The King of Fighters XIII

The King of Fighters XIII is the latest installment of The King of Fighters series published by SNK Playmore. There was an official preview of the game that was held on March 25, 2010 at Akihabara. The game is also the conclusion of Ash Crimson's story arc which started in The King of Fighters 2003. The game design director, Yamamoto, states that he wants the game to be played by the fans of the series who would be able to use their experience from previous titles. Additionally, however, he does not want the game to be too similar to its predecessors, though he and his staff's aim for the game is to capture the charm from previous titles.

The game removes some of the gameplay systems used in the previous game; the Guard attack system, the Critical Counter system, the Clash System as well as the dynamic, zooming camera. In their place however, there are new systems that have been confirmed to be added, the first of the three is the new EX Mode, which convert each characters' super moves into more powerful versions that allows one bar from the player's power gauge for EX Special Moves and two bars from the player's power gauge for EX Desperation Moves. Another new addition is Hyper Drive mode, which gives the player unlimited use of Drive Cancels for a while once the Hyper Drive Gauge has been maxed, and the last new feature confirmed for the game is the Drive Cancel system, which opens up new combo possibilities. The game also marks the return of the multi-bar power gauge that was introduced in The King of Fighters '97. In addition to standard and EX Desperation Moves, a new class of Desperation Move entitled "NEO MAX" are included in the game and require that three stocks of gauge be exchanged in order to perform one, making it similar to Hidden Desperation Moves (The King of Fighters 2002) and Leader Desperation Moves (The King of Fighters 2003). These can also be canceled from standard Desperation Moves, making them similar to the "Dream Cancels" from The King of Fighters XI.

Source: Wikipedia, The King of Fighters XIII , available under the CC-BY-SA License.