Every five years a gang of
plumbers, Pokemon, elves and marshmallows (Kirby, who else?) get together for
a smashing melee. Every three years more than two dozen warriors battle to be
the King of the Iron Fist Tournament.
But only one game brings its
combatants together every 12 months — King of Fighters.
King of Fighters 2006 launches an
attack on 3D gaming with polygons, evasive maneuvers, and more combos than you
can shake a Dual-Shock 2 at.
One glance at the move list
reveals a Tekken-style array of button formations. Roll your thumb across the
bottom of the D-pad (left, left-corner, down, right-corner, right) and tap the
X button to perform one of Athena’s projectile attacks. Press the D-pad toward
your opponent twice in a row followed by the kick button for a double jump
kick. Lien has a number of Hwoarang-style combos, leading off with punches and
ending in a fury of kicks. The brutes have powerful wrestling moves. The
creepy characters perform supernatural techniques that look like they were
born from the seedy side of Soul Calibur. This cast (which amounts to more
than 20 playable characters) makes for one of the most versatile selections
seen in a PS2 fighter.
Characters come in all shapes and
sizes. You’ll encounter and take full control of various brutes, a few
destructive beauties, and a couple of unique warriors who defy fighting game
etiquette. Kula is a fierce attacker on imaginary ice skates. She slides
across the area to strike her opponent with a swift spin, a quirky twirl, and
a deadly thrash. Her moves look like they were taken from athletes
participating in the acclaimed Olympic event. Figure skating doesn’t usually
appeal to me, but it works. It makes her style stand out so much more than a
kick-boxing woman in an army uniform. King of Fighters has got that too, along
with several other familiar character types.
Mignon is another unique
offspring, moving with the finesse of a feline. Sort of. She has a series of
weird moves that she performs from an unusual, cat-like stance. From forward
flip kicks to a continuous punch (that looks like she’s trying to claw your
eyes out), Mignon is a one-of-a-kind fighter.
Here kitty kitty.
King of Fighters comes out
swinging with dozens (seemingly hundreds) of super-fast combos. Each character
attacks quickly and aggressively. The game moves with the speed of a 2D
fighter but has the beautiful shine of the Tekken and Dead or Alive series.
This intensity does not come at the expense of the player – though combos
require immediate response on the player’s behalf, the buttons do not need to
be pushed faster than the character performs the action on screen. While
challenging, this was one of the things that made the 10-hit combos of the
Tekken series, and the Brutalities of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, a little
stressful. King of Fighters 2006’s combos are more traditional (think Virtua
Fighter 1 but with more depth and attack variety).
Final Fight must’ve been pretty
inspiring to these developers, as it has led to a challenge mode that lets you
take out cars, tanks, demolish boulders (into sculptures), and push back
construction vehicles. The goal is just what you’d expect: attack the object
on display with everything you’ve got. If necessary, arrows will show you
exactly where to hit. While not a new mode to gamers by any means, these
battles turned out to be somewhat challenging. Should I use quick strikes or
harder (slower) hits? Longer combos are more effective than a single hit but
are time-consuming. It wasn’t easy to decide, and with a short time limit, I
barely had time to think.
Successfully completing my mission
allowed me to move onto the next, but not before watching the vehicles’
abolishment. It’s one of many cool graphic displays. The majority comes from
attacks, most of which lead to some interesting spark, flash, and explosion
effects.
Set to pummel its polygonal
competition upon its release, King of Fighters 2006 is due this summer. If you
want a fighter to pass through the summer days (and lead you well into fall,
and likely Christmas), look no further. Not only is this potentially one of
the best PS2 fighters of the year, with so many characters and special moves
to master, it shouldn’t have any trouble competing with the big boys on Xbox
360 and PlayStation 3. No die-hard fighting fan should miss it – if you’ve
moved on to the next gen, come back for the King.
