Genre: Fighting
Developer: Midway
Publisher: Midway
# of Players: 1-2 players
Memory: 1 block
ERSB: Mature
Released On: November 19th
Also On: Playstation 2, Xbox
Features: Dolby Pro Logic II
Website: http://www.midway.com/futuretense_cs/flash/mkda/launch.html
Mortal Kombat is a franchise that has been around for a decade. The immense popularity of the first Mortal Kombat gained was never because of its gameplay, but instead because of the gimmick the game featured, blood and gore. At the time, that degree of violence was unseen in a videogame, so while I was playing Street Fighter II every kid in the schoolyard was talking about Mortal Kombat.
Its gimmick made it a tremendous success; it angered parents across the country and due to that, it gained tons of publicity. Everyone wanted to get their hands on this game. As time went on the franchise became so popular that it spawned numerous amounts of sequels, spin- offs and even two feature film movies, one of which was actually enjoyable! Unfortunately, after a few years, the series became butchered and this could be thanked to terrible spin-offs such as Sub Zero Mythologies.
It was time for a change, so the series co-creator Ed Boon thought the series needed a makeover. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is that needed makeover. Deadly Alliance is the first true 3D Mortal Kombat game; a title that will give a rebirth to a dying, if not already dead, franchise.
Presentation:
I was never too fond of the whole apocalyptic atmosphere present in all the previous Mortal Kombat games. It all seemed too dark for me, especially for fighting games, which I believe are meant to be just fun and nothing more. But if you’re a fan of the series then you should be happy to hear that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance recreates the whole Mortal Kombat atmosphere many of us grew up with. The main menus are pretty cool but it could have used some more pizzazz since a bowl of fire is a bit too boring for me. There’s some FMV in the game but only as an intro to progress the game’s story, explaining the actual Deadly Alliance. It’s pretty cool, so I’ll avoid spoiling anything for you, since one of the franchise’s greats gets murdered in the first minute of the movie. Load times are speedy and the framerate is surprisingly rock-solid…
Gameplay:
The previous Mortal Kombat games never had much depth to them; the only thing that really made the games so appealing was the amount of blood and gore they had. Deadly Alliance takes everything we knew about the series and throws it out the window. Of course, the franchise’s gimmick is still here but other than that, Deadly Alliance is a new and much improved version of the franchise.
Deadly Alliance is the first true 3D Mortal Kombat game and in order to make a good transformation into the 3D world, the guys at Midway learned to emulate the types of gameplay featured in great modern day fighters such as Virtua Fighter 4 and
"Deadly Alliance takes everything we knew about the series and throws it out the window"
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Soul Calibur. The game features tons of real-life fighting styles such as Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, and Crane, all of which are faithfully represented in the game to the best of Midway’s ability. Along with these fighting styles, each character features the ability to wield a weapon in order to deliver some serious damage. The selection of these fighting styles are done during the actual battles, variation between them is a key factor in delivering devastating combos.
Unfortunately for some, Deadly Alliance is not a game you can just jump right into; it requires tons of practice and the mastering of your fighter. With over 20 fighters in the line up, there’s plenty to master, from old favorites like Scorpion and Raiden to new characters like Mavado and the voluptuous Li Mei. Each and every fighter features their own unique fighting styles, thus you will never encounter two fighters that play alike. In order for you to get accustomed to your fighter, Midway
"you will never encounter two fighters that play alike"
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has included a game mode called Konquest. Konquest is sort of like a tutorial, teaching you the basics for whichever character you choose. In order to play Konquest you must create a Player Profile, which keeps the statistics of what you’ve accomplished in the game.
Arcade mode is where you’ll be spending most of your time, fine tuning your skills with your fighter of choice in attempt to put an end to the Deadly Alliance. Arcade mode at times feels very unbalanced; the first 3 to 4 fights are a walk in the park even for someone who just put their hands on the title, but later on, the bouts become unbelievably difficult. At times, even if you manage to win one round against a harder character the difficulty in the next round goes through the roof, with the CPU
"later on, the bouts become unbelievably difficult"
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blocking and countering practically everything you have to offer, something which can be very frustrating at times. When you reach the bosses such as Moloch (Deadly Alliance’s Goro…) you realize that your special attacks don’t do a thing, so unless you’re familiar with the combos you’re pretty much screwed.
With all that said above, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is an excellent and very enjoyable title (when you learn how to play that is), but not all is perfect. I don’t know why, but Midway decided not to include the option of playing the game with the GameCube’s analog stick. Instead we are forced to use that tiny, tiny, oh so tiny, D-Pad. At first I was becoming very frustrated trying to perform some of Scorpion’s Special Moves on the D-Pad but after an hour or so I did become adjusted to that miniscule piece of shit. I was very comfortable playing Capcom vs. SNK 2 with the GameCube’s analog stick, so I do not see what the problem was with not including this function in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. *shakes fist at Midway*
Visuals:
Deadly Alliance was created using RenderWare development tools to make the best possible looking game for a multi-platform title and it looks as if Midway succeeded. Deadly Alliance is the best looking 3D fighter on the GameCube, that doesn’t say much though, since the only other 3D fighter is Bloody Roar: Primal Fury. Character models are the only thing I can really complain about but even those look great. Although, I just would have liked if they looked less like plastic action figures. Everything else is pretty spectacular… Texture work is beautiful, especially on clothing and particle effects are just as nice, especially in the arena which has snow fall. Oh, and about the Arenas, they’re a decent size for the game itself but I would have liked if they were just a bit larger and possibly multi tiered, like those in the Dead or Alive games from Tecmo. The artists at Midway also went the extra mile to feature real time bruising on a character’s face, something which I would like to see more of in a fighter. The franchise’s trademark, which is blood and gore, is still present and possibly more than ever. I actually toned down the amount of blood in the game since I thought it was too ridiculous.
Audio:
This is the only area which Deadly Alliance falls flat on its ass. Not that the audio sounds bad, because effects such as the clanging of swords, grunts, screams, and other effects sound excellent, but the near lack of music annoys me. There is music, but it’s too moody and dark for my taste… I would have been extremely happy if they would have just used the soundtracks from the movies because those still kick ass, especially the main theme from the first and Blood & Fire by Type O Negative used in its sequel.
Lasting Appeal:
Deadly Alliance is no walk in the park; it could take you months to master just a handful of characters, so expect to spend lots of time with this one. Of course, there’s an addictive two player versus mode but that’s not any fun unless your buddy knows how to actually play the game. What really keeps you coming back is The Krypt… The Krypt is a massive room filled with more than 600 upright Koffins; these Koffins, when opened, unlock tons of extra goodies such as new characters, artwork, stories, moves, hints, and tons of other nonsense, like pictures of MK memorabilia from many years ago. In order to open these Koffins you’ll need to collect tons of Koins which can be acquired while playing gameplay modes such as Arcade and Konquest. You can compare the replay value of Deadly Alliance to another GameCube fighter, Super Smash Bros. Melee, since collecting the goodies found in the Koffins is very similar to collecting trophies in Melee.
Final Thoughts
At first, I was turned away by Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, since its learning curve was too steep for my liking. But, eventually after some time, I had mastered Scorpion and all of a sudden I began to really enjoy playing this game. Not only is it the best GameCube fighter on the market but one of the most enjoyable 3D fighters available on any console. Mortal Kombat is back and without a doubt, better than freaking ever!
Mortal Kombat!
*GamersMark.com reviewed this game with a copy of the title purchased from retail
