Platform: PS3
Rating: T (for Teen)
Publisher: SNK Playmore / Ignition Entertainment
Release Date: 7/28/2009
Genre: Fighter

King of Fighters XII brings the 15 year franchise a few additions for it’s anniversary.  The KOF series has always been a pretty standard fighting game, and XII is no different.  There’s still a light and heavy punch, and light and heavy kick, with the majority of the moves your characters pull-off controlled by the D-pad/joystick.  There’s a 3 on 3 team play style that lets you play with multiple characters throughout one round, versus the one against one style of most fighting games.

This update to the series has undergone some series graphic upgrades.  Each 2D sprite took over a year to render, which means we get some pretty amazing looking characters in HD.  Since this is still a 2D fighting game, the way it looks is pretty important, and this looks fantastic.  Because of the time constraints on recreating characters, there’s 22 combatants to choose from, which is a small number compared with previous installments, but there’s enough variety to not be a detriment to the game.  In fact, due to the 3 on 3 team play style, picking the right combination of characters can take a bit of strategy as you figure who may have to fight against who in the 3 rounds.

There are a few updates to the fighting like the Critical Counter system that lets you throw down some pretty deadly combos when the meter is filled up.  There’s also a Clash System that pushes players back away from each other when you manage to pull moves off at the exact same moment.  There’s also the ability to cancel moves if you can pull it off at the right time for the right damage to send your opponent back.

Overall, KOF XII is a pretty decent fighter, worth of it’s franchise and genre.  I can’t guarantee though that if you’re not big into the series or fighters in general that it’s going to be worth it’s price tag.  If you’re in it for a good fight, with great graphics, it’s worth it, otherwise, rent it as soon as you get the chance.  It’s definitely an experience.  Also, unless you’re seriously bent on playing online, I recommend staying away from online play.  There’s a confusing menu system, and it’s hard to get into a good match.