MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY ALLIANCE (XBOX)

Reviewed by AMOS

I can hear The Immortals' now famous techno mix playing in my mind. God, I've got to dig up that old CD. I know it's around here somewhere...AH-HA!! Now to program track 15 on a constant loop and I'll be set. Ah, there we are.

Mortal Kombat, a game of arcade legend. A title that raised the ante for every fighting clone including Capcom's own flagship Street Fighter 2. Quick game play and digital graphics aside, its selling point was always the extreme over-the-top violence, and the bloody fatalities. The later earned the game much controversy in the eyes of the media. This in turn sparked the video games violence debate which rages on to this day. The Mortal Kombat franchise was in the top ten most violent games at the time, and I personally feel this is why the series toned itself down for installments 3 & 4. A couple single player Mortal Kombat titles came out, and a horrible version on the Gameboy. The series lost its once formidable hold on those who loved it or loathed it. However, Midway Games are stepping up to test their might once again with Deadly Alliance. And this time, the gloves are off.

Visuals: Moving a 2D fighter to the 3D realm is always an enormous task. Midway seems to have made the change without a hitch. Keep in mind that this is an entire new game, no digitized martial artists to be found here. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is the first game in the series where each character has their own unique look. Scorpion and Sub Zero are no longer in the same costume of a different color. Even the unlockable alternate costumes for each character is vastly different from the first. The arenas also have great detail. Some are a completely open area, others have breakable objects placed inside. Unfortunately, ALL arenas have the same invisible wall around them. So you can forget about tossing your spar partner into that cozy lava pit below. "So what about the blood," you say? Oh it's there, and lots of it. Then there's some more. Then we add a few more buckets. Finally we throw in a few extra gallons we had lying around. In a word: yuck. The characters spurt, drip, gush, and bleed enough body fluid to fill a fleet of oil tankers. All this before we even see a fatality, which are the most graphic of them all. Still, the "blood" always has that goopy look to it, and though the game never took itself seriously, it's weird watching a "drop" of blood the size of a fist trailing down someone's arm. Gravity is not a factor either, you'll see this as a prone character bleeds from the face only to have the blob flow down the neck, around the arm, over the waist and legs...but never hit the ground. However, the multiple martial arts is what really sold me on MK:DA. Each fighter has two separate fighting styles and one weapon style. Some of them I've never heard of until now. No two characters share the same style either. So with 20+ characters to choose from, we find ourselves with one of the most diverse fighters of our day. Beating the tar out of your opponent never looked so good, but don't expect the winner to place in any beauty contests after each match. Their face alone tells a vicious tale.

9/10

Sound: The sound for MK:DA is not anything special. Don't get me wrong, it is good, but could have been a little better. The booming "Finish him!" returns along with "Get over here!" and other trademark exclamations. (Thank you Midway). But the sounds of getting hit are generally the same, as well as every thud of hitting the ground. Because of this, the sounds of the fight are always overshadowed by their visual counterparts. It does not carry the same gruesomeness as I was hoping for. Another audio feature I miss from the first Mortal Kombat was the overwhelming cheers and applause from the audience who watched in the background. On a high note (forgive me) the music works well in MK:DA. Unlike other fighters where the music overpowers everything else, the BGM is steady and resonant and tells a story all by itself. Just listen to it for a few moments in Konquest mode. Yes it's repetitive, but does not get annoying after a few bars. One area where I find could really have used more music was the Drum Arena. If only the Kodo drummers in the background were playing the music you were fighting to I would be in heaven. One final comment I'd like to point out was the lack of better voice actors. The opening narration was average (again, compared to the visuals) and led me to believe that I'd hear more voice work than "Ow...argh...ahhhhh!" throughout the rest of the game.

7/10

Ease of Play: As far as fighters go, MK:DA is pretty easy to get into. Most combos are simple four button affairs. The most complex are the precise ten hit strings linking all three art styles together. Rather difficult, but awesome to watch. Also if you turn fast enough, you can catch the look of disbelief on a friend's face after you beat them into a pool of Shaolin snot. Remembering each fighter's moves certainly takes a degree of dedication. Button mashers will only get so far. The Konquest mode acts as a tutorial for any character you have opened up. Expect to spend several hours in this feature alone. The Xbox controller adapts well to the combo system. Even better, you can configure the buttons to your liking to help with some of the more challenging combinations. My advice when fighting against the AI is to invent. The computer often creates devastating combos not covered in the training session and will adapt to repetitive attacks. Air juggles are on your side here. There are enough moves to keep your opponent in the air and not use the same strike twice. Above all, keep moving, and don't get backed into a corner.

8/10

Long term fun: This subject can be summed up in two words: The Krypt. MK:DA surprises us with nearly 700 unlockable features. Most of these are character sketches and other production stills. The best of course are the other characters, outfits and arenas. Also to be found are hints on how to perform the fatalities. There is only one finishing move per character, but one's enough considering their brutality. These can be bought with "koins" you earn in Arcade and Konquest mode. Koins are also rewarded to successful mini game playing. Lastly, by bringing saved data on a memory card to a friends house, the two of you can wager what koins you have on the outcome of the next fight. Just don't let it get too personal. However there is a ton of stuff to open up, and most of it the average gamer won't give a damn about. I only see Mortal Kombat fanatics actually wanting to open up every last coffin in the Krypt. Replay is best found in the company of colleagues beating the tar out of each other. Bets like beating an opponent using only one style are not uncommon. Also, watch for the winner of the Test Your Sight mini game on maximum difficulty.

8/10

Overall Rating: It's good to see the Mortal Kombat series back on its feet again, especially if it's to knock you off yours. Game play and graphics are smooth. Control is excellent. Sound is...aw heck with it, this game rocks! The bloody mayhem is back to soak us all like the opening of the first Blade movie. Get the game, play till dawn, and purposefully show it to wandering politicians and the elderly.

8 out of 10

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