The visuals of SNK's King of Fighters 2000 and King of Fighters 2001 certainly aren't up to specs with more contemporary 2D fighters. They aren't bad however, and it really wouldn't be an SNK fighter without that distinctive old school look. Most of the glitter and sparks that accompany special attacks are fairly impressive. Oddly enough, the actual characters themselves are probably the most visually unattractive aspects of the game.

As far as the audio side of things go, KOF 2000/2001 offers the usual array of battle sounds, Japanese cries and synthesized music found in many classic 2D fighters. None of the audio tracks are as memorable as the stuff from Street Fighter II, but they aren't too bad.

At its core, King of Fighters is a typical fighter. Two people step into a 'ring' and duke it out until one runs out of health. The usual array of special moves, throws, grabs and super attacks are present. In fact, the King of Fighters games are very much like the old Street Fighter II games, but they have a few extra twists which also appear in the more recent 'Vs.' series of games.

Rather than choosing a single character, you will choose three or four. However, you don't have to choose them all from the same team, and can mix and match as you like. Any character that's not actively fighting exists as a 'striker.' You have a limited number of times to call in a striker, and they will jump in and do a quick extra attack to your opponent.

There are also two major modes of play: team and single. Team is the 'default' mode of play for KOF, where you will select a different member of your team to fight every round. Each match is best three out of five. The alternative is called Single, and you will control the same character every round. Each match is best two out of three. Lastly, there's something of a story in KOF 2002/2001. However, like most fighting games, the story is barely present and really not comprehensible in any way.

Put simply, King of Fighters 2000 has a difficulty that is well balanced and challenging, while King of Fighters 2001 is cheap, lame and way too hard. About half way through the Single-player mode in KOF 2001, the AI seems to go into overdrive, despite what you set the difficulty level at. The computer will begin to pre-empt anything you try with a move to stop you, and will take advantage of even the smallest mistakes. Of course, this isn't a big problem, since the single-player versions of old school fighting games are really not something people invest a lot of time into. It's the multiplayer that people like to play, and KOF is no exception.

The mechanics of King of Fighters is pretty typical, and anyone with 2D fighter experience can pick it up and do fairly well. The button layout is pretty standard with two buttons for weak and strong punches, and another two for weak and strong kicks. The usual variety of quarter-circle and half-circle style button combinations are used to perform special attacks. As you battle, you will fill up a 'super meter' which, when full, allows you to perform devastating super attacks. The mechanics are more similar to older 2D fighters. Don't expect to see any high jumps or 64-hit combos. This is a game where three or four well-placed attacks can take out a considerable chunk of the opponent's health meter.

King of Fighters 2000 and King of Fighters 2001 are decent, little old school fighters in their own right. However, Street Fighter and Fatal Fury are better. Unless you are a hardcore fan of KOF, you probably won't have too much fun with this one.