KOF XII Release Date and JOY!: KOF XII News

I woke up to a huge surprise. My wishing of walking around my usual forum and reading posts got me into a very likely and almost certain surprise. Heading to Shoryuken.com, that site gave me a shock when Gamestop has actually given a release date for KOF XII on PS3 and 360. And it's 7th fricking, July, fricking, 2009. :P I am pumped, and it's a day one purchase even if there's no PS3 at my house yet, but I'll need to fork out cash. :P

Even more details came into 360 screens from some korean website. The screens show up close how smooth and almost just not pixelated. heck, I can't even see any jaggies on those character models, and those screens are also going to be final shots of the arcade release. Game Informer was also giving more tidbits and extras for the console version. I guess after picking up what Capcom did with it's SF4 release on the PS3 and 360, new characters will be available exclusive to the consoles. And both English and Japanese audio tracks will be available. So, it's no more strictly Japanese, but please don't release a J Pop tune that is English. I screamed in agony when I heard that from SF4. This will also be a first for KOF in 2D series to have English voiceover. The previous one was visible in KOF Maximum Impact 2 or 2006 for the PS2 and Xbox.

But the coolest to me so far is that Game Informer is also reporting that besides having the casual online matches, spectators can also hop in to watch a match (making tournament videos more accessible around the world) or even record it and post it online for others to see. Neat! Also cool is the addition of Online Team Battle. This would mean that 6 different players may control the fate of each time either winning or losing a match! What might be a problem is how the players from around the world would get to play. Hoping that latency and lag does not affect players and the match or a potential disconnect might just be a big problem. Online battles would also enable voice chat and a lobby for matchmaking purposes. Here's to hoping they do it better than SF4 and HD Remix.

So there, a mega update for me that is just great and juicy. I am just hyped learning new systems such as the Deadlock (where a punch meets a punch), Critical Counter (Counter your foe and string a new combo!) and Guard Attack (that same old attack that prevents cheap wins. :D). So, 7TH JULY 2009. Book that KOF XII FANS! :D