King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2

Classic fighting with a 3D twist, for Sir?

Although to the uninitiated, fighting games can seem like two players thrashing the joystick and mashing their buttons furiously hoping to get lucky; the truth of the matter is that whilst a proportion may stick to mashing and thrashing, the majority go on to discover a deep and nuanced mechanic requiring as much care and attention to master as any first-person shooter.

Facing any beat 'em up game for the first time is a rather nerve wracking experience. Much like the first day at school or work, there is little to disguise the fact that you are new around here and just learning the ropes. Thankfully, then, that these games have been so well ported from the arcades to the home console. No longer do you have to flail about in public, now you can hone your skills at home before facing anyone down in a social setting. In fact, on these European shores the problem is almost reversed as you are hard pushed to find your favourite combat coin-op anywhere but the larger sea-side town coin-operated emporiums. Whilst their popularity continues in Japan, there is something about us Europeans that takes longer to warm to the commitment and time required to get the best out of the modern fighter game.

To the game in hand: King of Fighters. This is a great example of Japanese arcade success that has translated well to the European living room. Its original release in 1994, that drew in favourits SNK characters from Fatal Fury, Art of Fighting, Psycho Soldier and the legendary Ikari Warriors, was an instant success and saw a yearly update until 2003. With releases tailing off from then it is likely to be with some excitement that fans of the series will receive two releases from the King of Fighters stable, King of Fighters XI and King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2. The later of these two releases is the subject of today's ponderings.

Having made the successful transition from two to three dimensions with Maximum Impact, this game now aims to build on this through revised gameplay and re-engineered graphics. SNK obviously hope that they can continue to expand the audience re-invigorated and won afresh by the previous game.

As you will already be familiar with if you have played the previous version, Maximum Impact continues many of the techniques that made the two dimensional series so famous. Fans of the original will be happy to find again the familiar sidesteps, counters, and super moves. This time around there is a greater focus on defensive play where you can construct whole set pieces around the ability to block and parry your opponent's attacks. This shift of gear is mainly achieved and enhanced by the inclusion of two new defensive moves, super cancel and counter strike. The overall game certainly feels more balanced and provides greater chance of reward for the more thoughtful and precise player. It quickly becomes apparent that success involves much more than simply move-memorisation. You are going to need every ounce of your timing, ingenuity and imagination to have a hope of pulling off the more advanced combinations of moves.

This is all played out through a variety of modes. Whilst there is nothing particularly surprising here, there is plenty to keep you busy whilst you groom a suitable human opponent. There are the obvious must-haves such as the single player story mode, two player versus and practice modes. The most interesting format is the challenge mode that places you in difficult situations from which you have to recover and win. The game still lacks online play, the bane of any fighter game's cannon. The precision timing and super high refresh rates required to provide the direct experience demanded from the fan base makes it nigh on impossible to achieve a satisfactory online experience with current technology. This is where the home console version loses out to its arcade counter-part. Once the game is placed within the social space of an arcade there is no shortage of players ready to step up to the plate and fight. At home you are much less likely to find someone else who has managed to invest the time required to give you a good work out. Leaderboards too take on a whole new meaning in the glare of the arcades, with all in sundry scrutinising the day's performances.

Online not withstanding, these modes can be tackled from the off by any of the initial 24 characters, with many more joining the crew as they are unlocked. Maximum Impact 2 pads out its already impressive roster by again drawing on protagonists from other SNK franchises; Fio from Metal Slug, Richard Myer from the original Fatal Fury and Hanzo Hattori from Samurai Showdown. This is a smart move and should serve to both spice-up the action and draw in players of the other franchises eager to see how their heroes fare in the fighting arena. This is an approach that has also been adopted by Nintendo for their Smash Brothers fighting series.

Graphically, the move to 3D enables the visuals to finally match the richness of the moves and strategies. I always found it hard to believe that there was really all that much to discover in the previous 2D rendering of King of Fighters. Now that the visuals live up to the rest of the game it makes for a more believable and somehow more open experience. The increased fidelity in both detail and animation provide more information for the player to read and work their moves around. This time around they are even confident enough to let you pause the action and check out the graphics from any direction.

The sound too is pretty impressive. This includes the background music and sound effects that all serve to add an increased sense of energy to the whole experience. The inclusion of English voice-work is an added bonus and provides surprisingly good audio signposts to the various moves. And believe me, when you are learning a new character every last bit of information is welcome.

At the end of the day this is a game that delivers because of the direction it has received from Falcoon, SNK's designer. It really seems that his steady hand has made the difference between an average revision of an old series and reinterpreting the spark that made it successful in the first place. It should appeal to both the veteran King of Fighters fan and the newcomer alike, although for a purer King of Fighters experience the fanatics among us may be better served by King of Fighters XI which is being released at the same time.

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By Paul Govan