NEOGEO Battle Coliseum

NEOGEO Battle Coliseum brings together fighters from the various NEOGEO franchise games, pitting them against each other in a tournament to bring down a corporate empire known as WAREZ. The concept of this title is very much like the Capcom Vs. series games or even The King of Fighters (although the latter title is incorporated into this game). Characters making appearances span across a number of series including King of Fighters, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, World Heroes, King of Monsters 2, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade,  and Aggressors of Dark Kombat.

Like most other fighters on the market, this there isn't really a whole lot of depth behind the plot. But lets be realistic for a second, most of us don't pick up these kinds of games for the story. The real interest factor lies in the ability to pick up a controller and lay into other players without having to remember where you left off last.

The graphics are very retro relative to many other fighters on the market. While this is a PS2 and XBox 360 Arcade title, the graphics are very noticeably behind what you would expect to see in a series such as Tekken or Street Fighter. With that being said, I don't see the graphics as being a bad thing. Having the old NEOGEO, SNES, Dreamcast, PSX, character sprites brings nostalgia to the gameplay and a much more simplified features for a fighter.

While there aren't a great deal of unlockable features/characters in this game, it is still a great title nonetheless. The potential to really enjoy this game really lies in playing with friends. Being a huge King of Fighters fan and having a younger brother who is all about Street Fighter, NEOGEO Battle Coliseum was a title that we could really get into when looking for variety when playing fighters.