With heavy hitters like Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibre and, to a lesser extent, Mortal Kombat, dominating the fighting arena, anyone jumping into the ring with anything less than a top drawer I’m- so – slick I slide next gen title is surely heading for a world of pain.

If this were any other game we were reviewing that would almost certainly be the case. But the thing with SNK’s iconoclastic beat ‘em up’s is that they simply play by their own rules.

Rather than opting for the en vogue ultra-realistic, urban brawler-type game that seems to be the norm, King of Fighters stubbornly remains so old school it should come packaged with an afro and flairs.

The original game made its debut on SNK's Neo-Geo MVS arcade hardware in 1994 . A hazy distant past when most people thought ‘internet’ was something you got at the hairdressers and CD stood for Cool Dude (you just made that up – Ed).

At that time every fighting game was 2D and Street Fighter and King of Fighters were the undisputed kings of the castle. Fast forward to 2007 and, for King of Fighters producers, SNK at least, not much has changed. This year SNK and Ignition have released not one but two King of Fighter games – King of Fighters XI and King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2.

Let’s talk about Maximum Impact 2. First off the bat, take a look at the screen shots that accompany this review. Notice anything different from Street Fighter? Yes, Maximum Impact 2 is in 3D. Once this would have been a concession we never thought we’d see, but SNK made the transition with the first Maximum Impact game and have never looked back. And, you know what? It looks great.

MI2 still retains the unashamedly retro line –up we’ve all come to know and love. Characters for this game have been taken straight from the SNK hall of fame and dusted down for some fast and furious street brawling. From the starting line-up of 24 characters you’ll quickly recognise old favourites from other SNK franchises; Fio from Metal Slug, Richard Myer of Fatal Fury fame and the excellent and under-rated Hanzo Hattori from Samurai Showdown. There are also a selection of newcomers here, such as Nagase and Luise Meyrink , to give the game a ‘modern’ feel.

With the introduction of the 3D visuals, gamers were treated to a more realistic and, dare we say it, challenging title. MI2 hopes to build on that success with an improved graphics engine and a greater emphasis on defence as a means of turning the tide of combat.

To do this, MI2 offers gamers two brilliant defensive moves: the super cancel and counter strike. Once mastered, these abilities allow skilful gamers the opportunity to block an attack and launch your own blistering combo on your opponent. Class.

Naturally there will be many players who will prefer to scrap through the game arbitrarily mashing buttons. This will only work for a short time. After the initial couple of bouts, players will quickly realise that MI2 is a game that rewards skill, timing and precision. Anything less and you’ll be kissing tarmac time and time again.

One last word on the visuals and we promise to move on: although the characters are well modelled, the lack of detail in both the fighters and generic arenas will undoubtedly disappoint gamers weaned on the likes of Soul Calibre and Virtual Fighter. ‘Nuff said.

MI2 comes with the obligatory story mode which basically consists of various reasons to knuckle up against a host of opponents and unlock new characters as you progress. Once you’ve learnt the combo’s you may find this a pretty quick section of the game. There are only seven stages, although the final boss character, Jivatma, does take a while to subdue.
There’s also the two player option where you get to beat your mates like a drum and then there’s the challenge mode. We liked this a lot. Here you’ll find unique scenarios such as facing a Metal Slug, beat ‘em up staples such as time attack and survival modes which, once completed, allow you to unlock extra costume colours for your character. Worthy of an honorable mention is section offering a beat em up with an RPG element mixed in. In this challenge you get to face off against 200 brawlers and every time you win you have the option to improve various aspects of your character such as adding time, health or power to the super meter.

As in other SNK games, the audio here is passable. The inclusion of English voice acting is somewhat reminiscent of the martial arts movies of the 1970’s. Sweet but sadly laughable. But this is a fighting game. Talking is for wimps.

Unfortunately, MI2 still lacks an online mode which would have done a lot to pull in new fans. Perhaps this is a feature that SNK will put at the top of their ‘to do’ list for next year.

As we’ve said before, King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 is an old school, retro game with a new school suit on. Beneath all the gloss and shine, it’s essentially the same game envisioned by SNK in 1994. Although boasting little that can be classed as ‘new’ or ‘innovative,’ MI2’s combat system works brilliantly, the characters are colourful and familiar and, if you’re looking for a great way to waste away hours of your life, then this is it. A flairs wearing, afro combing blast from the past for you’re a&h**ip;(Hey! – Ed). Recommended.