“From the ashes of its predecessor, The King of Fighters XIII rises to restore the series to its rightful place in the fighting genre spotlight” says Gamespot awarding an 8.5 score which I fully agree with.
The King of Fighters XII left the gamers wondering why things weren’t perfect in the 2009-released predecessor despite the solid mechanics. Now the game has made a big comeback with lots of new content which I loved. It’s because of these great additions and the proper handling of all the issues of the older game that has made The King of Fighters XIII eligible for comparison alongside all the other popular fighter games.
The Storyline
The storyline is pretty simple with the presence of two teams having three members each. When one fighter goes down, another fighter replaces him and so on until the entire team is exhausted. The game offers great movement options and once you master them you become proficient in smart positioning and timing. The movement options comprise four kinds of jumps and a roll which you have to perfect by continuous practice so that you can move across the battlefield quickly.
You have three main gauges to be handled in the game:
- The Hyperdrive gauge controls the stylish movements; with this gauge you get to activate Hyperdrive mode and also change certain special attacks into others
- The Power gauge concentrates on the offensive with emphasis on desperation moves
- The Guard gauge runs out changing you into a crumpled form as long as you are on the defensive, so you better watch out
Strengths of The King of Fighters XIII
- The game is flexible
- All the characters have the same amount of strength and capabilities
- No worries if you are a beginner because you have a lot of instructional tools to help you get started
- Well-planned combo trials
- Addition of several modes such as the story mode and the mission mode
- Detailed environments
- Fantastic online experience
- The color edit mode that gives ample scope for customizing your fighter’s color patterns as per your choice
- Solid fighting mechanics
- Excellent presentation
- Detailed and well-defined stages that are aplenty
- Most of the issues of the KoF XII have been fixed successfully
Concluding Note
Agreed, a few flaws like the cheap boss characters and the same old music that has been playing over the last several years (though the sound effects are good) do exist. But one has to admit that there have been a lot of improvements in the online play and addition of modes over KoF XII and with that said, I’m sure you are in for some good entertainment when you experience this 2D fighter game.