Highway Entertainment will soon be taking orders for King of Fighters XIII, the 13th installment of the popular 3 on 3 fighting game series. The game runs on the Taito Type X-2 hardware and will act as the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc, which began in King Of Fighters 2003.
The game removes some of the game play elements from the previous installment; the Guard Attack system, the Critical Counter system, the Clash System and the dynamic, zooming camera are no longer present. These features have been replaced by three new systems. EX Mode converts each character's super moves into more powerful versions that allow one bar from the player's power gauge for EX Special Moves and two bars from the power gauge for EX Desperation Moves. Hyper Drive Mode gives the player unlimited use of Drive Cancels for a limited time once the Hyper Drive Gauge has been maxed. The Drive Cancel system opens up new combo possibilities.
King Of Fighters XIII also sees the return of the multi-bar power gauge that was previously introduced in King Of Fighters '97, as well as the inclusion of a new class of Desperation Move (called NEO MAX) that require three stocks of gauge to be exchanged in order to perform one move.
Confirmed returning characters are Kyo, Ash, Ralf, Robert Garcia, Athena, Terry Bogard, Andy Bogard, Duo Lon, Shen Woo, Benimaru, Goro Daimon, Iori Yagami, Sie Kensou, Chin Gentsai, Joe, Kim, Raiden, Ryo, Clark, Leona, Elisabeth Branctorche, Mature, Yuri Sakazaki, King, Mai Shiranui, Hwa Jai, K', Maxima, Kula Diamond. The game will also feature two new characters: Vice for Iori Yagami's team and Takuma Sakazaki for the Art Of Fighting team.
