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    Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

    Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (GameCube)

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    Developer

    Midway

    Publisher

    Midway

    Genre

    Fighting

    Players

    2

    C3 Score
    6
    Reader Score (1 Votes)
    10

    Posted on 01.02.2003 User Icon Posted by Adam Riley (jesusraz)
    Tag Tags: Mortal, Kombat:, Deadly, Alliance, 1, Midway, Midway, Fighting
    Originally one of the most talked about franchises around, Mortal Kombat had equal amounts of adoring fans and blood-thirsty parents trying to get the title banned due to the excessive blood and violence contained within. This, of course, only led to further publicity and high levels of sales. Many sequels and off-shoot projects arose, each one arguably weaker than the next...and then the series hit an all-time low with the side-scrolling N64 adventure Mortal Kombat: Mythologies. But, in what has to be the turn-around of the century (yes, irony is intended there), Midway has brought the decidedly tasty Deadly Alliance kicking and screaming 'Finish Him!' to the next generation consoles.
    For some reason, companies always try their best to piece together a feasible storyline for beat-'em ups. Why this is is beyond me, as just how many people buy these types of titles for a good story? Nope, we simply want some good old fashioned fighting. But anyway, for the minority here's the spiel: The fate of Earth Realm once again lies in the hands of another tournament, therefore battle must once more commence between the variety of humans, sorcerers, demi-gods and other beings that have entered. A wide range of regular and extra-ordinary special moves are at hand for the one-on-one, three-round duels. But this time there is a new twist...

     

    The first major change that should be noted is the transition into the full three dimensions, and Midway seems to have managed to make the move a relatively smooth one. Perhaps when compared to the sublime Soul Calibur, MK: DA may come off worse due to the characters sometimes appearing clumsy in their movement, but the responsiveness and overall flow of the action is more than adequate. Animation on the whole is also of a 'more than decent' quality, with little touches like being able to bruise combatants' faces being a nice inclusion. Even though the fighters' appearances are actually rather bland, their motion-captured moves and complicated combos are very striking. A truly pleasing effort!

     

    The 'Musik of Mortal Kombat' has never been extremely memorable...sorry, scratch that. The music of the MK series has always been utterly forgettable, simple as that. Whereas Capcom has always at least attempted to produce interesting background tunes in its Street Fighter series, Midway either lack the ability to do so, or perhaps believe that the games can solely rely on gruesome voice-overs and blood-curdling sound effects to provide the utmost atmosphere. Whatever the case, whilst the speech-clips and various *thuds* and *squelches* are satisfactory, something more would have been greatly appreciated.

     

    The fighting system of old has been given a bit of spring clean
    Gameplay

    6

    A complete system overhaul that leaves the best parts of the old games in tact.
    Graphics

    6

    A pleasing move into 3D, but with some clumsy player animation.
    Sound

    5

    Meaty sound-effects, but the in-game music is extremely lacklustre and underwhelming.
    Value

    8

    Nearly 700 secrets to be unlocked. But you may not really want to do most of them!
    6

    /10

    C3 Score Definitely a game not without its faults, but it certainly is a miraculous turn-around for a series that looked destined to spend eternity in obsolescence. So far this is the best fighter on the GameCube, marginally nudging ahead of the average Bloody Roar 3 and the 'great, but needs a better controller' Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO, and it will at least keep you occupied until the likes of Soul Calibur 2 arrive on the scene later this year.
    Please post your comments below.
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