I got KoF 2002 (Neo Geo AES) today :0

[Plisken]

KOF 2002 was, for me, a dissapointing game.

Being a dream match and all i was expecting plenty of new and old faces to use, alas the roster is small and unexciting , where is the boss team, eiji kisaragi , jhun hoon (far better than may lee) , takuma , heidern e.t.c?
even getting rid off King who has been in every KoF to date and fan favourite Shingo is just daft!

Gameplay wise it's very good just like all the others; the HSDM's are a total waste of time though - i don't think i've played a match where they have come in useful at all.

Music is far far better than 2k1 and it's nice to hear some of the old themes remixed, this was one of the best points for me - i'm hoping the dc version has an AST (fingers crossed)

In game artwork is superb, must give credit to this. The in -game avatars look great and the character select screen is well done, win screen art is consistant except mai (who looks about 10 years old )

Backgrounds are also a step up from 2k1 which isn't saying much to be honest, the fact they put in most of the characters i wanted to play as as background cameos was like rubbing salt in a wound, hell it would'nt be so bad if they looked good but most of them have 3 frames of looped animation, look at Krauser ,Hon-Fu and King , it's liek they are having a repeated spastic fit!

Not a bad game by any means but dissapointing as it could have been so much more - maybe playmore is putting 100% effort into snk-capcom chaos - which i cant wait for

[Treble]

Had a good go last night, so I think I?m ready to give some impressions. Two things: one, I haven?t played I that much, so forgive inaccuracies. Two, I have used some stuff from the net as both a guide to changes so that I can comment on them, instead of waiting until I discovered them myself (which would take ages ^^), so you can also blame the internet

Righto. Firstly, there are no strikers. Some people liked them, but the majority didn?t. I was part of the majority. It?s back to three vs three, in the classic stylee. You select your three charas then can arrange the order using the buttons. Against the CPU you choose to fight one of two teams, similar to opponent selection in SF3: Third Strike.

The intro is pretty good. It has some artwork of most of the characters, and some clips of them fighting in a montage. It?s pretty slick, although not as slick as the Garou intro.

The biggest changes to the gameplay are these, taken from www.kofonline.com, which I?ll respond to.

A brand new MAX mode has been implemented

till getting the hang of this. Pressing B+C together puts you into MAX mode when you have at least one super-bar stock. It seems very similar to custom combo in SFZ2, in that attack frames are reduced so that you can combo faster and do more cancels. Like Zero 2, a timer bar runs down (although it?s a lot slower than in Z2, but then so are your movements ? they stay the same speed). If you use a DM or SDM it ends immediately but uses no more super-bar stock when in MAX mode.

SDMs can only be performed in MAX mode

Self explanatory. This is good, as it gets you using MAX early on. MAX mode really opens up the gameplay, although I haven?t put enough time into it to be using it very efficiently. It?s also similar to T.O.P mode in Garou: you flash whilst it?s activated.

The presence of new Hidden SDMs

HSDMs are really hard to pull off. Not only do you need to be in MAX mode, you have to have less than ? energy left, and the command input is really hard. Still, when I got Iori?s Urn of Fire to work, it was pretty cool, and does hella damage.

The rhythm of the gameplay has increased, with lesser recovery time for light basic attacks

This is a fantastic alteration. In comparison to 99 Evolution (the only one with Strikers in that I bothered to buy), it feels a lot quicker, sharper and less stodgy. Rounds zip past, and the game as a whole feels exciting, but without losing precision.

Music seems ok. I?ve heard it?s wank in 2001, and all reports say this is better. I dunno. I pay little attention to BGM. For a 13 year old console, I don?t ask much tbh ^_^
Sound effects are as good and sharp as ever. I read that there is no special anim for Iori vs Kyo fights, and they?re right! Wtf is that about!?!? The stages are a mixed bag. Most of them have SNK characters in the background, which is a nice touch (although seeing King in the Cambodia background is like rubbing your face in the fact that she?s not in the game }=[ ). The stages are:

ITALY: Pisa?s famous tower is in the background. It?s quite good.
HOLLAND: Windmills. No stereotyping there. This is one of the best: there are sheep in the background, each with a letter branded on their sides, spelling ?K??O??F?, and a lamb holds a placard in its mouth with ?02? on it. Heh heh ^^
JAPAN: you fight on a verandah with a garden in the background. Meh.
CHINA: Big palace in the background. It?s ok, but pretty standard.
SOUTH KOREA: You are on a boat with the famous ?63? building in the background (named for the number of storeys it has). The boat rocks in the water and seagulls swirl around. One of the best BGs.
CAMBODIA: Dark and overcast, with electricity sparking from nearby pylons and the marvellous temple of Angkor Wat in the distance, this is the best BG in the game, imo.
MEXICO: Mayan ruins are in the background. It?s pretty good.

With all of these, they have the trademark day/evening/night alterations, and some look better in these forms. Decide for yourself which look the best ^^

I had never used the 2001 characters before, so am trying out Angel, K9999, May etc. Angel is fantastic ? best character I?ve used for a long while.

That?s me done for now. I?ll add more over the weekend.

[MD]

Playmore sent me a copy of KOF 2002 on MVS, although I need to built a supergun and buy an MVS unit to play it...

[Geoff D]

Playmore sent me a copy of KOF 2002 on MVS, although I need to built a supergun and buy an MVS unit to play it...

That was nice of them - they never send me anything...

[Treble]

They never call, they never write....


Were there any specific questions people wanted to ask about the game? Are these impressions useful at all?

[Riskbreaker]

MD: You lucky git

Treble, is the wire system still in place? I thought that was a half decent addition in KoF 2k1.

I'm not sure whether I like the absence of Strikers or not, guess I'll have to wait until I play the game. Even though I didn't really use them in '99, I found them quite useful in '00 seeing as you could call them from anywhere on the screen. What was nice about 2k1 was you could vary your fighter/striker ratio which had an impact on your team and introduced some tactical elements.

I like the sound of the MAX mode although I think I'd prefer to be able to use SDM's outside MAX mode, again I'll have to wait till I play it.

Errrrmmmm, questions, questions .....

ah

Is Vanessa still looking good?

[Treble]

Vanessa is still a hottie

Wire is gone except for counters, sorry! I didn't know that you could call Strikers in from anywhere in 2k. What about in 2k1?

MAX mode is good, and as being in it and using SDMs doesn't use any more bar (other than the bar needed to enter MAX), MAX is more like a 'prompt' for SDMs than anything.

It might be that MAX's ability to cancel makes for superior usage of SDMs, but that'll take some testing before I find out.

[Riskbreaker]

Vanessa is still a hottie

Yeah, its the prompt part that i'm bothered about SDM, i'll likely forget to go MAX when I need to and get my arse kicked all about the shop

[Treble]

Couple more bits:

Speedier recoveries really do alter the game a hell of a lot. The impact of the heavy attacks is more pronounced, and the pace is perfect.

MAX mode is great for cancels. It really adds a great deal of tactical depth without making the game overly complex (well, no more than it already is at any rate). The HSDMs are alright. I only know Iori's atm, but will try and learn some more.

It would have been nice to have a wider range of characters. We need the 'fowl' charas, IMO (Duck, Geese ), and maybe Zero and some of the Garou playaz. There's nothing wrong with the lineup per se, but it could do with a bit more width.