Still king?
2D fighting games will likely be remembered as the pinball of the 90’s, and like so many popular genres of yesterday’s technology, have for the most part fallen by the wayside. It’s not so much that they ever became less fun to play, but instead were the victim of greedy, lazy developers that recycled character sprites way too many times for far too long. The King of Fighters is such a series. After it’s initial debut in 1994, the series quickly gained ground on the established and well respected Street Fighter II. A rivalry developed between Capcom and SNK that lasted for nearly 10 years, and fans of both were quick to defend their loyalties. Ironically, the 2D fighting series that was once one of the best saw no real significant updates all these years until it’s transition to 3D in 2004 with King of Fighters: Maximum Impact for PlayStation 2. Now some eight months later we have the Xbox Live enabled port of the game, titled The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact Maniax for the Xbox.
How did the translations go?
Well firstly, I’m happy to say that the transition from 2D to 3D went very smoothly. Maniax is not the first 2d fighter to make the transition to 3d, but it is definitely the best attempt the fighting genre has ever seen. This game plays exactly like a 2d fighter. Controller input is responsive and quick, with no significant animation lag, and the action and combos are fast and fluid. Up jumps, down ducks, back blocks - it’s 2D in every sense of the phrase, minus the sprites.
Unfortunately in doing such, the game plays exactly like every other KOF game before it. Returning characters have the same move sets they’ve had for their entire gaming careers, with no noticeable differences. A total of 20 characters are available, which is better than average for a fighting game - 14 returning favorites, 5 new characters and one unlockable boss. Fans of the series will be happy to know that Mai is in the roster, and make no mistake, she made the translation and then some (yikes!). If you decide to delve deeper into Maniax’s gameplay, you will find a variety of guard breakers, counter-attacks, throw and roll counters and evasive sidestepping moves that allow you to circle around your opponent. Maniax also uses the familiar 3-bar super meter system.
What does this game have to offer?
Bare bones is the name of the game, as the translation from PS2 to Xbox leaves much to be desired. Even the Xbox’s first fighting game Dead or Alive 3 trounces this game in the visuals department. Remember, this began as a PS2 game and it shows. Not even widescreen or progressive scan make an appearance. And with the exception of the Ancient Ruins stage, the music is entirely forgettable. A shame too because that stage’s music added a layer of atmosphere the rest of the game seriously lacks. Story? Nope. Each character has the same lame story and same horrible excuse for an ending. And the story mode itself is only 5 or 6 rounds long and then a ridiculously cheap boss, complete with a hard-to-block "blow up the entire screen" super move that takes off half of your life, sometimes more. He’s not shy about employing cheap tactics to pull out a last second win either, even on "beginner" difficulty.
Accompanying the story mode is the Challenge mode, which are a bundled series of battles (for each character) with specific win conditions such as "Land a 10-hit combo", and a Time Attack mode. A few costumes and character profiles are unlockable through these modes. Practice mode is also present, giving you the option of senselessly beating another character that doesn’t fight back. Live subscribers will find endless challenge online in Xbox Live matches, most of which run entirely lag-free and of course support voice chat (though nobody likes to use it). Standard quick and optimatches are available, as well as tournament play for up to 128 participants. Good luck finding more than a few to play with.
A few minor oversights also managed to make their way into the game. For one there are no "end of round" character animations or anything - your character just stands there doing nothing. Actually that’s not true, you can still move, but there is no animation or taunt - not until the end of the 3rd round. Also for whatever reason you are allowed to freely move before the "Fight!" at the start of the round, but only on rounds 2 and 3, not 1. Why? I have no idea. The fact that the AI remains completely still until the word "Fight!" leads me to believe it was accidental. Also, while playing 2-player versus, the "random" stage select seems to randomly select the same stage over and over again. While these "bugs" or "oversights" really don’t affect the overall quality of the game, it definitely falls in step with the recycled sprite phenomena and cheapens the experience.
So why play?
Most 2D fighting game fans will likely tell you that the three most important rules of fighters are gameplay, gameplay and gameplay. Maniax definitely has it, but not much else. After all is said and done I find myself left with the feeling that I haven’t seen anything new, and that I have an even greater hunger for that newly redrawn sprite-based KOF sequel I always wanted but never got. Hardcore fans of the series will probably want to give this game a go, but for casual fans, understand that this game may get old pretty quick. Beyond the classic feel of KOF gameplay, it really just doesn’t have much to offer.
