SAMURAI SHODOWN 5

Old school gamers rejoice!  Samurai Showdown V is coming to America on the Xbox.  For some of you reading this you can stop reading now because you know what to expect and what you will get from SSV.  But for those of you SSV is a classic 2D fighter with tight game play, relentless AI and Xbox Live support.  At E3 2005 SNK was showing off an early build of the game that was a little rough but wetted by appetite for the game.

The Samurai Showdown series is another long running series of 2D fighters made by SNK that incorporates weapons in the mix.  This was the biggest change when the first SS game was released was the introduction of the weapons.  Most 2D fighters at the time were the straight hand to hand action but SS changed that up.  The weapons didn’t really revolutionize the gaming market but it did help create another franchise for SNK.  Besides this being the fifth game in the series there was also a SS RPG game.  Please SNK, bring out the SS RPG!  Oh, sorry, anyway on to the SSV.

The graphics for the game are still based upon the classic 16-Bit AES system that has powered countless SNK games.  This means you don’t get a revolutionary visual flare in the game but you do get a game that looks like a classic 2D fighter.  The version at E3 was still early so the game wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked and there was a little slowdown.  But that could have been a glitch on the system I was on because when I moved over to another unit the game played smoother.  SNK fans will be pleased with the appearance of the game but fans expecting Guilty Gear type graphics will be a little disappointed.

The gameplay is really where the SS series has shined since it’s developed by one of the originators/innovators of the 2D fighting genre.  The gameplay in the demo was still as tight and responsive as to be expected.  I was pulling off special moves from the previous versions in no time.  The controls were excellent and the only big issue being the Xbox controller.  I should have asked SNK if there is anyway of getting the classic Neo Geo controller reissued for Xbox since a reissue for the PS2 was just released. 

Even though the game on display was early and a little buggy SSV was still a treat for me to play.  Xbox fans can look forward to the game in October of this year.  SNK is still trying to work with Sony on getting a Playstation 2 version released but there are some issues that need to be ironed out first.  So if you have a PS2 and you want SSV, then you better get an Xbox. 

For All E3 2005 Previews