"Killer Instinct II - If you liked the first, you'll probably like the second, if you hated the first, you'll love the second."

Introduction

A lot of people don't like Killer Instinct 2. A lot of people don't like changes, and here there are plenty of those, some bad, some good. The character roster has been changed, cinder, riptor, thunder, and eyedol have all been removed. In there place are Gargos the demonic, ass-kicking gargoyle, Kim-Wu the fast and furious kung fu combo chick, Maya the monkey-looking amazon, and Tusk the... barbarian. In addition to a change in characters, now the background stages are interactive, you can throw your opponents up against and through walls, lights, and even the wing of glacius's fallen space ship. Lets get started, Shall we?

Graphics 10/10

Again, we have a perfect score for graphics, Killer Instinct 2 boasts even better graphics than it's predecessor, sparks fly, pieces fall, rocks break and bolder's shoot from the sky. The Arenas are all beautifully designed, from maya's jungle to spinal's ship. As far as graphics goes, it didn't get any better than this back in 1996. 10/10

Sound 10/10

The soundtrack of this game is absolutely wonderful. The mix of genres are insane, yet they fit together so nicely, you won't even notice they are any different until you think about it. They all flow together with the gameplay and you will love it. The sound effects are super nice, as you knock people through walls you will here the bricks crumble, the ships creak, and the kicks and punches all make the appropriate sounds, the only thing missing here is the announcer yelling out the combo names, I personally liked the announcer but some people didn't and that's okay too, this review is to tell you about the game, not what I like so my rating stands. 10/10

Gameplay 10/10

The combo system has been simplified over the first game, now the basic combo system is more with manual buttons than with directions, although the supers and some of the combo tricks still use directions. The game is much more entertaining because there are multiple endings depending on the characters you play as. Also this time around in my opinion, the endings are much more worth the task of beating the game than in the first. As I have said before, the game is still much more fun playing with a partner. 10/10

Replay Value 8/10 1 Player, 10/10 2 Player

On one player, this time around, the game is much more entertaining, and the task of beating the game seems much more worth it because of the multiple endings. If you are playing alone, you will beat the game to see all the endings and then you will probably stop. If you are playing with a partner the fun never ends, you could rock all night. 8/10 if you are playing solo, 10/10 if you are boogying with a partner.

Overall 10/10

Well, all good things must come to an end just as this review. But when you are finished reading, get yourself a drink, find a source of KI2 and kick some ass with a friend, life doesn't get much better than this. 10/10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/04/04