King of Fighters returns to the Playstation 2 this month in it’s usual form, the game has always been a pretender to Street Fighter’s crown and in this latest version the same can be said again.
The game boasts a generous 47 characters in all, with 14 of these hidden at the beginning of the game, most of the characters can be unlocked using challenge mode by completing the various conditions set by the game. Each character has his/her own move which are very varied in style, in fact some characters can even change styles which adds an interesting twist to the game.
The latter stages of the game prove very challenging indeed and are very difficult to get through, yes Street Fighter is a breeze compared to this and perhaps this is the games saving grace, because it will take you a while to master but once you do then you will be rewarded by a sense of achievement that many games these days don’t tend to offer.
Presentation wise this game shows nothing new or particularly exciting, it really is quite basic in this respect and everything just seems to take a long time to happen such as loading and the actual matches themselves.
Conclusion
King of Fighters XI may not be everyone’s perfect game, in some ways it feel very dated, however scratch underneath the surface and you will find a very rewarding game that you might just enjoy.
- KOF XI Game Play Features:
- Total of 11 teams; 47 Characters, including 3 all new characters to the franchise
- Exclusive PS2 characters: Mai Shiranui, Mr Big, Geese Howard, Tung Fu Rue, Robert Garcia, Hotaru Futaba, & EX Kyo Kusanagi
- 7 Playable Boss Characters – Adelheid Bernstein, Gai Tendo, Sho Hayate, Jazu, Silver, Shion & Magaki
- Fast paced action all the way – 3 new abilities added QUICK SHIFT, SAVING SHIFT & DREAM CANCEL, as well as the new JUDGEMENT SYSTEM & the introduction of SKILL STOCKS.
- Various modes of play including: Arcade Play, Team Play, Endless, Challenge and Practice
- 14 New Endings not present in the arcade version
- Colour Edit Mode
- 4 New Stages, exclusive to the home console
- 10 New Music Tracks
