KOF 13 ONLINE PLAY SERIES

The problem wasn't constant, but it happened enough for us to take note. While this wasn't as gamebreaking an issue as it was in KOF XII, it was enough to be an annoyance in online play. In our online play session, we experienced some input lag during matches. The game has seen some improvements to the online component, but it still leaves something to be desired. The key to winning matches is filling up your gauges and utilizing special moves like MAX Cancels and NEO MAX moves, which require a decent amount of timing and practice to get right. The new Hyperdrive gauge fills up when you perform prompted moves or tasks, and lets you perform Drive Cancels, where you stop special move at just the right time to earn bigger combos and more damage to your opponent. The Guard Attack, Clash, and Critical Counter systems have been replaced with EX Special moves, Hyperdrive Mode, and super-powered NEO MAX moves, with the game emphasizing bigger moves driven by your gauges for attacks.

The combat mechanics have gotten some changes from the last game as well. While you can create your own team of three when playing through the arcade mode, the story requires you to play in pre-chosen groups of three, with each team featuring their own specific relation for example, there's a team of Fatal Fury fighters as well as a team of Art of Fighting characters and so on. The characters are divided into specific teams. King of Fighters XIII features more than 30 fighters from the series, drawing the roster from existing fighting games in SNK's fighting library. In order to win, you'll have to take down all three of your opponent's fighters, or vice versa.

Instead, the fights unfold in elimination style matches where you select the order of your three fighters and face them off against another team of three. However, you won't be able to switch out your characters on the fly as you can in other 3v3 fighting games like Marvel vs. The traditional one-on-one mode returns, but the real focus here is on three-on-three combat. The storyline concludes the Ash Crimson story arc that began in King of Fighters 2003, but as it's presented here, is convoluted and hard to follow. The Story mode is probably the biggest addition to the KOF formula, and includes some cut-scenes that highlight some of the behind the scenes interactions with the characters in the game. To make up for the dearth of gameplay modes in KOF XII, SNK has included several new ones this time around, including a Story Mode, a Mission Mode for mastering individual characters' move sets, and a few other new modes. However, The King of Fighters XIII aims to fix the issues that players had, and for the most part succeeds. The last game in the series, King of Fighters XII, was criticized for its poor online performance and lack of modes. The franchise has stuck to its guns, staying firmly set in 2D and offering some improvements here and there while maintaining its general look and feel over the years. Now in its 13th iteration, SNK's flagship arcade fighter has been gobbling up quarters for over a decade, combining the rosters of several SNK fighters, like Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting, and even some non-fighting games like Ikari Warriors.

KOF 13 ONLINE PLAY SERIES

Regardless of where you stand on the franchise, you can't deny that the King of Fighters series is certainly prolific.

Kof 13 online play