A sequel followed the next year, adding new characters, new stages and new finishers. To many gamers this was the best incarnation of Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat 3 followed in 1995, adding more characters, finishers, stages, and some major modifications to the fighting system, which included combos and a run button. The third game seemed to suffer some problems with very cheap AI. In late 1995, an update to MK3 known as Ultimate MK3 arrived in the arcades. It added a few characters from MK2, as well as a few new backgrounds.
Mortal Kombat made its first console only appearance in the form of Mortal Kombat Trilogy, which compiled the best fighters from the previous three games, as well as stages from them. The game still featured the very annoying AI, which made it nearly impossible to beat the game. People were beginning to realize how shallow the series was. The next home console only MK game came in the form of MK Mythologies: Sub Zero, an attempt to graft the fighting style of MK into a beat ‘em up/adventure game. It failed miserably.
Mortal Kombat 4 was released to much anticipation. It was the series first trip into 3D, yet it managed to keep the rapidly aging fighting system from the first three games. The next nail in the coffin arrived on September 9, 1999. The Dreamcast launch title, Mortal Kombat Gold, had a lot of potential, as it was meant to be to Mortal Kombat 4 as Mortal Kombat Trilogy was to Mortal Kombat 3. The game was panned by critics and gamers alike.
That wasn’t enough for Midway though. You’d think the company was in some form of sado-masochistic state of mind when they approved the game known as Mortal Kombat: Special Forces. The second spin-off game in the series was worse than the original – this game is considered to be one of the worst games of the 32-bit generation.
Mortal Kombat was dead.
At E32002, Midway announced that it was making a fifth Mortal Kombat game, to be titled Deadly Alliance. Though John Tobias had left Midway, and most people groaned at the prospect of a new Mortal Kombat game, the few loyal fans that remained were rather excited. The series appeared to have ditched the same shallow fighting style it had used since 1992, and began borrowing largely from successful fighting games on the market. Mortal Kombat is moving in a new direction. The right direction.
Those who played the fourth Mortal Kombat would know that the plot became quite twisted, with everyone stabbing each other in the back and all. For the one or two of you that are new to the series, Mortal Kombat is a tournament held between the Earth Realm and the Outworld. The best warriors from each realm fight each other, and if the Outworld was to win a certain number of tournaments in a row, they would be allowed to consume the Earth Realm. Goro needed just one more victory to open the gates to Earth Realm, but was defeated by Liu Kang. As his minion, Shang Tsung, had failed, Shao Kahn, the leader of the Outworld, decided he could lure the champion into the Outworld. He was defeated in this tournament, so he unhatched a new scheme, which involved invading Earth Realm.
However, an alliance between Shang Tsung and Quan Chi was made in secret. Their aim was to seize control of both realms, and consume enough souls from both realms to revive the army of the Dragon King. There were only two people between the realms who could stop them. The first warrior was Shao Kahn, the emperor of the Outworld. Quan Chi and Shang Tsung disposed of the emperor, and seized control of the Outworld. The other warrior was Liu Kang, from the Earth Realm, the champion of Mortal Kombat. While training at the temple with his friend Kung Lao watching, Lao revealed himself to be Shang Tsung in disguise. Kang fought valiantly, but was overpowered when Quan Chi showed up. They disposed of Liu Kang, and devoured his soul. Raiden gathers the best fighters on Earth, and informs them of what happens.
Kombat…with depth?
Deadly Alliance would have to be the greatest turnaround for a series in history. It has single-handedly saved the Mortal Kombat franchise from complete and utter doom. The focus has shifted from the gore factor to the actual fighting system (although gore is still present and a little more brutal thanks to the new hardware). The fighting system itself has seen a massive overhaul. Instead of every character using the one sort of basic move set with their own special moves, each character now has 3 fighting styles at their disposal. Two of these are martial arts styles, while the other is a weapon based style.
The system of switching between styles has been integrated very well, as you can link combos between styles, which not only does big damage to the opponent, it makes you look pretty cool as well. Each character also has 3 special attacks, such as Scorpion’s spear, or Sub Zero’s Ice Blast. There is also a special move button which allows you to perform a move specific to your selected martial arts style. Some characters will have a block breaking attack, while others will be able to stab their opponent with their weapon, and leave it inside them, causing them to bleed to death. It should also be noted that there is no loading time between bouts, as the player will stay down for a few seconds, then get back up, and fight the next bout. In fact, there is very little loading in the game at all. All fighters also have a difficulty meter in their profile. This specifies the difficulty involved in performing that characters attacks and combos. This helps beginners get their feet wet by using easier characters (Scorpion) before getting into the tougher characters (Kenshi). There are 23 fighters in all – 12 to begin with, and 11 to be purchased from the Krypt, or earned by completing the game on the hardest difficulty. Fans of the first game of the series would be pleased to know that Deadly Alliance has seen the return of Test Your Might, as well as a new mini game, Test Your Sight, which is one of those moving cup games.
Deadly Alliance boasts a few modes; the stock standard Arcade, VS, Training, and Survival modes, but it also includes a mode called Konquest. Konquest explains the back story of your character, as well as teaching you how to do combos and special moves with your chosen character. You earn Koins from each match up, which are logged into your profile. You can bet Koins against your friend/enemy in VS mode, as well as purchasing stuff in the Krypt. The Krypt is a massive graveyard, which contains 26 rows of 26 crypts. Within each crypt is a secret, be it a movie, concept art, comic book page, secret character or one of many others. There are also a few readily available features, such as a documentary on one day at Midway, a Mortal Kombat history video, and a music video.
The only real problem with the way Deadly Alliance plays is in the Arcade mode. The mode itself is fine, but as you progress through the mode, you will find that some of the characters retain that trademark Mortal Kombat cheapness. The computer players manage to do some impossible moves and combos (executing a combo on you while you are in the middle of a combo that a normal player wouldn’t be able to break) with ridiculous timing. You either have to resort to cheap tactics like the AI, or be a lucky person to get passed them. The problem is probably at its worst with Moloch, the Goro of Deadly Alliance, who is the only rival to Mortal Kombat 3’s Motaro in terms of cheapness.
Gore. Gore! GORE!
The main attraction to Mortal Kombat has always been the gore. While fatalities have been toned down in this incarnation (one per fighter, no stage fatalities), the details on gore have been enhanced. Fighter’s faces suffer real time damage throughout the fights, and as their blood flies out of their body, some will fly through the air, and land on the ground, while other bits will leak down the fighter’s body, and spill onto the ground. As blood spends more time on the ground it will begin to dry out. Players will also tread through the blood and leave footprints everywhere.
Graphics are particularly strong in Deadly Alliance. The fighters themselves, though a little cartoony, have astounding detail in their models. There’s a full facial animation system, as well as smaller, less noticeable details, such as rippling in the clothing, and the aforementioned facial distortion (can only really be seen well at the end of a match). The animation is very fluid across the board. Combo moves are very fluid, as are the transitions between the various martial arts styles. Character design ranges from the very cool (Kenshi) to bordering on stupid (Bo Rai Cho, I hate drunken kung fu masters), but is pleasing on the whole. Environments are also very pleasing, if you can forgive the lack of stage fatalities. There are some really neat levels – Shang Tsung’s Palace being an excellent example. In the background is a massive Soulnado (Tornado of souls), and during the course of battle, souls will fly past the combatants screaming in agony, very good for setting the mood of the game.
Deadly Alliance’s soundtrack keeps in sync with the overall tone of music featured throughout the series, but on the whole seems far superior to anything we have heard before. The game seems to have a alight gothic overtone, mixed with a bit of bass and maybe a little techno and rock. Sound effects are around par; some of the weapon sounds are good, while the general hitting sounds are only average. The announcer from the previous Mortal Kombat games is back in all his glory, too.
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is exactly the kick in the pants that the Mortal Kombat series needed to get going again. The game is not without its flaws, although they are now very minor ones which could be easily worked out in the next incarnation of the series. Deadly Alliance has all the elements required for a good fighting game, as well as a vicious story, and a ton of extras thrown in for good measure. A great effort by Midway.
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