That said KOF XI is starting to show its age, but mostly in the visual side of things. Some of these sprites are starting to look a bit aged, and not quite as focused as some of the competition out there.

However, the gameplay is still incredibly solid, and this newest iteration should be enough to satisfy the hardcore crowd. KOF XI uses team-based gameplay, something akin to Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and it has you selecting 3 characters (from a large roster of 47) with the ability to switch them out on the fly during a match. Obviously this introduces some balancing tactics to the gameplay, and you'll have to try and create a well-rounded team equipped for any opponent match ups.

Speaking of the roster, long time fans will be happy to see quite a few familiar faces returning, along with a few other crowd favorites from other SNK titles. At the beginning you'll be able to pick from 33 different characters, and along the way you'll unlock an additional 14, which is an added incentive to finish the various modes more than once. Outside of the traditional story mode there is also a challenge mode, made up of a strange assortment of objectives, but it only serves as a minor distraction from the normal game.

The various characters feel pretty balanced at first glance, but with a roster this large a few of them suffer from being a bit too similar. Also, the boss unlockables are definitely unbalanced with the rest of the roster. As far as the single player mode goes, the majority of the game is a breeze for the typical vet, but the last boss is incredibly cheap and frustrating. This is a fault that quite a few fighters seem to share, but at least the core gameplay is addictive enough that you'll keep on trying.

While some of the game sprites have seen a little touching up, don't be expecting any type of big improvement. The game is still output at 480i (no 480p Guilty Gear here), but it's a refreshing change of pace when compared to Virtua Fighter, Tekken, and Soul Calibur.

The music is mostly made up of rock/techno sounding tracks, but no particular theme really stands out. This is a common fault I've had with most SNK fighters, and it definitely prevails here. Each character has a limited range of sound bites, all untranslated, but there's not enough to really offer up a good critique for the quality of the voice over work.

If you've been looking to get a fix on some 2D fighting, you really can't go wrong here. Solid presentation, nearly non-existent load times, a large roster to pick from, and some really solid gameplay make this a definite buy for fans. Not only that, but at $20 (and less), it's not going to exhaust your post holiday funds.