"Killer Instinct": Five Things We Want and Five Things We Don't From the Xbox One Exclusive

Killer Instinct is one of our favorite fighting games. Ever.

There's really nothing else like it. And with a new title slated as an XBox One launch exclusive, there's a lot of things we want, and a lot of things we don't want. What we've seen so far shows promise, and we're looking forward to what Double Helix has to offer, but there's still quite a bit that could use work. Thankfully, Double Helix appears to be very receptive, and they've been listening to the fighting game community. So we hope they listen to this list. Because we're all looking forward to doing some ULTRA, ULTRA, ULTRA, ULTRA...

Killer Instinct: Five Things We Want and Five Things We Don't From the Xbox One Exclusive

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Things we don't want: Guest fighters from other Microsoft games.

You might laugh, but there was a time when Halo infiltrated Dead or Alive. What we don't want is guest fighters from other Microsoft franchises getting into the KI mix. Killer Instinct has always been a unique fighting game, and the last thing we need is Banjo from Banjo Kazooie fame busting out ultra combos. That would suck.

Things we don't want: Microsoft to forget about Killer Instinct 1 and 2.

One thing we don't want Microsoft to ever forget is that we'd still love arcade perfect versions of KI 1 and 2. It's something we've ALWAYS wanted, maybe even more than a new Killer Instinct itself. With a new KI, we don't want Microsoft to think that we've just moved on. We still want KI 1 and 2, preferably as a bundle pack on Live.

How great would that be?

Things we don't want: Paying too much for characters.

We had to warm up to the prospect of buying characters, but now we don't mind it.

Yet. If characters are more than five dollars apiece, THEN we might have a problem, especially if there's a really huge cast. If it all adds up to sixty dollars total, then that would be fine, but nothing more than that. Also, we don't want to only be able to play against characters that we own. That could be pretty boring, especially in the early weeks.

Things we don't want: To pay for anything else other than characters.

Like we've already said, we don't particularly mind paying for characters if it's within reason.

What we don't want to have to pay for is anything else. Stages or costumes being two of the obvious openings for DLC gouging. All of that can quickly add up to a game that's well over $60. We don't want to be nickeled and dimed here.

Things we don't want: The same old characters with different models.

So far, we've seen a lot of fan service with the characters, which is good, but we don't just want this to be a KI 1 and KI 2 lovefest. We want to see brand new characters that expand upon the mythology. KI2 took the story to caveman times. Will we get anything similar with KI 3 that will give us brand new characters? We would like to. New characters would be cool.

Things we want: Stage fatalities and humiliations.

Right now, the stages look pretty bland, but if you remember the old KI games, the stages were a big part of the gameplay, namely when it came to stage fatalities. We loved knocking Orchid off the roof and making her land on TJ Combo's car. Knocking Fulgore down a well was also immensely gratifying. We want those back, dammit! Throw in humiliations, too, while you're at it. We liked those, too.

What we want: A lengthy storyline for each character.

We've already heard word that there's going to be a story mode for the game, so that's one box checked off, but we want to see a lenghty storyline for each character as well. What we mean is, we don't just want to beat the game and get a still footage that says that Jago won the tournament. We want a full blown narrative. We're paying for each character (minus Jago). We might as well get our money's worth.

Things we want: The camera to pull out more.

From what we've seen so far of KI3, the matches look pretty up-close and the characters look huge. We'd actually like to see the camera pull back a bit more like in previous installments. It feels a bit cramped right now, don't you think?

Things we want: A free character every now and again.

We actually don't mind the purchasing characters equation of Killer Instinct 3 and think it will extend the lifespan of the game. But every now and then, we'd like to see a freebie as a little gift. Gifts are nice and we like gifts. Who doesn't?

Things we want: Every character from Killer Instinct history and then some.

As you can tell from this article, we love Killer Instinct.

More importantly, we love the history of Killer Instinct. And even though there have only been two games prior to this new one, we'd love to see all of the characters from both games make an appearance, and that means Riptor, Tusk, AND Kim Wu. We've already seen a teaser of Glacius and most recently, Chief Thunder. We've also heard word that Cinder and Spinal will also be returning. Now, we just need to see the rest. Come on, Double Helix. Don't let us down.