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Garou: Mark of the Wolves Review (XBLA)

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Posted by Jim Cook, 270 days ago

While not the last game on the Neo-Geo, Garou was a fighting game that came out pretty late in the system’s life. There have been ports for a few systems over the years, including the PS2 and Dreamcast, but this may be the most satisfying one overall. Take the basic 2D fighting action of titles like Street Fighter II, then add a few more options and a cast of about a dozen rather deep characters and you’ve got the right idea. So, what will your 800 Points/$10 buy?

Essentially you’re getting a straight port of the Neo-Geo game. It has a training mode to hone your moves and a survival mode where you can face opponents one after another, but the real heart of it is the multiplayer. You could go through story mode for the basic plot, but it’s not fun since this is an SNK-style AI; it reacts to your moves with absurd speed, meaning you’ll often have to toss out nothing but jabs and light kicks to avoid being countered; so it’s the multiplayer where things really pay off.

Thankfully, Garou delivers on that front. You can play with someone locally, or play over Xbox Live. The latter works quite well; I wouldn’t call it truly perfect (no online fighter will be, I suppose), but it’s close enough that I had no serious complaints so long as my opponent’s ping time was good. The little lag you do get probably will throw off your timing for a few things, but there’s only so much to be done for that; it otherwise feels quite responsive.

 Our Rating for Garou: Mark of the Wolves Review (XBLA)
8.0
Replay
If you have people around your skill level to play with regularly, this is one you’ll keep coming back to.
5.0
Graphics
Decent for their time, and the smoothing filter helps a little, but these are still very old graphics and SNK should have invested the effort into updating them like Capcom did with Super Turbo HD Remix.
7.0
Sound
A good variety of music is available, and some of it really sets the fighting mood. Decent voice work for each character is also included.
8.0
Gameplay
Similar but distinct from the likes of Street Fighter II, this was one of the Neo-Geo’s better fighting games and still holds up well today.
7.5
Multiplayer
Barebones in terms of features, but it works well enough on Xbox Live.
8.0
Overall
It’s a lazy port of a great game, but it turns out that’s sufficient and fighting fans should give this a try.
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