The newest season of Killer Instinct has officially started and this time, it’s a doozy. Season three of Killer Instinct has kicked off with four new characters, three new stages and a complete graphical overhaul, which makes Season 3 the most ambitious. And while the season only just started I’m going to take a look at what’s here.
So first I want to talk about something technically that isn’t season 3, since it came out just after the official end of season 2. Killer Instinct now has something called Combo assist. I like to call it baby mode but it’s actually a pretty good mechanic for people who just can’t do the inputs fast enough. What it allows you to do is basically mash buttons to do combos. Like I said it’s a baby mode but there are a lot of babies out there. Now good players can play their friends and their friends can do all the cool stuff without the complex inputs.
Iron Galaxy also went through the entire game and updated the graphics to make the game look even nicer. The lighting is way better and while maybe not directly noticeable when playing, the details and textures are way sharper than before. I never really seen this with a game. Huge props for Iron Galaxy for doing something awesome that was not necessary.
Rash is finally back after so many years of being dormant. They really went all out with the 80’s TMNT cheese. It’s pretty ridiculous. Pressing the light button repeatedly makes Rash do several punches just like he did in the Battletoads games. His throw makes him pick up the opponent and you can run around for a bit before you throw them again just like the game.
Arbiter has the same thing. When you press the left trigger you throw grenades and pressing right trigger makes you shoot the carbine. It’s things like these that show you Iron Galaxy cares a lot about these characters and it makes them so much fun to play. Also amazing props for fitting all the cool elite armors from the entire series into Arbiters wardrobe. Really cool stuff
Then there’s Kim Wu and Tusk. I don’t really care much for them. But that’s more the fault of Retro than it is Iron Galaxy. You see, some will deny it but the original Killer Instinct designs were pretty bad. There were some creative characters for sure but anytime it was a human being, the design was pretty bad. Jago’s ripped outfit, Cinder’s just the Human Torch and Glacius is kinda just a humanoid man with ice teeth or a beard. Many of these designs were improved in the reboot but I challenge anyone to make Kim Wu and Conan The Barbarian interesting in a game like the new Killer Instinct. Of course, Iron Galaxy did a bang up job to two ultimately boring characters. Kim Wu was just Chinese Janet Jackson from the past who was the chosen one to defeat Gargos. Now she’s basically Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It’s taking nothing and creating something but it doesn’t manage to make what was a dull character as cool as the rest of the cast. Tusk doesn’t have it much better. While he’s an improvement over the generic Conan The Barbarian design he’s still the same as Kim. That being said I don’t really enjoy playing him at all. He’s not bad or anything but he’s just kinda boring.
There are three new stage and they’re pretty good. One major complaint is that Rash doesn’t have a stage which is too bad because of the cool levels the stage could have been based upon. And the sad thing is that Season 3 will only have three new stages and that’s it. It’s a sad thing but the good thing is that two new stages are amazing while one of them is only okay. Frozen Haven is Tusks stage and it’s a frozen wasteland with a wrecked Viking ship and dead passengers around it. The stage feels barren and like a less interesting combination of both Glacius’ and Spinal’s stage. The music is pretty fun but again I don’t feel like it’s as amazing as any of the previous stages. Chinatown Brawl is a cool stage because it’s probably the closest we’ll get to a populated area. It’s a cool looking stage and a cool homage to Big Trouble In Little China. The music is so freaking good at this stage, and the way the truck crashes in the background while you are doing your ultra is amazing. Arena of Judgement looks amazing, its background is just so much fun to watch and seeing the Scarab during the Ultra is amazing. The stage Ultra is fun too. Arbiter’s theme is amazing too.
I’m going to wrap it up here but there is more than this right now and even more coming. There are a few mechanics that I didn’t touch on but I think I covered most of what needs to be covered.
Overall I’m 50/50 on Season 3 as it is now. But I’m also a little bitch who likes to complain about stuff. Season 3, despite having one of my favorite characters in anything ever(Arbiter), there still is some stuff that doesn’t get me. But the generall reception has been good and I think further updates will make me like it even more.
Killer instinct Season 3 is off to a good start.
