(LAST UPDATE: 7/3/2009)
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Developer(s): SNK Playmore
Publisher(s): SNK Neo Geo
Platform(s): Xbox
Release Date(s): 2005
Characters:
Alba,
Lien,
Soiree,
Chae
Lim, Mignon,
Kyo,
Iori,
Terry,
Ryo,
Ralf,
Clark,
Yuri,
Athena,
K',
Maxima,
Rock,
Leona,
Seth,
Duke
Related Games:
King
of Fighters 94, King of Fighters 94: Re-bout,
King
of Fighters 95,
King of Fighters 96, King
of Fighters 97, King of Fighters 98, King
of Fighters 98 Ultimate Match, King of Fighters
99, King of Fighters 2000, King
of Fighters 2001,
King of Fighters 2001,
King
of Fighters 2002, King of Fighters 2003,
King
of Fighters XI, King of Fighters XII, King
of Fighters: Maximum Impact, King
of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2, KOF:
Maximum Impact Regulation A, King of Fighters
EX Neo Blood,
King of Fighters EX2 Howling Blood,
King
of Fighters R1, King of Fighters R2, King
of Fighters Collection: Orochi Saga
Story:
Addis was the most powerful gang in
Southtown. Its leader, a man known only as Fate, was considered a modern-day
Robin Hood to the poor and downtrodden. He himself had adopted two twin
brothers, Alba and Soiree Meira, and trained them to be successors to his
legacy. Six months before the in-game events, Fate is killed by Duke, the leader
of the up-and-coming Mephistopheles gang. Duke then proceeds to exploit the poor
to serve his own twisted thirst for power.
In the present day, the Mephistopheles
Fighting Tournament is beginning, with the venue being all of Southtown. The
participants ( Minus the Meira Brothers and Lien.) believe that the tournament
is being sponsored by a charity organization known as the Metatron Foundation,
but they soon learn that its true sponsor is the Mephistopheles gang. However
for Alba Soiree and Lien they are contacted directly by Hyena so they know
Metatron has nothing to do with this.
Review:
Last time I checked, MANIAX is not a word... Not a good start. 
I suppose SNK was thinking something along the lines of "WE were
MANIA(CS) for
giving the characters in King of Fighters: Maximum Impact English voices."
Thus, the Xbox version of KOF: Maximum
Impact fixed the terrible English voices found in the PS2, and put them back the way they
should be... Japanese. At least characters sound like themselves again, and
now the game seems like it's a 3D KOF game at least, instead of seeming like something
from the twilight zone... Although those rigging models might make you think
different. 
The Xbox version
has slightly better graphics than the PS2 original, and also supports online
play for people who actually want to play this game... And I don't know
too many personally, because it's still the same lackluster gameplay. It's
fun to try out your favorite KOF characters in 3D for a little while, but the gameplay in Maximum Impact seems to be
lost "in-between" 2D and 3D. It kind of makes you want to play either a
traditional 2D fighting game or a (real) 3D fighting game. The core gameplay
is all about combos and juggles, and maybe some projectile wars for fun... but that's
about it. You can also sidestep, though it's not all that useful. The Xbox version
also has an exclusive mode that lets you pause the game, and rotate the camera around
the action. You can even snap a picture of the drama, and the effects come out
looking relatively cool when paused.
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5.5 / 10 |
Closing Comment:
MANIAX is definitely a better version than the original, but that's really not
saying much for a 2005 3D fighting game... The roster and overall game is still uninspiring, you'd think maybe
they'd throw in a bonus character or two for the new version? Ahh well, if you have
to play Maximum Impact, at least play this version. ~F.Yagami,
Webmaster
of TFG
