For the Button Masher In All of Us

In hopes of bringing the obscure cult hit into the mainstream, SNK-Playmore brought the King of Fighters series into modern times with the full-3D {i}King of Fighters: Maximum Impact{/i} on the PS2, which was generally met with mediocre reviews from critics. Lately, SNK has been switching over from PS2 to Xbox, showing off five Xbox exclusives earlier this year at E3 ?05. To start off their slew of online fighters, SNK released King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Maniax, an enhanced port of the PS2 version. However, the term ?enhanced? should be used loosely here, as the game is almost entirely the same as the PS2 version.

The fighting engine that is found in KOFMIM is a lot of fun. However, it has several highly noticeable flaws that bump back what could be an excellent scheme. The most frustrating is the simple lack of skill required to play the game effectively. This game is a button masher, plain and simple, and there is no way to counter those who rotate their control pad and push all four buttons at once. Also, wall-fighting is almost a must, since the quickest way to victory is to press somebody into a corner, and light punch their face until they drop. The computer takes every advantage to keep you on the ground, stomping you to death early and often. There is no way to stop this, which takes some enjoyment out of the fighting. There is no Burst like in Guilty Gear, or Parries like in Soul Calibur 2, which leaves this game open for even the worst player to triumph. To make it even worse, when a fighter is on the ground, they are down for a solid two or three seconds, and while it may not sound like that long, that pretty much ensures that at least two or three light kicks will be interjected at the end of every series of attacks. The move sets are somewhat limited, too. Each character only has a handful of techniques, and the number of combos at your disposal seems pre-scripted. To top it off, combos don?t feel like they flow together; each of the moves feels like its own attack, and they just don?t string together particularly well. To the game?s compliment, though, the fighting is fast, fun, and looks great. The free-form combo system has great potential, and if it could take a few steps toward Guilty Gear, it?d greatly improve the game.

As a fan of King of Fighters 2002/03, which contained over fifty different characters, it is quite disappointing that Maximum Impact only features a handful of the favorites that fans of the series will be looking for. Granted, it?s got many of the MOST popular characters, like Kyo, Terry, and Iori (as well as the return of Rock), but lots of the other consistent characters were left out. Billy, Yamazaki, King, and Kensou are no where to be seen. This also makes the three-on-three combat somewhat limited. This game definitely could?ve used some more characters. Balance is a bit of an issue, as well. Iori, Rock, Duke and Mai seem to all stick out as faster, and simply dominant when it comes to speeding through attacks. This, of course, makes combat even more one-sided.

The additions from the original Maximum Impact to Maniax are few, but important. The most notable is the Xbox Live compatibility, allowing for some nice online single or tourney matches. The Japanese voice acting is now available, and thank God, since the English (which is still an option) was just so impressively bad (at least for those used to the originals after all these years). Also, new costume options are available, but will hold little interest outside of a curious glimpse.

The graphics aren?t particularly great, since the environments are almost perfectly symmetrical, and very obviously cookie-cutter engineered. There is one thing that must be said, though. SNK did a simply incredible job making the characters 3d. Each one of them is beautifully done, but is still recognizable as their 2D counterpart.

As a whole, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Maniax isn?t a bad game. It offers some fun, and a unique experience. However, the game is bogged down by a slew of issues that simply negate any true aspirations to master this game. It is destined to be ruled by button mashers and wall fighters. The game does look good, and really pulls off the King of Fighters style, with solid portrayals of the series? main cast. This game wouldn?t really hold the interest of anybody outside of the KOF fanbase, and since there are plenty of other fighting games on the Xbox, like Dead or Alive Ultimate, Soul Calibur 2, or even the 2D KOFs), Maniax just isn?t really worth purchasing unless you are one of the many KOF fans that are interested in seeing the series? first 3D installment. Even then, it may only be worth a rental to you. Maximum Impact 2 is scheduled to come out sometime next year, so hopefully SNK will return to their roots for that title.