The King of Fighters XII: Hands On
Earlier today at a nice event in Los Angeles, Gaming Union had a chance to check out the latest build of The King of Fighters XII on PlayStation 3. Having originally been released in Japan over a year ago, it's now being released simultaneously on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 worldwide. The current release date is July 16, 2009 and Ignition Entertainment are publishing the game in North America.
The game itself is actually quite a bit different from the previous King of Fighters games, as strides have been taken to make it much more approachable to non-hardcore fans of the series. Gone is the Tactical Shift system that was introduced in King of Fighters 2003, and in its place is the Critical Counter system. This is activated if a strong attack is landed by a player, as a counter, when in close proximity to the opponent. In the 'critical state', players can link together multiple moves and as it ends, they can perform a special attack.
Another big difference in King of Fighters XII is with the characters. A staple of the King of Fighters franchise has been with the 'teams', but they are gone in this version of the game. Instead, some of the most popular characters have been selected and there are even some old ones returning. This is possible, as like King of Fighters '98 and King of Fighters 2002, King of Fighters XII does not contain a storyline.
To also make things more simple, some of the chosen characters have had their move sets simplified. This means that some moves seen in the more recent iterations of the franchise might no longer work. Again, this been done as an attempt to simply things, but there is still depth there for those who crave it.
The gameplay was actually very smooth. Animations are exceedingly slick, as players will have come to expect, but the graphics were in some cases a bit lacklustre. While attention has been placed on the backgrounds, the character models still seem a bit outdated. The fighting has reverted back to a four-button system, with two buttons for punching and two buttons for kicking. Each has a strong and weak attack, and they can be used in conjunction with each other to perform combos, and also to perform signature moves at different ranges/strengths.
The simpler gameplay helps to create a good dynamic and it's still a lot of fun to play, even if players will have to re-learn some move sets for their favourite characters. Having a more streamlined cast can also make things a bit less confusing, as the old King of Fighters' rosters could seem a bit daunting. It also allows people to create more of a 'dream team'.
King of Fighters XII looks to be a worthy contendor in this division. It has a lot of depth, and a much more streamlined system which should make it accessible to a wider audience. This edition also adds in features such as online play, and clan support in the PlayStation 3 version; features which will surely appeal to general fans of the genre.
Make sure you check back closer to the game's release for our full review.
