VGRC

Last September I had a look at the NeoGeo classic, Garou: Mark of the Wolves - SNK's answer to the technically astounding Street Fighter III. Marking the end of the Garou series, a staple of the NeoGeo console, SNK Playmore have re-released it on Xbox Live Arcade complete with online play, achievements and a little bit of Engrish. The game is known for pushing the boundaries of the Neo Geo and setting the framework for both future SNK fighting games and technically advancing the gameplay aspects of the genre as well as showing future games how important a fully balanced roster of characters is to a fighting game.

Needless to say, the game has aged about as well as any other 2D fighter of the era, and thats to say, not too well. Compared to the astute 3D graphics of Street Fighter IV, which can propel facial expressions in a clear distinct style, or the boob-jiggling nature of the Dead or Alive series, SNK's classic 2D posterboy looks dated, and say, compared with the fluid nature of Guilty Gear successor BlazBlue or SNK's own forthcoming King of Fighters XII, Mark of the Wolves simply looks like a stepping stone from the original Fatal Fury through Street Fighter III and onto Guilty Gear. Still, the game pushed the NeoGeo to the limit and the results are clear for themselves; a fluidly animated game, with polished animations and technical gameplay and that is what makes the game brilliant. To note, the game itself is 4:3, and so is letterboxed with artwork - with no option to turn it off or to simply have a black border, which some widescreen gamers may complain about, but it's nothing more than a minor negligence really.

Making the transition from the NeoGeo to the Xbox means adding an online component that is the hallmark of the current gaming generation. Online gameplay is not bad, granted your opponent isn't on the other side of the world with a ping more than 200ms, but anything less than 100ms is certainly playable, despite the obvious host advantage, and sometimes it feels that the netcode does not do the technical system justice; Just Defenses seem more random and sporadic than executed timely - but I guess it beats not having any online play. Ranked matches and Unranked matches make up the online flavours; no spectating or large lobbys here. It seems SNK Playmore got lazy and simply ported the same basecode for menus and online play with it's other classic XBLA release, King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match, which even that has untranslated elements leaving many gamers scratching their heads. Garou, fortunately, does not have any of those problems, only a minor case of Engrish to get round, but the actual gameplay itself is what matters and fans will appreciate that.

Catering to new gamers, SNK include moves lists accessible from the pause menu and are notated as the face buttons on the controller, which is a positive decision, compared to the somewhat confusing first glance nature of Soul Calibur IV's A, B, K notation. Practice mode is open to players from the start as well as a survival mode, extending gameplay from the basic arcade mode. The two boss characters are also unlocked from the beginning, a nuiscence for purists but a joy for people who don't want to trawl through the game and unlocking them, allowing them to jump straight in and try them out.

Strictly as a straight forward port, there are no major faults, but it couldn't hurt to touch up the game or re-arrange the soundtrack - options fans may find positive or negative depending on their stance on purity, but having the option there would please both crowds. Needless to say, the game is a classic, and having it ported to a current gaming system is something pleasing to see, as the original game cartridge for the NeoGeo AES system can go for anything between $200-$400 depending, so 800MS Points doesn't look too bad in that respect. Riding the current popularity wave of fighting games caused by Street Fighter IV, SNK have done a stellar job in bringing one of their most heralded games to the forefront and to a wide audience, but whether it has the same impact as Capcom's 3D outing is yet to be seen.

The game won't win any awards for writing or plot, but that's not where the game shines anyway. Of course, it's in the gameplay; the excellent and deep fighting game that has been perfected by previous itteration after itteration; the foundation and building blocks of the Fatal Fury games have crafted a benchmark comparable to Street Fighter III. SNK prove that they can still ride with the best of them, gifting a classic to the current masses on the road to their high definition debut, Mark of the Wolves is a clear reminder of what SNK are capable of - a great game.