King of Fighters: Maximum Impact

"Laughs at all other reviews"

Having been the only one to play the game apparently, I'd have to say this game is totally and utterly broken. Don't play this if you're looking for a serious fighter.

Firstly, the two new characters are probably the most broken in the entire KOF series. Alba has a fireball that covers the entire frigging screen in about 2 seconds and little to no recovery time for that move. If that doesn't work, he also has a fairly high priority close uppercuty that pretty much hits 1/3 of the screen. Soiree can chain low-kick three times in a row and that move has incredible priority. In fact, me and my friend were able to beat 2 experienced KOF players of 5 years who were using their fave chars, just by chaining Soirees low kick non stop. It can hit people on the ground, it can hit people who are landing, it can hit people standing. And that's not to mention the other moves you can chain from it. It is extremely broken. The storyline reads like a very bad attempt at plaugerising Fatal Fury's. If Terry and Andy were like lame gangster wanna-bes.

Actually, if the game wasn't so damn frigging amusing (in the way B movies are amusing) I'd probably give it a 1. But fortunately (and I suspect coincidentally) the entire game was just too amusing. From the extra costume choices which made me seriously wonder WHAT the char designers were smoking (well, except for most of the females who ACTUALLY looked better in their alt. costumes, except for mai). Terry Bogard in his alternate costume bears a striking resemblance to Tony from GTA: Vice City for some reason, and that's just WRONG. Otoh watching 2 experienced KOF players go 'Noooo!!what's wrong with this game!!' while owning them totally with Soiree alone was worth the time it actually took to play this game. For the sheer amount of times I've laughed out loud while playing this game, it deserves a 5 at least. Just don't take it seriously. It probably helps if you don't really like the KOF series and haven't played many fighting games at all.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/01/04