In this day and age of 3D, it comes as a bit of a surprise to still see 2D fighting games being released. Indeed, this reviewer has all but given up on most of the poor 2D fighters released nowadays: the ones that reuse the same game engine, same 2D graphics, and just change a numeral to its title (cough KING OF FIGHTERS cough). It is increasingly ironic that the kings of 2D rehash, SNK, created a complete shocker of a game for its Neo Geo system: GAROU: MARK OF THE WOLVES (a.k.a. FATAL FURY: MARK OF THE WOLVES).

Why is it ironic? For starters, they actually created a brand-new 2D engine from scratch! SNK went the full distance, creating an entirely new fighting game—completely redrawn 2D fighters, completely new 2D backgrounds and levels, and a new fighting engine that is worthy of real tournament play. FATAL FURY: MARK OF THE WOLVES (MOTW) has turned out to be the best new 2D fighter from SNK, and one worth some solid play time, despite some issues.

To start, MOTW is truly a new fighting game, built from the ground up. As aforementioned, the completely new 2D characters are wonderfully drawn and animated. Despite being on the age-old, 16-bit Neo Geo system, MOTW looks more like something a bit more advanced than the typical "SNK look." Most of the characters feature downright wonderful animations, with clothes flapping and moving, plus some excellent 2D special effects for the supers (although nowhere near as crisp and nice as the newest 2D fighters like GUILTY GEAR X). Add to that an entirely new cast of characters (sans Terry Bogard), and you have a winner.

Gameplay is also excellent, and again, it's not a "rehash" of an older 2D fighting game: SNK has introduced a few interesting aspects into the gameplay. The T.O.P. system is an interesting addition, allowing gamers to choose when they want their T.O.P. system to "activate." When it activates, it allows players to execute a special move during that entire period, and they regain a small amount of their health back as long as they don't get hit. This just adds some strategy, since you can choose when you'd rather gain some life back during a match, and when you want to be able to use your T.O.P. attack.

Other additions include a "Feint Attack" where it looks like you start a special attack, only it stops, and it allows you to quickly recover. Naturally, you can use this to fake out an opponent, but the real key is that it allows you to add to a longer combo attack! So you can start a combo, use a Feint (which allows you to recover faster), and continue a new combo. But the highlight of the additions would have to be the Just Defense system. Somewhat like "Parries" in STREET FIGHTER III, Just Defense lets a player defend or block at the very last second, and if successful, it'll block the move, negate any tick damage and allow the player to counterattack! In addition, the player gets a bit of life back. This turns a normal "2D fighting game" that is usually very offensive, into a more strategic game—since you and your opponent can Just Defend back and forth.

But in the end, the toughest thing to consider is its age. Despite a completely new 2D engine, with new 2D animations, and a new feel, MOTW can't hide the fact that it's a Neo Geo game—it still looks "16 bit" as the dithered sprites and the really bad audio sampling shows this off in spades. With newer, cleaner, sharper and better playing games like CAPCOM vs. SNK 2 and GUILTY GEAR X—both of which utilize 2D graphics (with much higher bit-depth) and 3D effects combined—MOTW really comes off looking and feeling old.

If you're in the market for another solid 2D fighting game, and you can accept Neo Geo, 16-bit graphics, give FATAL FURY: MARK OF THE WOLVES a try. It's easily one of the best playing SNK fighters ever created, and for a retail price of only $29.99 it's a great bargain. For everyone else who's tired of the genre, it's probably best to move on, as there's not enough here to whet your appetite.

Rating: 7.9 / 10.0