King of Fighters XI

Platform: PS2.
Verdict: Fighting the 2D fight.
Rating: 4/5
Despite technological advancements and Sony's PS1 era attempt to remove them from existence, 2D games still continue to eke out an existence on home consoles. Of the few modern 2D games released, you can hedge a safe bet that they're beat-em-ups or shoot-em-ups, those bastions of 90's arcade gaming and home to pixel perfect gaming.
King of Fighters XI is the latest in a long line of the revered 2D fighting series and as top contender for Street Fighter's crown has an obsessive fan base while being well known for its trademark looks and hardcore combat.
KOF XI takes the traditional gameplay and kicks fresh life into it with new characters, mechanics and moves. The 3 on 3 battles have been changed from their staid relay nature by introducing a dynamic tag-team option - reminiscent of the Marvel Vs Capcom games, it allows you to swap between players when you want and if executed correctly, a mid-combo swap can lead to devastating results.
You can also cancel special moves into super moves now (like recent Street Fighter titles) and the Dream Cancel ability has been added, which lets your lead character string together an apocalyptic series of attacks. Any worries of imbalance can be laid to rest as a mastery of timing, practice and patience is required to achieve such seamless fighting skills – take note button bashers.
With a roster of about 47 characters, KOFXI has all of the fan favourites and includes cameos from other SNK games such as the cult classic Garou: Mark of the Wolves and of course Fatal Fury.
There are a few other features like the punishing challenge mode and training options but as always, nothing compares to a bout between friends and that's where KOFXI excels as the tag-team system allows for plenty of frantic, split second improvisation while the satisfaction of pulling off complicated combos is great for post game gloating, if you're so inclined.