GameSpoon - King of Fighters XII

This game is going to knock your teeth out! SNK's KOF series just got a lot cooler with the rebirth of their 2D fighting roots. So what makes this 2D fighting game so cool, other than the fact that it's King of Fighters? Because it was completely hand-drawn. Think about that, soak it up for a bit. Yes, this was hand drawn.

The game will be launching in Japanese Game Centers in April of 2009. It will continue to use the 3-on-3 team fighting system, with 5 round fights - should make for a pleasant experience. You will be able to perform Desparation Moves (DM) after you fill a guage, but there will not be any type of indicator that will tip off your opponent to the fact that you are about to unleash a beating on them; awesome.

King of Fighters XII will feature 20 characters to choose from - which is significantly less than its predecessor King of Fighters XI. Maybe this game will find itself overseas at some point? We can only hope.