King Of Fighters: Maximum Impact

SNK’s King of Fighters series has been a perennial presence on the 2D fighting game scene for many years now and has gained quite the extensive fan base. Last year, a 3D incarnation of the series, Maximum Impact, was released on the PS2. The game featured the stock characters and favorites of the series and a similar feeling in the gameplay set in full 3D, with polygonal representations of the formerly 2D sprite characters. Now, an Xbox port of the game is in the works, featuring Xbox Live support for online gamers. If you are a fan of the King of Fighters series and missed the PS2 version, then the online support should make the Xbox version of King of Fighters the one to check out when it releases later this May.

King of Fighters: Maximum Impact marks the return of many of your favorite King of Fighters characters, including Terry Bogart and Iori Yagami as well as newbies like Chae Lim and Soiree Meira, as they duke it out through a few different modes, like the Story and Challenge Modes. Story Mode follows your character as they battle it out with other fighters under the direction of a member of Southtown’s Mephistopheles gang, and Challenge Mode gives your character a series of difficult missions to complete.

Even though Maximum Impact marks a jump for the series to 3D, the gameplay still feels very similar to the other entries to the franchise. The gameplay and the controls are still very much rooted in 2D, kind of like other 2D to 3D fighting games like Street Fighter EX and Mortal Kombat 4. You fight on a 2-dimensional plane, moving forward and back, jumping and ducking, basically like you do in other King of Fighters games. Your characters can perform most of their classic moves the same way they always could, and you can sidestep your opponents attacks to get the drop on them and counter their moves.

The main addition in the Xbox version of King of Fighters: Maximum Impact is the new online elements. On top of the standard one-on-one elements in the multiplayer where you can face off against a buddy on one Xbox, you can now throw it down against gamers all across the country. There is even a way to now save your matches onto your Xbox hard drive and peruse them later to check out your mistakes and adjust your fighting tactics.

The graphics look pretty good, although not really improved at all from the PS2 version. Still, the character models look nice, and mark a fluid transition for the formerly 2D characters into the 3D realm. The environments are also pretty cool, with realistic lighting effects and some great moments of interaction. The music is what you’d find in an SNK fighting game, and the sound and voice effects are pretty much the same as other King of Fighters.

Maximum Impact probably won’t dazzle you all out or give you an extreme amount of 3D fighting depth, but should be a good time for fans of the series or 2D fighting games in general. Plus, the addition of Live support should sweeten the deal for those thinking about the Xbox version over the PS2.