Genre: Fighting
Publisher: SNK Playmore
Developer: SNK Playmore
Release Date: August 22, 2006

A decade ago, SNK used to be one of the reigning kings of fighting games. It and Capcom were locked in a battle for arcade supremacy, and while Capcom normally won out in most territories, NeoGeo MVS stand-ups could still be seen in almost every arcade in the world. Sometimes you'd see the odd Tekken or Virtua Fighter machine, but more likely, it'd be some iteration of Mortal Kombat instead. Soul Calibur? Nowhere to be found.

Those days are over.

In arcades, Tekken and Soul Calibur are everywhere now, Virtua Fighter rules Japan, and you may see the odd Street Fighter or Marvel cabinet in places that don't really cater to hardcore fighting fans. Heck, as a whole, arcades have been dying for years, and you're more likely to find a sit-down racer or Dance Dance Revolution than a fighting game. Even on consoles, Street Fighter's been reduced to historical compilations, while 3D fighters (all three of the aforementioned, plus Dead or Alive and the 3D Mortal Kombat games) rule the roost. SNK? Hard to find on either front. The company's presence has almost disappeared by this point, both from arcades that aren't in its strongest territories, and from the minds of most gamers, who look at the archaic NeoGeo graphics, and pass their titles by, regardless of gameplay.

It's a sad state to be sure, but there is hope. See, SNK's getting ready to drop King of Fighters 2006 on the PS2 (sadly, there will not be an Xbox Live release), and in all honesty, this may well be the game that lets SNK win back the brainspace of gamers that they've been losing so much of lately.

KOF 2006 is really just a renaming of King of Fighters: Maximum Impact 2. Why the renaming? No idea. Why is the new traditional KOF called King of Fighters XI? Some questions may never be answered. Nevertheless, what we've got here is a solid, entertaining fighting game that, while not as deep as most 3D fighter offerings, still manages to be worth delving into. A departure from the original Maximum Impact, the strict gameplay has been replaced with fast action (honestly, sometimes it's a little too fast), chain combos (some canned, some not), special technique canceling, off-the-ground combos, and a host of other enhancements. If you've played Rival Schools or Project Justice, you'll be at home here.

The production values are massive as well, especially if you realize that this is SNK we're talking about. The once-venerable 2D juggernaut has packed a massive, beautifully rendered opening video into the game, above-average character models, and five to 10 costumes for every single character. The game's a graphical tour de force, with detailed backgrounds, hit-sparks up the wazoo, and translucency and fire/ice effects.

The soundtrack is just as pumping as well, and there are voice samples for pretty much everything. Even through all of this, every character — over 20 in all — manages to have his or her own storyline. I suppose this is what happens when you allow a former fanartist-turned-pro (Falcoon) to head up a game's production.

Speaking of which, people worried about the localization need not: At E3, SNK's PR officially stated that both Japanese and English voices will be present in the game. (No word on how bouncy the chests will be, but outside of the winposes, odds are nobody will really notice, or even care.) Throw in special challenge modes, such as a survival mode that involves character attribute customization, hidden characters, and unlockable character outfits (a May Lee cosplay outfit for Chae Lim? Yes), and hey, look at that, you've got single-player replay value.

King of Fighters 2006 is a reminder of what SNK can do when they put their minds to it, and why they used to rule the arcades for years. If this is a sign of things to come, then longtime SNK fans — and fighting game fans in general — have a lot to be happy about. Get ready to live out the last of the dog days of summer beating people to a pulp.