SNK’s King of Fighters series
is one of the most beloved fighting franchises out there, and the next title,
King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is poised to take the series to a whole new
level. Maximum Impact, set for release on the PS2 this fall, takes the
characters from the King of Fighters series and has them battle it out in a
variety of 3D arenas, with the characters rendered with polygons and not the
typical sprites.
Maximum Impact features 16
characters, from classic characters like Terry Bogart to brand new fighters,
five modes of play (Story Mode, VS Battle, Survival, Practice and Training) and
a new storyline involving a small group of fighters trying to take the city of
Southtown back from the criminal underground.
While the change to 3D may
upset some fans of the series, the gameplay shouldn’t cause too many problems
among gamers. The gameplay felt remarkably faithful to its predecessors,
basically keeping the 2D gameplay mechanics with a few 3D twists, like the
ability to sidestep. Moves were still performed the same with a definite focus
on special attacks instead of combos and reversals like in Virtua Fighter 4 or
Soul Calibur 2.
The graphics were pretty good
in the preview build. The characters had their distinct looks about them and
didn’t feel completely different, even after the transition to 3D. The
environments looked great and were pretty interactive.
Look for King of Fighters:
Maximum Impact this September.
