Editor's Say - "Passable" "Almost, but not quite" Find out what i thought...
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INTRODUCTION
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THE POSITIVES
Slick 2D animation – Fun game-play – Great with friends
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THE NEGATIVES
Online play – Graphics suffer from rough edges (more noticeable on HDTV's) – Bad value for money, not worth the full game price – Lack of game modes – Lack of classic KOF characters – Lack of unlockables that you would normally find in a fighting game – Unappealing visual presentation
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The King of Fighter (Alongside many others) is one of the oldest and one of the greatest arcade fighting series around. The King of Fighters XII is a great rendition of the good old arcade days, however it did somehow lose it's momentum somewhere along the way. While it may have been a great game a few generations back, The King of Fighters is showing it's age. Alongside Capcom's Street Fighter IV, and Namco's Tekken 6, The King of Fighters XII will have a hard time being noticed.
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*****GRAPHICS*****
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KOF XII offers some really nice 2D background stages, impressive 2D animation and nicely rendered special effects, but lacks more that what I was expecting. While the visuals are impressive enough in both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD), the visuals do suffer from rough edges and minor frame rate problems. Background stages are rendered in 2 second 2D animated loops that are not as animatedly appealing as other fighting games.
While the in-game fighting stages look rather good, that much can't be said for the overall presentation of KOF XII: with it's plain and unappealing main menu and characters selection screen.
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*****GAME-PLAY*****
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KOF XII's strong point is the game-play. While there may not be many stages, the game-play is still rather fun and enjoyable.
KOF XII offer an Arcade Mode, Versus Mode, Practice Mode, and Online Multiplayer Mode.
Arcade Mode consists of 3-on-3 battle stages where you must select three characters and fight your way through 5 stages in order to gain the fastest time, which is basically a Time Trail match with no end boss fight.
Versus Mode consists of 3-on-3, or 1-on-1 battles against a friend or the computer, and Practice Mode is literally just a practice mode, which is standard in fighting games.
Unlike previous KOF games, KOF XII offers 22 playable characters, instead of over 30. Fans many be disappointed by the absence of some of there favourite characters, and the absence of SNK's Mai Shiranui, but you shouldn't have to big a problem in selecting a fighting team. Fans may also find disappointing that some of the characters fighting styles have been striped down to much older versions in the series. Instead of generally continuing, KOF XII feels as if it's heading backwards, instead of forwards. Nevertheless it's still very much playable.
The overall game-play controls are relatively simply and good. Newcomers may find the controls somewhat difficult or frustrating, which is understandable if you're new to a series.
The King of Fighters XII is bad value for money. With the lack of a story mode, survival mode, and challenge mode, KOF XII feels as if they ether just simply ran out of time, lost interest, or (dare I say) they where really trying there best.
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*****ONLINE MULTIPLAYER*****
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The King of Fighters XII biggest downfall/problem is the online multiplayer, which suffers from terrible lag, and frame rate problems. Not to mention finding a game can be time consuming. Online multiplayer features Arcade Matches where you fight opponents for the highest battle points, non-ranked Player Matches, and Friend Matches where you can join your friend's game session. Lag is a general a problem in gaming and in some cases we just have to live with it, but it's an even bigger problem with fighting games, especially when your required specific timing with combos, special moves etc. With the KOF XII being limited with game modes, the online multiplayer suffering from problems can even put you off the game all together
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*****SOUND DESIGN*****
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In the sound department KOF XII offers average character voice-overs, a hand full in-game soundtracks, and pretty decent sound effects.
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*****LIFE VALUE*****
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The life value is pretty slim. With no unlockable characters, no story mode, no extra features (with the exception a gallery feature), TKOF XII will slowly get boring fast.
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*****EDITOR'S FINAL THOUGHTS*****
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The King of Fighters XII definitely had the potential of being a great game, but sadly it's not worth the full game prices. With the lack of game modes, 5 different stage backgrounds, limited characters (for a King of Fighters game), absence of Mai Shiranui and other classic KOF characters, unappealing online multiplayer, The King of Fighters XII is sadly just an OK game, rather than being what it should have been… a great fighting game.
All the bad points aside, KOF XII is a good and enjoyable game with a group of friends.
Overall even though the King of Fighters XII is fun and enjoyable the first few hours or so, there are better fighting game out there, even from previous generations.
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*****RECOMMENDATIONS*****
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Recommended for KOF fans, if you like 2D animation, and fighting games… just don't expect too much from the game.
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*****FINAL OVERALL SCORE*****
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Story - N/A
Online Multiplayer - 3/10
Life Value - 4/10
Presentation - 3/10
Graphics - 7.5/10
Atmosphere - 7/10
Game-Play - 7/10
Controls - 6.5/10
Sound Effects - 7/10
Concept - 5/10
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*****EDITOR'S OVERALL THOUGHT SCORE – 6/10*****
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The King of Fighter XII Review by Simon a.k.a. [TheDevilDweller]