NeoGeo Battle Coliseum review

Many gamers have long since consigned the 2D fighter to the annals of history. In the age of 3D, there seems to be little room for this most retro of genres, and even that most famed exponent of the art, Capcom, has long since jump shipped. This saddens Gamestyle; a great many hours of our youth were wasted shovelling 20p pieces into Streetfighter 2. Fortunately, SNK Playmore are still brave enough to fly the flag for the good old fashioned 2D fighter on the PS2.When Gamestyle's long-suffering PS2 finally booted up Battle Coliseum, we have to admit we were taken aback. The games entire front-end presentation is distinctly low rent and looks like it was knocked up by someone in a rush to go home on a Friday night. This slapdash finish pervades the game; for example, lose a fight and the traditional jibe directed at you by your conqueror is in some of the most poorly translated English that Gamestyle has seen for a long time. What's more, the fighter that appears to mock you often bears no more than a passing resemblance to the fighter you actually just battled against.However, it's not just the presentation that feels cheap; the game has a meagre three solo modes - arcade, tag and survival - all of which are fairly self explanatory. Once Gamestyle started playing, it soon became apparent that tag is essentially a slightly easier version of the arcade mode, so really Battle Coliseum offers just two solo modes. Worse still, the arcade mode doesn't even bother with a story, so there's precious little impetus to get to grips with the huge cast of characters, beyond your favourites. Of course, there's a two player option, and a second player can even drop into the main game at any time to battle it out. Whilst this is fun in the way that all 2D fighters are in multiplayer, the likelihood is that it's not going to really extend the life of the game in a particularly discernible way; good multiplayer is a prerequisite and not an extra in games of this nature.Looking at the visuals, a few 3D backgrounds aside, you might be forgiven for thinking you were playing a PS1 or even a SNES title. 2D fighters might be considered retro by most, but this is not an excuse to produce such a dated-looking game. Given the lavish and sumptuous environs employed in Tekken 5, compared to what's on offer here, it's no wonder that so many gamers are willing to consign the 2D fighter to history.Sadly, even the gameplay itself is recycled, being a watered down version of that seen in King of Fighters XI. This means two-on-two tag battles where the death of one of your fighters equals game over in arcade mode (the more forgiving tag mode allowing you to carry on with just one fighter). Fortunately, though, with SNK being old hands at the 2D fighter, the fighting itself is pretty good. The characters feel like they have proper weight and inertia, the controls are well suited to the PS2 and tagging the next fighter in is instantaneous. Blocking is performed by pulling back on the d-pad, just as Gamestyle believes it always should be. As ever, Battle Coliseum allows the player to perform counters, unfeasibly long combos and the now customary super moves. However, rather than provide numerous fighting styles (or grooves, if you prefer) to allow the player to customise their super moves, just one system is on offer here. Curious, given that a selection of choices is usually on offer, and Gamestyle wonders whether this is more lazy programming or a move to make the title more accessible. As ever, proper use of super moves when they're charged can be vital to winning a battle. Gamestyle's undoubted favourite was the double team: avoid tagging in your second fighter for at last eight seconds and you'll be able to pull off a special move where both of your fighters double-team your hapless opponent.Battle Coliseum continues a trend started in King of Fighters: Neowave. Lose a battle and you're given a choice of options to make the next battle easier. Again, Gamestyle found this invaluable as the bosses are as cheap as those in Neowave. Every third fight won, Battle Coliseum also offers a choice of power-ups to help you onwards. Both are nice touches and help to vary each run through and no-one should get stuck for too long.As mentioned, the cast of characters is impressively vast, topping out at 40. However, just three are new. The rest of the cast list reads like a who's who of SNK fighters, culled from titles such as Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, Samurai Showdown and even the gun-slinging Metal Slug. Adding a twist, fighters retain some moves native to the game they first appeared in. However, Gamestyle can't help but feel that this wholesale recycling of characters is lazy and in keeping with the title's low rent feel.Fans of the genre will no doubt revel in another opportunity to pit their favourite SNK characters against each other, and the title's deliberate sops to the beginner certainly make it more accessible for novices. But, given the quality of recognised classics of the genre such as Capcom v SNK 2 and Capcom's formidable Street Fighter Alpha Anthology disc (both of which retail for the same price) and Battle Coliseums bargain basement finish, there is no way this game can be considered anything other than average.