Killer Instinct Reviews

Campaign
This is the return of a classic, Killer Instinct is back with vengeance having been at bay for a many years the series has returned in a free to play style giving you Jago as your warrior. This of course keeps the game open with unlocking new levels, areas and add ons for you characters with only the restriction of allowing you to purchase additional characters. I will comment that I felt there was somewhat a lack of options for characters against the cost, though there are many more coming soon with two more being available with guarantee through the season pass. Onto content there are a few modes with the usual local matches against people or Ai, a survival mode pinning you against climbing chain of opponents and the Dojo where you can hone up on your skills (Basically tutorials). As I have said many times before I feel the fighting scene could greatly benefit from being free to play and that is perfectly displayed here offering you choice of other characters as honestly I don't know many folks that like to switch it up very often. That and a online mode that mirrors the local play, though seriously some folks are ridiculous online makes up the game which is in general all that fighting games really have to them in ways of depth.

Multiplayer/Gameplay
Multiplayer is handled in matches of either Ranked of Social which both do exactly what they say. The combat online is intense with no beats mixed, though I will continue to comment on how I have no idea exactly how others are able to destroy my health counter in easy glee. The gameplay itself is always fluid with beautiful graphics and crazy character designs that fit well in the many dynamic environments present. Stages are somewhat similar, though they each bring a differing feel to the background as that's really all they are for. No frames are ever dropped and I will definitely comment that this title always looks great. Combat is also neat with a mix of differing levels to attack opponents and moves to accomplish this. There are massive rewards for combos and the Ultras which are basically a slaughter of your poor foe look crazy to watch or perform.

The Conclusion
For a free title this is an absolute must have at launch with a great starter character and has easy choices for additional selections. The gameplay looks solid and fluid with crazy combos and quick paced matches that will always cause some sweating, especially in online matches. Ever moment is gripping in Killer Instinct and this is a well welcomed return of a game that fairly much pre-dates many of my early gaming experiences.

Review of mine on Gamerheadquarters.com
Gave Killer Instinct 8.5/10

Overview

As a lover of fighting games I was more than hugely excited when I watched E3 and heard that Killer Instinct would be making a return on the Xbox One. I remember countless times at the bowling alley when I was younger, dumping my quarters into the original arcade game…and being very, very bad. However, over 18 years later and definitely better at fighters and games in general, I knew this was a must have. I must say this doesn't disappoint, especially coming from the mouth of a guy who excels at 3D fighters and is terrible hardcore at combos and working of 2D ones.

Know what's also excellent? The game is entirely free and lets you pay what you want, when you want. Do you want Sabrewulf and have no interest in anyone else? You can buy him and not a single other character at all. Hate playing as Glacius but love everyone else? Guess what, you don't have to. The ability to buy, play and do whatever you want for this game rules. I however bought the Ultra Edition version which includes an XBLA version port of the original Killer Instinct game (which is a true port as it's unfairly hard to eat quarters you're not using anymore), every fighter in the "season" which includes the 6 at launch and 2 others for the upcoming release in January and March (at the moment). Hopefully there are more! I'll pony up.

Plot

Sadly this is devoid of any arcade mode where you fight characters and have a storyline to complete as each fighter. As a lover of classic arcade modes, the lack of one here is saddening. It's going to be fixed in March 2014 as single player content for story modes will be added!

Graphics

The graphics in this game are uniquely crisp and very, very sharp. The character movement is fluid and reacts naturally to how the human body would move performing them. The character models are cartoonish with a realistic vibe. I enjoy the updated character models and concepts. They fit with the older ones but are upgraded to modern times. Looks slick and hella good.


Gameplay

The game is really smooth and easy to learn. The combo and attack chains are easy to utilize and simple to execute. The rewards are good for practicing as you can easily knock 40% off an enemy's life bar with a high hitting combo. The rush of doing such a thing feels great. Again, as I stated earlier, as a 2D fighter lover (but struggler) they couldn't have done any better for beginners and veteran 2D players to make them comfortable. Each fighter has their own niche, some for distance (Glacius), aerial (Sadira), close range (Sabrewulf), well rounded placement (Jago), etc. No matter who you are, even with only 6 characters at the moment, you'll find someone you'll like.

The game performs well and is simple to use and hard to master, like most fighting games. I didn't elaborate highly enough on it but honestly, words do not do it justice. Here's a clip of me against an opponent online hitting an almighty ULTRA COMBOOOOOOOO.


Achievements

Most of the achievements can be obtained online and they are a huge grind for the amount of wins involved. However, the title collecting, spending KP (in-game currency), customizing and doing different moves with each character really racks up the G. After a day and a half after downloading, I already have 180 G without even trying. Feels good to earn achievements without even trying.

Replayability

The replayability on this game is moderate to high depending on how much you like it. If you are a fighting game junkie, you'll be here for awhile. That's for sure. If you're not into it as much or are a casual player; the lack of characters, single player modes and online losses might make you feign interest after a bit. I know I'll be here awhile though.

This game deserves praise for bringing an old, beloved franchise to the modern masses and it does it so, so well. After the strain of average to below average developing by Double Helix games in the past, they really delivered with this as the respect and reference to the game's roots is apparent to the max. I'm definitely glad we have a current Killer Instinct. Hopefully you are too.

Button Bashing Brilliance

When I downloaded KI, I only owned Forza 5, NFS Rivals and Lego Marvel Superheroes. Don’t get me wrong, these games are great, but there was something missing from my library, and that was a fighting game that I could pick up for 20 minutes, play a few matches, and then put back down. With no story/narrative mode, Killer Instinct is exactly that. It consists of versus matches, survival matches (non-stop versus), and online ranked and un-ranked matches. It may not seem like much, but when you think about the “story” modes in MK or Tekken, they are just versus matches with a cut scene either side, so I think KI has done right to exclude a story mode.
Killer Instinct is a typical button bashing fighting game, but as always, if you take the time to learn the combos, you’ll do much better in matches. Comparing KI to my experiences with MK9 and Tekken 6, I’d say that combos in KI are harder than MK but easier than Tekken. There’s a pretty extensive dojo mode where you will learn the ins and outs of combos, but once you get the general idea, you’ll be back to button bashing, but with a rough idea of what you want to press at least.
One of the best things about Killer Instinct is the price. The game is free and allows you to use one character. This character is on rotation and after a certain period of time is no longer available, and is traded out for a different character. If you want access to all 6 characters, plus the 2 DLC characters (Spinal is already available, Fulgore is coming soon), you need to buy the Combo Breaker add-on. I paid £15.99 (around $20), which I think is pretty decent for the full game. There are then however alternate costumes that you can buy for £2.49 each, if you really want them. Alternatively, you can pay £31.99 (around $40) for everything; all characters, all costumes and a copy of the original Killer Instinct.
All in all, I think this is probably the best £16 I’ve ever spent. Killer Instinct is a lot of fun, difficult but not too difficult, looks amazing on next-gen and provides hours of local and online play. It might be nice to have a few more characters, even though the addition of Spinal and Fulgore come in the form of DLC, but for this price, I’m certainly not going to complain! I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves to mash buttons until they get blisters. And then mashes some more.

First off, I'm not the biggest fighting-game enthusiast there is. I had some fun with this game though and I do believe it's up there as a must play for all those gamers who enjoy this type of genre of game.

The controls are tight, combos and animations on point and there's a lot to offer when it comes to different types of game modes.

The characters also differs a lot from fighter to fighter so there's lots of variation here from a gameplay perspective.

The achievements are a real grind fest for the most part but many of them obtainable if you play the Game Pass version, which gives access to all the characters. Since many of the achievements here are tied to a specific character. Not all can be unlocked through the free version.

Summary. Do you like fighting games? Play this! Don't like them? Pass.

This game is epic. It is fast paced, fun, and gets your adrenaline rushing. It is a combination of Street Fighter, and Mortal Combat. But it isn't exactly the same. The Shadow Mode, in my personal opinion, was a wonderful idea. It is unique and original. It also shows how far video games have come. Because it uses its own complex algorithm, to replicate your fighting style allowing the game to fight for you. It also shows that Microsoft can make a good console exclusive game. If you enjoy fast paced game play and have ever enjoyed playing Street Fighter or Mortal Combat then you will enjoy this game immensely.