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King of Fighters: Maximum Impact - Maniax

Score: 80%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: SNK Playmore
Developer: SNK Playmore
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1 - 2
Genre: Fighting

Graphics & Sound:

Ultimately, visuals are the biggest perk for playing King of Fighters: Maximum Impact – Maniax. For a series that has staunchly stuck by its guns and remained 2D, it’s really weird to see a number of familiar faces in 3D for the first time. While the game lacks the visual pop of Dead or Alive or SoulCalibur, Maniax still looks great.

The jump to 3D comes with its fair share of pluses and minus. On the plus side, characters now boast a number of costume changes, giving players a little more variety beyond multiple colors. Animations, mostly during moves, benefit from added fluidity. On the downside, the 3D characters don’t have quite the personality they did in 2D. Characters look excellent, but are lacking that “spark” found in the 2D iterations.

For a game with the subtitle “Maximum Impact”, the sound doesn’t make much of one. Punches and kicks sound weak and background music is the typical, over-used guitar riffs and metal chords. In some levels, it works; on others it is just plain annoying. Post match remarks are the only voice work featured in the game with both English and Japanese dialogue options available.


Gameplay:

King of Fighters: Maximum Impact – Maniax once again brings together a collection of fighters to compete in the King of Fighters tournament. The roster brings in a number of familiar faces like Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui, as well as newcomers like Lien Neville and Mignon Beart. Story mode is essentially there to give structure to what would otherwise be a bunch of guys and gals beating the hell out of each other. With the exception of Lien, all characters share the same ending. This will come as a disappointment for those expecting some sort of story, but veterans of fighting games should already know better.

Beyond the Story mode, Maniax also offers a Challenge mode that is broken up into Time Trial and an objective-based Mission mode. Completing objectives in Mission mode unlocks new costumes for each fighter. Rounding out the available modes is Versus mode, which is available in both online and offline versions. Offline fighting is everything you’d expect from a fighting game, but online play is where the real fun is.

Aside from standard one-on-one matches, online play also lets players set up their own tournaments. An online leader board is also available so you boast about your rankings or even challenge players at (or above) your current ranking.


Difficulty:

Story mode really doesn’t offer much of a challenge, at least until you get to the final boss, Duke. As with past games in the series, Maniax relies heavily on stringing combos together – something Duke excels at. Because of this, matches against Duke tend to be frustrating since he’ll usually just trap you in long, endless strings of combos. Players who rely more on skill will fare better than button mashers.

As the name suggests, Challenge mode games are indeed a challenge, but nothing that can’t be overcome with practice. The rewards for completing them are also worth the trouble, offering good motivation to complete them.


Game Mechanics:

The transition to 3D really isn’t a rough one. Players who were at home with any of the previous games should find that things more or less fall right into place with Maniax. As great as this is, it’s also one of the game’s major problems – it feels a little too much like past games. Not to say that other games in the series are bad; there’s just a distinct lack of evolution in the series which leads to it feeling stale. Yes, the game makes the jump into 3D, but even the addition of a third dimension really doesn’t feel like that major a step.

As has been the case with most recent fighters, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact – Maniax will probably appeal more to the hardcore fighting fans rather than the casual player. This is especially true when taking the game online since even some of the mid-tier players will give casual fans a tough time. Still, if you're looking for a fighting game that plays more like a "traditional" fighter, King of Fighters: Maximum Impact -- Maniax might fit the bill.


-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

Windows Risk Your Life (RYL): Path of the Emperor Nintendo GameCube Killer 7

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated