King of Fighters 2006

[Gabriel]

I'm really trying to write a nice capsule review for this game, but every draft I write reads like shit. So, in case I don't get the review written, here's a little bit of raving and complaining.

 

First off, if you liked KOF: Maximum Impact, definitely get King of Fighters 2006. KOF:MI was like a demo disc for this game. King of Fighters 2006 just has so much more stuff and actually feels like a full game. SNK has FINALLY backed a passable 3D fighter.

 

The graphics weren't upgraded that much (this game is still competing with Bloody Roar 3 from 2001, not Soul Calibur 3 or Tekken 5 from 2005). But the character roster has exploded with almost 40 characters, each with at least two distinct costumes and 8 color pallettes for each. In fact, some of the color swaps are actually separate costumes in their own right. In addition there are an acceptable number of play modes to keep you entertained, still not as many as the average Namco fighter, but enough to keep you busy.

 

The default difficulty for story mode is extremely easy. But that's what the options screen is for. And there are definitely a varity of difficulties available in other sections of the game.

 

I haven't listened to the Japanese language track yet, but the English one is horrible. The game is also subtitled, and there are frequent mistakes in those subtitles. I'm not sure if this was just a slapdash job or some kind of true homage. My friend and I were of the opinion that a lot of the dialogue had quite a bit of homosexual innuendo, but we're naturally immature. We both also agreed that there was more than a little streak of misogyny in this game. But chicks don't care as long as you're a real man's man and can put them in their place, right?

 

Finally, it's $30. If you liked KOF, give this one some love.

[Jess Ragan]

Are the environments as banal as they were in the last game? Dead or Alive 3 had spoiled me on sprawling playfields with lots of interaction and breakable objects. Once you've thrown your opponent off a bridge or a cliff, or sent him rolling down a flight of stairs, it's very hard indeed to go back to static stage designs.

 

JR

[keilbaca]

Still 3d? ewww. I'll stick to KoF XI that's in the arcade at Ingram and the Jap import.

[Gabriel]

Are the environments as banal as they were in the last game? Dead or Alive 3 had spoiled me on sprawling playfields with lots of interaction and breakable objects. Once you've thrown your opponent off a bridge or a cliff, or sent him rolling down a flight of stairs, it's very hard indeed to go back to static stage designs.

 

The environments are exactly the same as in the last game. So far all the arenas I've seen are mechanically a square area bordered by a wall. The only breaking of the scenery you get to do is if the background has tiles on the floor, which nicely crack and shatter when characters are bashed into the floor hard enough.