King of Fighters: Neowave for Xbox Reviews by Gamers

Let me say this first. Don't rent this if you expect something like DOA 4 or Mortal Kombat.

Graphics: 8
Running on the Atomis Wave Hardware, the old Neo Geo sprites are much cleaner now. But still nowhere as fluid as Garou, Street Fighter III series, Guilty Gear series or the recent Rumble Fish games. Older KoF games that had console ports to the Dreamcast, PS2 and Xbox had their sprites cleaned up to take advantage of the hardware. KoF Neowave though is only slightly ahead to those ports. The backgrounds are the best looking in the series, but, although pretty to look at, there isn’t much going on there.

Sound: 8
The BGM fits the mood set by the stage. And it’s not distracting or annoying that would make you turn down the volume. The voices on the other hand, are for the most part, holdovers form KoF 2002 (well, since most of the roster is from KoF 2002). And unlike another reviewer said, there is NO popping and clicking.

Gameplay: 9
First and foremost, you get to choose 3 different styles that dictate how you will play, the type of super meter you’ll be using etc. First is Super Cancel, it’s the KoF 2002 system minus the Max Mode power up, but you can still cancel special moves into another special move at the cost of a super stock. It also features canceling special moves into super moves. Next is Guard Break, which is the same as Super Cancel but with the canceling. But you get a Guard Break move which costs 1 stock, is unblockable and when connects has Counter Wire properties. Also you can Just Defend, but no life regain though. Lastly is Max 2, you can’t roll and you have one level of super only. But the meter increases over time, and this is the only way you can execute a character’s Hidden Desperation Move from KoF 2002. On top of everything, you have Heat Mode which you can activate on any of the 3 modes. You will basically increase your damage while draining your life. The online play is lag free, except some character select stuttering.

Overall: 9