KOF: Maximum Impact | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Noise Factory |
Publisher(s) | |
Producer(s) | Masahiro Maeda |
Programmer(s) | Kazuaki Ezato Hiroshi Hishikawa Yasuhiro Kurahashi Nobuhisa Shinoda |
Series | The King of Fighters |
Engine | RenderWare |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox |
Release | PlayStation 2Maniax
|
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
KOF: Maximum Impact (KOFMI) is a fighting game developed by SNK subsidiary Noise Factory and published by SNK Playmore for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. An enhanced version was released for both the Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the title KOF Maximum Impact: Maniax. The PS2 version of 'Maniax' was only released in Japan, and the Xbox version was not released in Europe.
Marketed as a spin-off of SNK's major fighting series The King of Fighters, whence many of its characters originate, KOF: Maximum Impact also contains elements of the Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting series. KOF: Maximum Impact is the first 3D fighter made by SNK since 1990s era's Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and lastly, Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage for the PlayStation.[5] The game was followed by KOF: Maximum Impact 2.
While the version released in the U.S. featured an English dub that was met with much derision (with IGN's Jeremy Dunham going so far as to label it "piss poor"[6]), further releases for the Xbox and European PS2 add a choice of English and Japanese language options. The Xbox version also includes an online match mode where matches can be fought between players via Xbox Live.
What really brings it down severely, though, is the terribly bad voice acting. The original Japanese tracks have been removed completely in favor of some truly piss-poor American dub work. It's kind of reminiscent of Spike TV's Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, actually only without the (intentional) humor.