15 years after it’s conception SNK’s King of Fighters series is back with a new game for the current generation of gaming systems.  Boasting hand drawn, high definition sprites and backgrounds alongside the series classic 3 vs 3 2d beat-em up gameplay, there is no doubt that KoFXII is aimed squarely at dethroning Street Fighter 4 and newcomer BlazBlue from the top of the arcade fighter pile, the question is can it do it?

Boasting a healthy selection of 22 playable characters, amazingly the smallest roster of a KoF title to date, made up of returning characters from previous KOF titles alongside characters from SNK’s flagship Fatal Fury series.  There is a great mix of characters to suit all styles of play, so given time to explore each character there is something for everybody, and the 3 on 3 system makes it easy to mix it up and keep players on their toes by covering the weaknesses of certain team members with the strengths of others.

Whilst there are plenty of characters to choose from it’s safe to say that SNK have taken the minimalist approach to game modes.  The only single player mode on offer is arcade mode, which sees you pick your team of 3 fighters to face off against 5 other AI teams in a time trial format, no story and none of the teams that featured heavily in the more recent entries in the series.  Other than the arcade mode there is local multipayer, in a 1 on 1 or 3 on 3 format, a practice mode and online multiplayer.

Thankfully KOFXII has a lag free online experience and I never had an issue finding a game, but as this game has been out for a while outside Europe there is already a pretty hardcore and very skillful player base out there, so don’t expect to be winning straight out of the box as you attempt to make your way up the games long winded online ranking system.

At first glance the game is graphically flawless with a bright vibrant colour palette and some very slick hand drawn sprites and backgrounds, however on closer inspection all is not so well.  It seems in the endless battle of full HD resolution vs. maxing out the AA power of the 360 that SNK have settled for the former, as close inspection reveals that all of the character sprites have very jagged edges, of course this does nothing to dampen the gameplay of the title but is something that certainly fails the titles otherwise pretty high standards.

KOFXII is a fun game and as everything in the game is available from the start with no unlocking required it is great for some fast paced pick up and play action.  This is really helped by the simple controls and fliud gameplay that make it easy for newcomers to the series to actually stand half a chance for their first few games.  However the lack of a story mode or any other single player modes other than time trials really lets the game down as there is very little to keep calling you back to the game apart from the online multiplayer, and there is only so long that repeatedlygetting my ass handed to me on a platter stays fun for.

So does KOFXII knock Street Fighter 4 from its perch?  No, it has a good crack and proves that the competition is hot on Capcom’s heels, but sadly fails to deliver on the complete package that SF4 nailed so well.  For hardcore fans of SNK’s fighters this is still a definate purchase, but for the casual fighter KOFXII should only come after SF4 has lost its charms or if you see it for a great price.

7/10

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