Twas the year of blood as the gaming industry switches to the fighting genre. After one title brought the Kombat and so much more, it seemed like there was an endless stream of fighting games. Then came a very Rare title, one that offered endless combos and an announcer yelling out just how good the combo was. I had the opportunity to sit down with Microsoft’s flagship launch title for the upcoming Xbox One. To paraphrase the fabled tv show Portlandia, “The 90’s are alive” in Killer Instinct.
If you haven’t ever played a Killer Instinct title, it’s totally worth a look, as it’s an unapologetic look at the 90’s. What really makes the series so fantastic was a combination of Combos, ultra violence, and getting to hear just how well you did.
Gameplay
The newest addition to the Killer Instinct franchise feels very similar to its predecessors in terms of gameplay and controls. For those not familiar with this series, at its core the title is a 2D Fighter with a 3D engine. Think of it like the Street Fighter 4 series. The game engine has been vastly improved, though I’ll cover that in the Graphics section. What was very refreshing to see was the combo system. There have been plenty of fighters out there, but none take combos as far as KI ever did. To put this into context, in previous titles you could preform a 75 hit combo. That’s not to say that’s the only way to play this title, as the Combo Breaker has also returned. This essentially interrupts your opponent mid-combo and sends them flying back. With my limited time with this title, I played as Jago and was able to get in the upper 14 hit combo. It became clear that this is an easy title to pick up, but difficult to master. The super moves were also present, making the combos just that much more brutal.
Graphics
As mentioned above, the game’s engine has been completely overhauled. Seeing as the last Killer Instinct was featured back on the N64, it was nice to see the game with a fresh coat of paint. The Graphics certainly had a nice edgy look to them, it certainly has a very next gen look. The backgrounds were also very intricate, you could easily see the power of the Xbox One working. The colors really poped, but it had a very neat comic book esque type of look to it. Very stylized and clean.
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Sound
While I wasn’t able to hear everything during my short time with the title, what I heard I certainly liked. I felt it really understood the previous titles and the themes it portrayed. The music was very energetic, while the announcer kept you more than entertained as he screamed out the amount of combos you performed.
Overall
I was a little skeptical at first, but the game won me over. It’s totally Killer Instinct, and very 90’s in a fun way. Being a launch title game, I feel this gives precedence to the diversity of gaming that Xbox One has. It’ll be interesting to see how well it performs against other launch titles.