The King Of Fighters XII

The King of Fighters XII

Rating: T

Score: 5.5/10

This is a classic old-school fighting game reborn into modern times again (obvious by the “XII” in the title, which is roman numerals for 12, meaning it had many predecessors). Likely, you probably haven’t heard of the series, and I can’t blame you, I’ve never heard of it either. It obviously was a hit at some point in its life, but it must’ve been outclassed by the likes of Street Fighter, the game that basically made fighting games what they are today. Does this game top Street Fighter 4, or does it get lost in the dust again? This game is available on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and even arcades.

The core gameplay is nothing more than a simple 2D fighting game. You fight, you win, you move on. No story mode, nothing to draw you in, nothing. It’s as simple as you can possibly make it. You can do special moves (which are all represented by explosions for some reason), combos, and guard. The game has a “critical counters” system though, if you land a strong counter hit to your opponent, you can get a bunch of free shots on him while he can’t do anything.

There’s also a “clash” system where if you land a hit while your opponent lands the same hit at the same time, they neutralize and both of you are sent back flying back. It’s kind of a cool effect, but it’s a fairly rare thing that you both use the same move at the same time. That might be depending on luck too much.

The graphics are acceptable but nothing amazing for this day and age. The characters are nicely animated, though.

There’s really little else to talk about, that’s the whole game in a nutshell. It’s so simple and plain that there’s nothing else to talk about without nip-picking for errors/good quality. Not to say it’s terribly boring, but it’s terribly plain – it’s nothing like today’s fighters.

Street Fighter 4 for example had much more in the fighting system: A story, better fighting system, better graphics, and overall was more enjoyable. That’s what games are about, how enjoyable they are. If you can’t play a game for fun, why even play it at all? It just becomes a chore.

There might have been modes I didn’t talk about, but I can’t think of any notable ones. It’s pretty bad when the game is so forgettable that you only remember the stripped fighting system afterwards. The only notable feature was the critical counter, which was almost a cheap way to win a match if you perfected it. It’s not like it’s something you can easily do, but it’s still unavoidable if it happens. The “clash” system is worth noting again, not that it adds much but it’s there.

Overall, it’s a plain game. There’s little to say if there’s little to the game. You’ve got the core gameplay, a couple of neat features, and not much else. It’s like the “empty abyss” of fighting games: there’s little to nothing there, but it’s “there” enough to be able to acknowledge its existence.