King of Fighters: Neowave Review (no fat)

Game Description

King of Fighters: Neowave is one of the most popular fighters around. It built its large fan base on a foundation of simple and fun gameplay, requiring good reflexes and some tactical skill, but not to the level where it turns a fighting game into a game of chess.

Like the name says, the game is a new wave in the King of Fighters series. Meant to be a step further in the already well standing series of fighters.

King of Fighters: Neowave Gameplay

Although King of Fighters: Neowave intended to take King of Fighters further in its evolution; this doesn't mean that everything has changed. In fact, many things remained just like you knew them, or (re)appeared without any innovations. SNK teased players worldwide with two excellent trailers that reminded many of us how we used to lose nights (and study) playing King of Fighters.

The gameplay in Neowave is just as you used to know it. You have the same character selection screen, and the same three-character teams that compete one-on-one until one of the teams is defeated completely.

The character selection screen is where you will notice something has changed. The graphics look smooth and the characters, while not radically changed in the way they are drawn, look sharper and clearer. It's also a good thing to see Geese again, in his younger version, which was once available for unlocking. On the other hand, May Lee is not included, something which may disappoint many players.

Changes in artwork can also be seen in the levels. In essence, they are exactly like they used to be: cleanly drawn, not disturbing and well integrated. This has been kept, with an overall impression of sharpness and attention to detail. They also seem to be a little bit more dynamic than they used to be, but this does not make them disturbing for the player. However, in some cases, the palette is not the best around, making some levels look a few tones away from resembling a parrot.

King of Fighters: Neowave - Control Freak

Neowave makes the transition to a new control system. Compared to previous versions, there is one extra button, which toggles what is known as Heat mode. In Heat mode, you can obtain extra power for a hit, at the cost of health. Although it sounds interesting, it's not exactly useful if you come to think of it, and it sometimes gets triggered accidentally.

There are three other available modes in KoF: Neowave. These modes are an interesting addition, because they builds the foundation of many tactical possibilities.

The Super Cancel Mode is quite similar to the Advanced Mode in King of Fighters 98. This is based on three meters that stack up and fill, allowing you to use a number of Super Techniques. You can also cancel some moves to catch your opponent with a neat sneak attack.

The Guard Break Mode is quite familiar to those of you who have played Garou: Mark of the Wolves. It enables you to parry any kind of normal attack with a single button press, and is one of the most useful modes in the game.

The third mode is the Max2 Mode, which will probably remind you of a feature from Samurai Shodown. The Max2 Mode works almost like the Super Cancel Mode, but there is only one meter which enables you to unleash only one very powerful attack and to release counter-attacks while in guard.

These modes ensure that King of Fighters: Neowave is not a single-possibility game, where you either attack all the time or get beaten. This is not the case here. You can adopt a more defensive tactic and sneak powerful blows, or adopt a normal, neutral style, just as well as you can keep pouring punches the whole match. The modes themselves are not new or innovative in any way (they were either present in older KoF games, or in other games not related to the series), but they are implemented well.

Despite the new features, King of Fighters: Neowave's gameplay follows the tradition of the series. It remains just as simple, fun and enjoyable as it used to be. The transition from one hardware platform to another went smoothly enough not to have any noticeable hardware-related glitches.

King of Fighters: Neowave Art

In addition to the improved character and level art, the sound side of the game has gone through some improvements as well. The sounds have a superior quality (better encoding), and the "voiceplay" sounds more realistic. The game is also more plot-driven than it used to be, making it deeper and maybe more involving at times.

King of Fighters: Neowave Price

You can preorder the game for $19.99, which is a bargain for the quality of entertainment on offer.