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Modern Warfare 2 glitch unlocks five SNK XBLA games
In a stroke of exceptionally bad luck for SNK, a glitch has been discovered that unlocks free access to the full versions of five of the publisher's XBLA games for users who already have the demos on their hard drives. To make it worse, the glitch occurs within Modern Warfare 2 (a game that bajillons of Xbox 360 owners already have) -- or its recent demo (which is freely available). Somehow, running Modern Warfare 2 coincidentally fools the system into thinking it's authorized to temporarily unlock full versions of Garou: Mark of the Wolves, The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug XX, and Samurai Shodown II. Joystiq tested the exploit with Garou and KOF '98, and can verify that it works. For now, at least. We're certain this issue will be patched by one of the three affected parties -- SNK Playmore, Activision, or Microsoft -- in the near future, now that it's known. In the meantime, just because you can get these games for free doesn't mean you aren't a major jerk for doing so. [Note: This doesn't permanently unlock the games; only if you launch them directly from inside MW2. If you launch from the Dashboard, they'll behave just like plain ol' trial games.]
NeoGeo Battle Coliseum fights WAREZ on XBLA in Japan on June 9
Like The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, another classic SNK fighting game is headed to XBLA. SNK Playmore announced that NeoGeo Battle Coliseum, a 2-vs.-2 fighting game starring characters from various Neo Geo games, will be released on XBLA in Japan on June 9 with newly upscaled sprites. NeoGeo Battle Coliseum gives players even weirder character choices than the usual KOF fare (though plenty of KOF and Fatal Fury mainstays appear), like Cyber Woo from King of the Monsters 2 and Athena from the abysmal SNK "classic" of the same name, all in the fight against "WAREZ," a personification of software piracy. The release is for Japan only for now, but Siliconera notes that a German USK rating has been spotted for the game, suggesting a Western release. %Gallery-94080% [Via Siliconera]
X3F TV -- XBLA in Brief: Metal Slug XX, Aqua
We've got two Xbox Live Arcade staples this week. First is Metal Slug XX, which has the advantage of Xbox Live online play over its XBLA cousin, Metal Slug 3. Next, we've got yet another twin-stick shooter in Aqua. As its title suggests, Aqua flavors its twin-stick shooting antics with an extra dose of H20 (and torpedoes). Metal Slug XX will run you 1200 ($15), while Aqua is 800 ($10). Watch this week's XBLA in Brief and decide if either tickles your fancy for destruction. [iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly. [RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly. Xbox.com: Add Metal Slug XX trial version to your Xbox 360 download queue Xbox.com: Add Aqua trial version to your Xbox 360 download queue
Metal Slug XX rolls out on Japanese XBLA May 19
After SNK announced the game way back in December, it looks like Metal Slug XX has an official release date on XBLA ... in Japan at least. According to Xbox.com Japan, Metal Slug XX (an upgraded port of Metal Slug 7) is set to arrive next Wednesday, May 19. It's important to note that release dates are not always worldwide, so it's possible that the game will be released later in other regions. At the very least, it appears that the game is ready to go, so hopefully we'll be seeing it sooner rather than later. [Via Siliconera]
King of Fighters shooter expanded for PSP
KOF Sky Stage SNK's odd shooter spinoff, KOF Sky Stage, hasn't even made it out of the arcade and onto XBLA yet, and SNK has already announced a sort of sequel. Neo Geo Heroes is a new vertical shooting game for PSP containing the original Sky Stage as one mode, but also adding even more characters from SNK fighting games. Kyo, Athena, Iori, and Kula from the KOF series, Terry and Mai from Fatal Fury, Marco Rossi from Metal Slug, Iroha the maid from Samurai Shodown VI, Akari from Last Blade, and even the pilot from Alpha Mission can fly now, apparently, as they're all selectable characters in the game. Neo Geo Heroes will fly into Japanese retail in July. No plans have been announced outside of Japan for this nor Sky Stage.
VC in Brief: King of Fighters '95 (Neo Geo)
Fight fans get their fix this week in VC in Brief. The lone release available for download is King of Fighters '95, a mish-mash of SNK's best fighters from its most prominent franchises. KOF '95 introduces us to Iori Yagami, who would go on to be one of the series' favorite brawlers. King of Fighters '95 (Neo Geo, 1 - 2 players, 900 Wii Points) Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer VC in Brief as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.
NintendoWare Weekly: King of Fighters '95, Scrabble Slam
There is a lot of stuff on the Wii and DSi Shops this week, but no obvious standouts. The most potentially exciting games are a Lemmings-like thing about dodo eggs, a DSiWare version of a Scrabble card game we didn't know existed, and a fighting game of which you might already have three or four copies. Head past the break to see more assorted stuff.
King of Fighters XIII brings Mai back this summer
King of Fighters XII wasn't quite the spectacular high-definition debut the series deserved. Sure, there were problems with the netcode, but one problem with the roster irritated just as many fans: the omission of the scantily clad ninja, Mai Shiranui. So, naturally, SNK is leading with the bouncy character in its promotion for King of Fighters XIII. A teaser site for the game, opened after a preview event, features a picture of Mai with her trademark fan, along with a note that the game will be released in arcades this summer. [Via Andriasang]
SNK Playmore announces King of Fighters XIII for arcades
[Dengeki] Despite the cool reception to its last King of Fighters game, SNK Playmore has announced that it is working on King of Fighters XIII. The fighting game will be shown for the first time at an event in Akihabara on March 25. Until then, we know nothing about the game other than that it runs on Taito's TypeX2 arcade hardware -- the same board used by Street Fighter IV, BlazBlue, and, of course, King of Fighters XII. Well, we also know that it has a nice logo. And we're guessing fan favorite Mai Shiranui won't be left out this time. [Via Kotaku]
XSEED now publishing Samurai Shodown Sen
The odd swapping of games between Ignition Entertainment and XSEED continues. First, Ignition obtained the rights to Marvelous's Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Arc Rise Fantasia, both initially to be published by XSEED. Now, XSEED has announced that it will publish Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny on Xbox 360 -- a game that we played at Ignition's E3 booth. XSEED is publishing the fighter under the name Samurai Shodown Sen, with a release planned for sometime this spring. Along with Atlus's announcement that it's publishing Metal Slug XX, this move provides evidence that Ignition's co-publishing deal with SNK has ended.
Samurai Shodown Sen out in Europe this spring
Click to sho' more screensThe publishing status of Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny in North America is somewhat up in the air, given Ignition's recent silence about the game and Atlus' announcement that it's publishing SNK's Metal Slug XX (leading to speculation that Ignition's deal with SNK is over). There's no doubt, however, that the game's coming out in Europe. European publisher Rising Star Games has announced that it will publish the 3D Samurai Shodown sequel on Xbox 360 this spring under the name Samurai Shodown Sen. The game features classic Samurai Shodown fighters, like Ukyo and Nakoruru, with a weird mix of international characters -- like, in our experience, a Viking. %Gallery-83694%
Metal Slug arrives on iPhone, sort of
If you thought the DS was a less-than-ideal platform for an original Metal Slug, you're really going to be surprised with this one. SNK Playmore has released one of its cartoony run-and-guns for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Metal Slug Touch is adapted to the platform in some unexpected ways: for example, instead of putting the player in control of a commando who occasionally happens upon a vehicle, Metal Slug Touch puts you in a vehicle at all times. Controls are simplified to make use of the iPhone's features: you move with the accelerometer, and dodge enemies with an "avoid" button. Metal Slug Touch sounds like a fairly bold experiment -- and something that, we suspect, works better than simply porting a console action game over with touch controls. Metal Slug Touch ($4.99) : [Via FingerGaming]
SNK announces Metal Slug XX, three more for XBLA in Japan
There's good news and bad news about Metal Slug 7 on Xbox Live Arcade. The bad news is that we're pretty sure it's not coming out. The good news is that Metal Slug XX, the upgraded, multiplayer-capable PSP remix of the DS game, is replacing it in SNK's 2010 lineup. SNK also announced XBLA ports of two of its fighting games: King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match and Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. All three will join the weird King of Fighters shooting game, The King of Fighters Sky Stage, on XBLA in spring 2010. These games have, so far, been announced only for Japan, but we are sure SNK will release them all worldwide -- if only because it would be a waste of effort to develop an XBLA title just for the few people in Japan who would buy it. %Gallery-74833% [Thanks, sacra!]
ESRB rates Metal Slug XX for US release
Hey, look, it's Metal Slug ... er ... oh, right, Double X. (Sorry, had to study the sprites.) Anyway, earlier this month we brought you first word of the game -- now it's been rated by the ESRB (T for "Teen," specifically) which, as we all know, is a prelude to games being announced for domestic release.The game's publisher is listed as SNK Corporation of America itself, seemingly indicating a digital download-only future for the title. That's fine by us -- as long as it doesn't go the way of the M.I.A. PSP minis. Seriously, where are they? Metal Slug XX hits Japan in December, so we'd expect it to roll ashore here in early 2010.%Gallery-74833%
Behind the horrifying scenes of the King of Fighters movie
King of Fighters fans would probably really appreciate a live-action movie that deals with the series' surprisingly detailed storylines faithfully, while bringing their favorite characters into real life in a recognizable way. Those are the exact people who should never, ever watch the King of Fighters movie.Disclosure: if we weren't watching this behind-the-scenes trailer (after the break) for work, we would have turned it off as soon as the narration said that the fighting took place in another dimension. But then we would have missed being introduced to the white guy playing Kyo Kusanagi! And to Iori Yagami's hockey getup.Don't worry, the movie's actually in good hands: the actress playing Vice has heard of King of Fighters.[Thanks, Doug]
Metal Slug XX rolls onto PSP this December
SNK Playmore has announced that it's bringing Metal Slug XX ("double X") to the PSP. The title is set to release on December 23 in Japan, with an asking price of ¥5,040 ($56). A remixed version of Metal Slug 7, the game includes ad-hoc cooperative play, over 70 mini-games and, as is tradition, lots of bullets. SNK was kind enough to release a trailer for the game, so you won't have to imagine how chaotic the game will undoubtedly be. If you just can't handle all that action, we have some nice, quiet screenshots too. %Gallery-74833%
Review: King of Fighters XII
SNK sticks to the KOF series' roots with King of Fighters XII, the latest 2D installment in its popular fighting franchise. It's been years since we've seen a King of Fighters game and you'd think SNK had some cards hidden up its sleeve but, to be honest, King of Fighters XII is short on the surprises. [Editor's note: This review also features a video walkthrough.] %Gallery-63875%
Free-to-play 'KOF World' to dropkick Asian market
If you've been enjoying SNK's latest, King of Fighters XII, you might be interested to learn that SNK and Shanda Games are teaming up to offer a version of that game for the PC. It's going to be called KOF World, a free-to-play game for the Asian market. Aside from the usual 2D fighting, this new version will also incorporate "MMORPG features by adding a complete multiplayer role playing game (RPG) mode," though exact details on this new mode were not provided. Oh, and if you don't live in Asia, sorry for making you incredibly jealous.
New King of Fighters XII trailer includes punching, also kicking
SNK Playmore has dropped a new trailer in advance of the King of Fighters XII release later this month. The trailer focuses on the series' fifteen year history, spanning all the way back to 1994. It also has a long montage of people beating the crap out of each other, all set to decidedly dramatic music. It's all very exciting.King of Fighters XII hits Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 28.
King of Fighters XII punches through with a new video
If you had told us five years ago that 2009 would be a year to remember for 2D fighters, we would've called you a crazy person and erased you from our buddy list. Sure enough, with solid releases Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue already dropping this year, and Marvel vs Capcom 2, Tatsunoko vs Capcom and, as the above video shows, King of Fighters XII awaiting release, we would've been the crazy one. If you're a fan of the occasional bout of two-dimensional fisticuffs, then you've got a lot to choose from this year. It's as if millions of piggy banks suddenly cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced ... by giant hammers.
