Review: King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2 (PS2)

The transformation to 3D can be daunting one. One mistake and it could turn the whole game into a complete mess. This is what happened with the first Maximum Impact - a 3D version of the cult King of Fighters series that had fans up in arms. However you've got to feel sorry for the developers because even before the game got released it was receiving abuse from the hardcore faithful all commenting it was rubbish before they even played it. This will no doubt happen with Maximum Impact 2, which is a shame because this is a far pleasanter experience than Gamestyle possibly imagined.

The story is the main mode of play and although it's the standard go through each opponent one after the other it's slightly marred by some terrible voices, amongst other things. To us the story makes no sense at all. Each character (24, including some unlockable ones) has a specific story as to why they're entering the King of Fighters tournament and each one as ridiculous as the last. The story not helped at all by the absolutely dire English voices and script. It's not even bad in a funny way, it's so bad that we wanted them to shut the hell up so we could get on with the fight. We remember one storyline about someone being angry at their boyfriend and another one was about aliens. We were left completely bemused.

Things came together though when the actual fighting began. SNK have been very clever in avoiding the mistake that plagued the Street Fighter EX series in which gameplay-wise it didn't feel like a classic Street Fighter game. Maximum Impact 2 is at the other side of the spectrum. This could very much a 2D game in 3D clothes. Adding an extra dimension hasn't changed gameplay at all with the same methodical fighting mechanic in place. If you approach a King of Fighters game expecting it to play like a Street Fighter or Darkstalkers then you'll be in for quite a shock. Unlike those games KOF is more slow and combo based, making sure that button bashers need not apply. All of your moves can be accessed through the start menu and they really need to be studied if you're going to get anywhere on the harder difficulties. It's definitely a challenging fighter and if you don't have the patience to study a particular character then you're in for a rough ride.

A number of new elements have been added to the game since the last version, the most notable one being the parry system. This is just another way of blocking an opponent and hitting back while his guard is down. Naturally the special moves which takes up what is known as a "power stock" cannot be parried and you'll have to use the new sidestep attack or just a simple dodge to avoid it. SNK have really added a lot of depth to the fighting which is something to be applauded and while not as technical as a Virtua Fighter release it's still more tactical than most 3D fighters.

Aside from the story mode there are also challenges. These can range from your standard modes that are found in all fighters these days such as survival and time attack to more unusual ones. These come in the form of the extra missions, while some are very reminiscent of Street Fighter 2 (having to wreck a car brought back some memories) others are quite unusual such as defeating a steamroller and fighting a tank from the Metal Slug series.

While the gameplay is impressive the graphics are simply passable. Not exactly offensive to the eye they still lack the sheen found in a Tekken or Soul Calibur. One accolade that Maximum Impact 2 should hold up high though is the award for having the most bounciest breasts ever seen in a video game. Just one step from a female character and they'd bounce around as if there'd been in an earthquake. The Dead or Alive series has now certainly been relegated to second place when it comes to female attributes.

At the end of the day we don't quite know who SNK plan on selling this game to. On the one hand the die hard KOF fans will be appalled at the 3D makeover, and on the other side of the fence the casual fighting fans won't know anything about this series and opt for a more familiar game like Tekken or Street Fighter. It's quite sad when what we have here is a solid beat em up that really deserves quite a bit of attention. It's not the best fighting game on the PS2, but for the budget price which it's being released at, it's certainly worth a shot.

Rating: 7 / 10

Words by Adam Gulliver