2009′s Greatest Fighter Contenders for Playstation 3 & XBOX 360

Fighter fans have sure had a treat so far this year. 2009 hailed the return of king of genre in not one but two flavours. First was the release of Street Fighter II HD Remix on PSN and XBLA: a totally redrawn, HD version of the iconic game still played in tournaments today. More recently Street Fighter 4 was released which successfully brought the series to next-gen standards while still keeping firmly within it's roots. Not only have these games kept our palms sweaty but also the news of the return of six more masters of the ring.

Not needing any introduction is the highly anticipated title, Tekken 6 which will hopefully be hitting home consoles Q4 this year. According to a few sources the 6th installment will try to redefine the series with many underlying changes. Some characters will feature slightly altered move set whereas others, such as Yoshimitsu will be changed significantly. Character customization will make it's return as well as online play for both Xbox and PS3 versions. Multi-tiered and destructible environments will set the stage for epic fights in the Iron Fist tournament. Anticipation for this title has never been higher.

King of Fighters XII is the latest installment of the KOF series. Staying true to it's original form, KOF XII will feature a complete set of newly-drawn sprites along with some beautifully rendered backgrounds. The 3-on-3 system the series is known for will also stay intact along with a few additions and modifications. Guard breaks, dashing and evasive rolls will all be present as well as new critical counters and finishing moves. Fans of the self proclaimed king will sure rejoice as KOF makes it's return to home consoles in July 2009.

Long before Soul Caliber was around Samurai Showdown was your only hope for players craving the clash of steel on steel. Samurai Showdown: Edge of Destiny will be the 11th game in SNK's popular series. Samurai Showdown has personally been a favourite of mine as I fondly remember chugging many a coin into the arcade machines to play as Hanzo or Haumaru. According to kotaku.com, Edge of Destiny aka "Samurai Spirits Sen" will be heading to Xbox 360 sometime this year.

The spiritual successor to Guilty Gear will hit both PS3 and XBox in the form of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. As ridiculous as the name sounds we can be guaranteed that BlazBlue will be every bit as frantic and over the top as Arc System Works's previous games. Trailers look very promising but only time will tell if it'll hold up against it's current-gen peers. Already available in Japanese arcades, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger will be released for home consoles on the 30th of June.

More recently announced Namco Bandai's Soul Caliber will make it's long awaited appearance on the PSP with Broken Destiny, as well as Tekken's return to the portable in the form of Tekken 6. Both are said to be far from stripped down ports of it's home console brothers and will feature a full roster of characters and features as well as exclusive content. How they are going to manage to squeeze everything onto a UMD is anyone's guess but we're sure happy they're trying!

All in all 2009 will ensure for more blistered fingers than a Chinese sweatshop as gamers duke it out online, at home or on the go with this vast variety of fighters coming our way.

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