KOF Maximum Impact

KOF: Maximum Impact is a fighting game for the PlayStation 2, produced by Noise Factory and published by SNK Playmore in 2004. A slightly enhanced version was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF: Maximum Impact - Maniax.

Although marketed as a spinoff of SNK's major fighting series The King of Fighters, from whence many of its characters originate, KOF: Maximum Impact is actually intended as a continuation of the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting series to which the game owes much of its look, feel, and style. KOF: Maximum Impact is the first 3D fighter made by SNK since Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage. The game was followed by KOF: Maximum Impact 2.

Some players have criticized the game for an inferior hit-detection grid, several bugs and exploits, awkward English voice acting (however, the Xbox version included an option to use the original Japanese voice tracks), and a limit on combo damage. Others acclaim the game's originality and depth, and find that the combo limit adds balance and reduces one-sided matches. Further releases (PAL PS2, all regions Xbox) have added a choice of language options. The Xbox version also includes an online match mode where you can play other players via Xbox Live.

Story
Addes 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. Alba, Soiree and Lien are contacted directly by Hyena, so they know Metatron has nothing to do with this.

Story Mode
The story mode is experienced as a single character through the Mephistopheles Fighting Tournament. For most characters, this consists of fighting six characters only, with Duke's cronie / Consigliere Hyena announcing the next opponent between matches. For the final match, one faces Duke himself. However, for a few certain characters: Alba, Soiree and Lien.

Versus Mode
In versus mode, a single match is fought, either against the computer or another player in a single fighter battle or a 3 vs. 3 battle.

Mission Mode
Mission mode has the player complete four levels of 10 missions. Each mission has settings and conditions to be completed. Most of the game's unlockables come through this mode.

Time Attack Mode
In time attack mode, the player has to defeat a number of characters as quickly as possible.

Online Mode
This mode is available only on the Xbox version. You can play with other players online via Xbox live with this option.

Characters
KOF: Maximum Impact has twenty playable characters. Most of the roster, aside from the original characters, is inherited from the King of Fighters series. One noteworthy exception is Rock Howard, brought in from the most recent Fatal Fury chapter, Garou: Mark of the Wolves. Six additional characters were created for the game, four of whom have a deeper connection to the main plot than the others the four being Alba Meira, Soiree Meira, Lien Neville and Seth. However, Seth's role was downplayed somewhat in the second title seeing as he is not an original character to this series but a prominent face from the 2D King of Fighters storyline.

The characters' alternate costumes were conceived as alternate personalities, but little is made of this in terms of gameplay, as their move lists and dialogue remain the same. Some alternate costumes are radically different from the defaults, such as Terry's Garou: Mark of the Wolves look, Clark's professional wrestler persona, and Leona's outfit that makes her look more Rambo-like. In addition to the alternate costumes, characters can be modified with unlockable "rigging models," which add details to the available costumes, such as a wolf mask for Terry, a Mr. Karate mask for Ryo and Yuri, and a party hat and banner for Seth.

The new characters added to the series (and created exclusively for this spin-off series) are: