Set for release later this summer, King of Fighters XII provides stunning hand drawn sprites with colorful visuals and a refined fighting system in an attempt to breath some fresh air into the aging franchise. From the videos floating around the web, it’s clear to see that unlike it’s PS2 predecessor–unsurprisingly titled King of Fighters XI–the new direction has paid off, providing a welcomed alternative to the latest 3d fighters, such as Tekken 6, and Soul Calibur 4. While not sporting as many characters as it’s previous incarnation, the game instead provides a heavier focus on the main characters of the series, progressing the story arc, and balancing it’s gameplay.

Ignition Entertainment, who publishes the game, has announced via their forums that they’d like to have fans decide on the cover art for the upcoming sequel to the King of Fighters series. They’ve provided two covers for the Xbox360 and PS3 versions of the game which feature the characters Iori Yagami, and Kyo Kusunagi on each cover. Personally I think they both look good, and while I’m pretty good with both characters myself, I’d love to see Iori get a cover shot for once. Feel free to go on over to their forums and voice your opinion. I’ve went ahead and posted several of the covers above. By the way, incase anyone missed the disclaimer at the bottom of Ignition’s posts, the winning art is still subject to approval by SNK/Playmore.

[Image sources: Ignition Entertainment]