, this game is fast paced, fluid, and most importantly fun. Fans of the franchise will love it, and general fighting game fans will have a solid fighting experiecne, as both will find it hard to put the controller down.
