rader6795's Full Review: Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance for GameCube
Prologue
Before I begin, I might as well let you all know that I, the PerswAsian, Terry Rader, am one of the biggest all time marks for the Mortal Kombat series in all of history.
It all started way back in 1992, when the original Mortal Kombat was released. Yes, it was different than most street fighting games at the time because you could kill your opponent in a brutal, though highly unrealistic, manner to add insult to your opponents obviously injured ego.
Of course, no matter how over-the-top you make a death, it's still going to be judged when your game is rocking digitized graphics of real people. No cartoony sprites in this game, no sir. It's people. Mortal Kombat is made out of people!
Some people, mainly mothers who can't understand why the child they raised is moody, violent and hard to control, tried to label the game as the downfall of society, I found it to be a release for all my pent up teenage angst.
Warning: Short rant that has nothing to do with this review ahead. Proceed three paragraphs down until you see the next bolded break and an end to italics if you don't care about my ranting.
For the record, there's two reasons your children could be rebellious. One, they're teenagers. Other than a high masturbation rate to pictures of Britney Spears exposed nipples and eating subpar school lunches, that's what teenagers do. They rebel against everything their parents stand for just to feel like they're their own person when they're not.
The second reason is because, well, you raised them. Instead of blaming the video games, why don't you take the blame? Are you, as parents, so in denial of your faults that you can't believe that maybe, just maybe, you made a mistake that shaped your child more than the media? Take an active role in your child's life and quit pushing the blame. This is why fat people can sue McDonald's because they can't stop pushing greaseball burgers down their morbidly obese mouths.
We all make mistakes. Deal with the consequences, don't use a scapegoat like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to explain why little Billy is hitting other kids. Sure, he's a social outcast with low self-esteem ever since you started calling him stupid for his first C in school and is violent because his father and peers hit him, but it's the game's fault, right?
Alright, we can continue now. Leave your matches and flames in the comment section.
The killings in Mortal Kombat, known as "Fatalities," were merely one aspect of the game. There was more than meets the eye for those who looked further.
You see, Mortal Kombat was the first fighting game to give you a true purpose to fight. Whether they were protecting the Earth from evil, trying to stop a wanted criminal, seeking fame and fortune or simply returning from the dead to get revenge, each character had a purpose for being there.
Sure, that might sound goofy in the age of the roleplaying game, but that was all the more reason you needed back in the day to fight and Street Fighter II never explained the purpose of why Shadowloo was holding a tournament. Seriously, why the hell would an evil crime syndicate hold a street fighting competition to see who can stop them from being evil? That's like telling James Bond how you were going to rob the Royal Family shortly before sending him through an elaborate death maze with five emergency exits and sleepy guards.
Mortal Kombat, on the other hand, had a highly detailed story, and that was truly the game's strong point. The blood, gore and fighting were just the icing on the kumite gaming cake.
Of course, Joe Lieberman got his state-issued senatorial panties in a bunch and wanted to end all violence in video games. And, thus, he labeled Mortal Kombat, along with Night Trap, as being bad. The game got loads of bad publicity. But, as they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity.
For all intents and purposes, Mortal Kombat was a phenomenon and brought life back into the arcades that was sorely lacking at the time.
The next year brought the release of Mortal Kombat II. Improved were the graphics, roster, battle system and fatalities. More secrets were put into the game. The hidden mid-boss character from the first game, Reptile, was now a playable, albeit terrible, character.
The game was, by all means, the peak of the series. It truly was gaming perfection and anyone who took the time to learn the fighters could completely own their competition with ANY fighter. It wasn't insanely deep, but it was balanced enough to where no character would completely dominate the others.
To this day, there are few fighting games that can hold a candle to Mortal Kombat II.
Then there was Mortal Kombat 3. Frankly, it blew. The game's graphics and sound were crisper, the stages were multi-tiered, but the game just wasn't that great. Gone was the fan favorite character Scorpion. Gone was Reptile. Gone were the sexy female ninjas. Of course, there was former Playboy model Kerri Hoskins as Sonya Blade, but it just wasn't enough.
MK3 also marked a change. Every character could now let loose a series of blows with preset combinations. Also, you could sprint a short time to either let loose on your opponent or just evade a jump kick with the new "Run" button.
Of course, the game was lacking both characters and character, as most of the new "Kombatants" were generic as all hell. From the palette-swapped robots with a Predator-ponytail to the grizzled street cop (you could tell he was grizzled because he wore his hat backwards) to Goro with boobies, you could tell this was a rush job rehash to make some fat cash. The story was convoluted. The magic was gone. Mortal Kombat, as a series, had suffered a fatality.
The movie, released around the same time, almost did that for them anyway.
Midway quickly responded with a patch to the arcade boards in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, adding the fan favorites that were missing from MK3. But, the game still didn't have the story properly in place. I mean, come on, Johnny Cage was dead?
Years passed. Mortal Kombat games hit the console scene but missing was the game from the arcades. In their place were lackluster games in Mortal Kombat Trilogy (which, admittedly, I rather liked) and the truly terrible Mortal Kombat: Mythologies. Tekken 2, Virtua Fighter II and Soul Blade revolutionized the world of the 3D fighter.
Finally, news of Mortal Kombat 4 hit. And, WTF? It's... it's polygons. Did Midway go crazy and put the characters into a 3D world?
Well, yes and no. The game, while rendered well in polygons, remained a 2D fighter at heart. The only difference was that your character could now sidestep a la Fatal Fury, to avoid projectiles and attacks.
The game, while fun, seemed incredibly generic. Characters all shared not only the same basic character models, but the same ground combos, also. It lacked variety. But luckily, the fatalities really saved the game, as they were inspired for the first time since Mortal Kombat II. The first time I saw newcomer Quan Chi rip off his opponents leg and beat him to death with it, I knew I liked the game.
The story returned a bit more to its roots. Sadly, though, everyone and their mothers had already moved on to 3D fighting games by this point and psuedo-3D just didn't cut it. The addition of throwing boulders scattered in arenas and breaking out weapons didn't add anything except cheese.
Mortal Kombat 4 was a success, but not nearly as hot as the previous entries. Mortal Kombat: Gold, a slightly improved version of MK4, was released on Dreamcast but few people took notice. Critics labeled the series with a toe tag.
So, when a teaser showed up on the personal webpage of Ed Boon, co-creator of the series, for a new Mortal Kombat, little was made of it.
The series had its back against the wall. It was surrounded by doubt. The arcade scene, from which Mortal Kombat as a series created its name, is all but dead. When the announcement that the next game in the series would be console only, people took that as a sure sign of another Mortal Kombat: Special Forces quality game.
They were wrong.
Actual beginning of the review
From the opening CG intro, you realize that the game has taken a much darker turn.
(Spoiler alert!)
The introduction explains the game's subtitle, Deadly Alliance, and tells the story of how Quan Chi and Shang Tsung allied to take over the world. However, there were two beings who could stand in their way. First up was Shoa Kahn... quickly dispensed in a surprise attack. The second was Liu Kang. After sneaking up to Liu Kang disguised as Kung Lao, a graphic battle takes place. For the first time, the tide changes to the side of evil.
Liu Kang is dead.
For followers of the series, that's not only shocking, that's downright morbid. In the previous four Mortal Kombat games, Liu Kang has been the Champion of the Tournament and, thus, the saviour of the world. But now, his corpse lays where he once trained for the tournament, his soul now inside the evil sorceror he fought for so long.
The future is grave, indeed. Raiden throws down the gauntlet, along with his seat on the counsel of Elder Gods, to intervene on what is certainly Earth's most dire threat.
I normally forego explaining the storylines of games, especially tournament fighting games, but I have to make an exception for this one. Not only does it set the grim tone well, but it shows just what type of risk Midway was willing to take to insure this game was different. Killing off Liu Kang is the equivalent of Wolverine finally taking a dirt nap. Superman is dead, friends, and the world has one less mighty protector to make sure you can sleep sound at nights.
It's balsy, it's desperate, it's just what the series needs because for far too long it's been leaning towards being campy. This also ushers in a new direction for the game.
The series finally takes that scary, scary transition into the third dimension that no two-dimensional fighter has been able to thus far. And, surprisingly, the game plays like mix of Mortal Kombat II and Soul Calibur. There's no quick kills, there's no insane abuse combos, there's few easy but cheap attacks... there's just a lot of true, clean fighting. Hell, even the uppercut and sweep were taken away from most characters. It sounds weird, but it plays far better than Tekken 4 ever did.
The game also borrows one of my favorite features from Killer Instinct, as you start the next round in the same location the previous round ended. This addition grounds the game a bit and adds to the realism. It's a shame that it takes a highly unrealistic turn with some of the fatalities and enough spurting blood to make House of 1000 Corpses look like a made-for-TV movie for mormons.
The graphics of the game are beautiful and surprisingly fluid considering the models consist of many a polygon. Fighters will have their face progressively get bruised and beaten, like in Art of Fighting and Killer Instinct, as fights go on. It's disappointing that there's only three damage levels, but I suppose that's a time limitation more than a game engine limitation.
Also disappointing is the inexplicable boundries to the open arenas. While I understand the series wouldn't feel right had there been ring outs, I'd have liked a good reason not to fall into the acid. Why it couldn't have been additional damage while in that area, since there's already gradual acid damage from stream spitting statues, is beyond me. Also, I'm guessing the reason most arenas are open is to avoid camera conflicts that were found in Mortal Kombat 4 when a "Kombatant" stood alongside the wall.
The hit detection is excellent, though slightly generic when compared to Dead or Alive 3's awesome engine that showcased rag doll physics like buckling after a kick to the knee. However, the game plays very true to the feel of Mortal Kombat. A twisted new feature is blood that spurts onto the arena doesn't dry up like in past iterations of the series, and will remain a reminder of how you should've bought some Scotch Guard.
The sound is as strong as any MK before it. The screams of pain, the splattering blood and the ambient music all set the mood well. The voiceover work is far stronger than the already impressive work found in Mortal Kombat 4, but far too little between. I've been spoiled by the interactions between fighters in games like SNK vs. Capcom: Chaos and would have loved to hear some voiceovers to accompany something like that. However, that can always come in a different day and it's not like sound is that important in a tournament fighter, anyway. I'm just thankful the characters didn't yell nonsense like those found in Soul Calibur II.
As for control, gone are the days of High Punch, Low Punch, High Kick, Low Kick and now there are 4 attack buttons that change with each character. Attacks now have hit variation much like that found in the Tekken series, as attacks now strike high, medium and low. Also added is the ability to counter a move. However, not every attack style has the ability to counter, so you may have to experiment a bit.
Since I mentioned attack styles, I might as well elaborate. Each character has three attack styles that can be switched at the touch of a button. Normally, there's two martial art styles and one weapon style. You can change fighting styles at the touch of a button. In addition, you can also switch styles mid-combo and break out your weapon of choice for some extra hits. When a character weilds a weapon, they're deal more damage in combat, but they also sustain more damage when they're hit. Another drawback to weapons are that, most often, they're slower than your regular attacks.
The advantage to many weapons, however, is the ability to impale your opponent. You can, depending on your weapon, thrust your weapon deep into your enemy's flesh and leave it where it lies. However, if you're using a character with bludgeoning weapons, like Sonya Blade and her Kali Sticks, then you'll be unable to impale your opponent. Katana's fans are a one shot deal and if your opponent blocks them, they bounce off and cannot be used for the remainder of the fight. Of course, if it lands, the constant blood and life loss of your opponent more than makes up for the fact that you're not going to be using your fans any time soon. Also, it's the fastest of the impale moves and can travel across screen, more than making up for the skilled players.
A majority of the time you'll be playing this game is spent unlocking all the characters, fighting arenas and cool history of the game in the "Krypt." Throughout your time playing the game, you'll earn six different coin types. There's 676 (a 26x26 grid) different coffins in the Krypt that all have a coin color and value, stating how much it is to open each coffin.
My only complaint is that opening all the coffins takes a load of time. The best way to earn "Koins" early on is to go through a character's story in "Konquest Mode." This mode basically amounts to character walkthrough and, after the first few characters, becomes a bit tedious. Every character has to learn the absolute basics, from standard punches and kicks to how to switch fighting styles. Luckily, there is a rise in difficulty when you have to fight your mirror image at the end, starting with basic fights all the way up to slobberknockers. As a tip, I'd suggest taking the characters you already feel comfortable fighting with as the last ones through Konquest Mode, as I had a load of trouble using Jax, the character I was least comfortable using, through the last trip.
Those out there looking to get the most multiplayer out of the game with the least time in the single player, I highly suggest using a walkthrough to find the location of all the hidden fighters like Frost in "Koffin IV." It'll save you countless hours and frustration.
For those of you curious, I do indeed feel stupid every time that I spell something with a "K" instead of a "C."
However, for the fans of the series with time on their hands, there's a load of keen things to unlock. There's few things as funny as the "Cooking with Scorpion" segment that was, apparently, prepared for Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, as he's wielding an axe. Also, there's a ton of pictures, character designs, game engine demos to suck your life dry.
Also, there's a making-of movie and a music video to watch. The making-of video is a neat addition that I wish more games would take the time to add in, as I loved it in Lunar: The Silver Star Story Complete and I love it here. It's informative, it gives the people behind the scenes some screen time and it was surprisingly well produced. The music video (Adema - "Immortal") is worth watching once, maybe, though I wish they would've just licensed the old "Mortal Kombat" theme from the first movie and put game footage from the past to it. Still, though, it's decent video with some interesting CGI added between clips of the band. There's more extras in this game than most DVD movies get and, for fans of the series, it's all fairly interesting.
As for the game itself, the arcade mode is the same as it's always been. You fight your way up a tournament ladder until you get to the ultimate baddie, be it Shang Tsung or Quan Chi, after you get past the standard monstrosity that guards them. You get your standard dark endings for most fighters and earn 1000 koins for beating the boss in addition to what you earned making your way up the tiers. Those coins, in turn, end up going towards your unlockables. Then you get in that loop, if you're a fan, and strive to get all the coffins opened.
So, it's fixed replay, but no one complains about the way Soul Calibur II forced replay value on the gamer, I'm doubting most people complained to this game, either.
The only disappointment that I haven't already stated is actually based around the fatalities, normal the series strong point. First and foremost, I've been spoiled by having two fatalities to a character for most of the games, now, and was upset to have but one to each character. Worse yet, some of the fatalities are weak, such as Quan Chi's neck stretch. Also, there's a stage where you can be damaged by acid spurting from statues around an arena, but there's no stage fatality? I want to see some form of searing, bubbling flesh or the traditional floating skeleton. Otherwise, there's no real reason to have an acid pit, is there?
These are minor quibbles that don't truly need addressing. In all fairness, while these would all be improvements, most fighting games don't have these features so it would be truly unfair to hold this against Ed Boon and his crew. However, the series used to be known for innovations, no reason not to keep up that awesome notoriety, is there?
Epilogue
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance reinforces the old dog adage by learning more than a trick or two. Mortal Kombat has made the transition to 3D that Street Fighter, at one the time only real competition, has failed time and again to do. Only time will tell, but perhaps Midway said it best at the beginning of the game.
"Mortal Kombat has always been... and always will be."
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