Pros: Ultra bloody, new fighting system is awesome, big replay-value, great with friend
Cons: Graphics should be better, movement problems, single player could be better
The Bottom Line: This installment is awesome and if you are a fan of MK or fighting games in general, definitely buy it. Otherwise, you might want to rent it first.
zooter1940s's Full Review: Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance for Xbox
After many flawed sequels the one of the biggest fighting franchises around, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance appears at first glance to be a flawless victory. Unfortunately, this game isn't flawless but is perhaps the best incarnation of the Mortal Kombat series to date.
Graphics: Graphically, the game really doesn't take advantage of the X-Box's superior hardware. You probably couldn't tell a difference between the X-Box's version and the PS2's version. The graphics may not earn a superior, but they are definitely excellent. Most of the character models utilize a high polygon count that lends itself to some nice animations and fighting action. Take Qhan Chi for example, obviously the designer's spent a lot of time on this character model, he sometimes comes across as 'photo realistic.'
Yet, this kind of attention was not given to every character and it stands out. Johnny Cage and Nitara are terribly done. They look like something out of a PS1. There are two more minor details that really bug. First, the rope effects of Scorpion and a new character, Mavado, are very 8-bit. They are just a bunch of brightly colored balls that jet out of the characters hands and they look like crap. Being a big fan of Scorpion, I was hoping his spear attack would be stellar, but it ends up looking like something out of the Genesis fighter "Ballz." The other thing that bugs me are the particle effects. They simply don't look realistic and don't resemble anything of what the X-Box is capable of. Scorpion's Hellfire and Back flip become blurred by an orange cotton candy-like substance instead of a demonic hellfire. Minor flaws, yes, but they still bug me.
The stages are well done with decent lighting effects and such. All in all very average by today's standards. There is not very much along the ways of interactivity. No going through walls, floors, or ceilings. Very little to break. Sometimes the occasional icicle or statue will get in your fighter's path (or sometimes your camera view). I imagine that the stages could have been better developed. On the plus side the backgrounds are animated and suit the series well.
Gore Factor: This game takes bloody to the extreme. To all those fans who love Mortal Kombat for the gooey red stuff: You're gonna have a freak fest. The blood realistically (if losing a 20 gallons of blood is realistic) flows down from the various cuts your player acquires and splatters onto the floor. It looks great how a slash from Scorpion's Ninja sword really slashes up your face. By the end of the battle your character will usually be battered and bruised. Having cuts all over their body. And the floor isn't cleaned up either. After 3 rounds you literally are fighting in a 'blood-bath.' It's great.
The infamous fatalities are back and better than ever. The great graphic upgrade provides for some stellar fatalities. They are also very user friendly, requiring only no more than five or six buttons, max. My only qualm is that every player only has 1 fatality. But the great animations make up for this.
Sound:
The old announcer is back and you can be sure you'll here your favorite catch phrases: "Get over hear!" and "Fatality." The sound effects and ambience are not really up to par with the graphical experience and this detracts from the overall quality of the game. I did not think the voice-over's or sound effects were really good. The music is pretty much true to the series. Overall, the sound was just lacking. I wanted the impression of being in Hell. Instead, this sound gives you the impression that you are in Juvenile Hall, maybe a County Jail, but I can assure you it isn't Hell.
Gameplay: Gameplay has been totally revamped for this newest installment of the Mortal Kombat series. So much so that Deadly Alliance doesn't have too much in common with any of its predecessors. Each character has 3 fighting styles. 2 unarmed styles and 1 armed style (usually) and this makes for some very in-depth fighting. The stances are also very realistic. Based off of real martial-arts, the fighting looks great. The realism really comes across when you're playing.
The combo system is fairly intuitive. If you are used to combos in other games, you might have a little trouble adjusting. There is a specific rhythm and it goes like this: slow and steady. I found myself hammering away at the buttons trying to pull of a mad combo to no avail. Then when I was fingering the buttons slowly to help memorize them, it worked. It can be a little annoying, especially when the buttons don't follow the character's animations. This can make nailing a combo incredibly difficult. But if you play it enough you can get the hang of it.
Modes of play: All of the standard modes are here: Arcade, versus, practice. Arcade mode can get boring after awhile. But isn't that true with every fighter's arcade mode? Versus mode is great. When you are kicking butt, you can really see it on screen. When someone else is kicking your butt, you can really tell on screen. With all the blood and gore, it even is fun to watch. Impaling someone with your sword makes for a great crowd pleaser, and lets not forget about fatalities. This game is awesome with friends.
And there is a new mode, it's called Konquest. It is essentially a practice mode with intricate stories woven in for each character. Konquest is basically about collecting Koins for the Krypt (I know, enough with the K spellings). Whenever you complete your mission (such as mastering a certain combo or special move) in Konquest mode, you are awarded a koin of a certain color. You can also acquire koins in arcade mode and through mini-games, but these methods are much slower compared to Konquest. The mini-games appear in arcade mode. They consist of two games. "Test Your Might", which is basically a button masher, and "Test Your Sight", which is basically follow the ball under the cup sort of thing. They don't add much to gameplay but provide you a means to collect even more Koins. These can be spent in the Krypt which is perhaps the most unique thing I've seen in this game.
You enter a crypt which is filled in a 26 x 26 grid of coffins resulting in 676 coffins. Inside each coffin could be hidden characters, hidden stages, art, bios, movies, or perhaps nothing. It adds soooo much to the replay of the game it's not even funny. I've played through the Konquest mode 3 times so far completing around 600 missions and I still don't have the entire Krypt conquered. It's a very great idea. It adds to the game in that you get rewarded for your efforts with a new character instead of having to cheat by punching in a couple of buttons at the start menu.
Controls: The controls are very good. They respond accordingly and allow for some fluid fighting. Moving from one fighting style to another is as simple as pressing the left trigger button, very good. My only qualm is that during combos, to stay in a combo, the buttons have to get out of sync with the animations and sounds and this really messes me up. Other than that, the controls are tight and special moves and fatalities always work.
How does it fare against other fighters?: Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is perhaps one of the better fighters out there. The graphics aren't great but the gameplay is very reminiscent of Virtua Fighter. The different styles of each character could really be explored and experimented with if you are a hard-core player, providing the kind of depth and breadth of a great fighting game. There are 20 characters and you should be able to find a few that suit you. The lack of special moves may inhibit some expectations. But the added realism of the different fighting styles and combos help round the game out. If you like Mortal Kombat you should buy this game. It is perhaps the best game in the series. If you don't know about Mortal Kombat or shy away from blood, you might want to try this is a rental first. Deadly Alliance provides plenty of replay value so you won't get bored too soon. All in all the game is very good. It just isn't a 'flawless victory.'
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