"killer instinct" features several gameplay elements unique to fighting games of the time. instead of fighting enemies in best-of-three rounds bouts, each player has two life bars. the player that depletes the other player's life bars first wins the match. the game also introduced "auto-doubles", a feature which allows players to press a certain sequence of buttons to make characters automatically perform combos on opponents. also featured in the game are "combo breakers", special defensive moves that can interrupt combos.