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And most amazing is that fact that I am a self-confessed MK hater - that’s what comes from writing the Official strategy guides for every Mortal Kombat game from MK2 onward – including the utter cr@p MK Mythologies. I’ve played more Mortal Kombat that any human being should legally be allowed to, and because of this, I have a real hatred for the series as a whole. Yeah the original game was something new, and at the time it was ‘novel’ – but MK has never been about quality gameplay. It’s always been about the ‘wow look and the blood’ and ‘did you see that fatality’ shock value of the game.
Well MK: DA has changed all that – the gameplay is excellent. Very well balanced and quite simply, lots of fun. Plus you’ve still got all the blood and gore – which while not needed to make the game good, is still an added bonus. The three fighting styles for each character works brilliantly, the weapons in the game are well executed (without being to powerful), the graphics are very nice, each character is well balanced and has a nice selection of moves. All in all the game hangs together really well.
Anyway, I’ll stop going on about it now as it’ll start to sound like I am working for Midway’s PR dept. All I’m saying is this: Don’t let your preconception of the MK series put you off DA, this game really is very very good. If you’re looking for a quality fighter this xmas, you could do a lot worse that Deadly Alliance. Tekken 4 for example! ;-)
Still, I cant wait for Soul Calibur 2, its gonna kick all other beat-em-up's ar*es
> Are there any special fighting options e.g.Tag?
No there is no Tag mode. Which is good IMO, as it as a cr@p idea in the first place.
Lots of destructible fighting arenas and also interactive arenas - acid spitting gargoyles etc. Some very nice graphical touches, like if a projectile is thrown at you and you block it, some times it'll bounce off toward the screen, hitting the 'inside' of the screen. Also when the match is over and the victory pose has been assumed, a character will occasionally kick the camera and knock it backwards while snarling. nice, very nice.
The 'test your might' mini game (it was in the original MK game) is in there; here you have to hammer the buttons to get enough energy to smash through the block of wood/steel/whatever. There is also the amusing 'test your sight' mini game. Here a ball is hidden under a cup and then moved around, you have to pick which cup the ball is under. Neither are particular stunning, but are cool non the less.
Also forgot to mention the way the blood drips down an opponent. if you punch then in the face, a shower of blood will be produced, then drops of it will roll down the face, body and legs before finally reaching the ground - and the blood doesn’t disappear, it stains the floor until the match is over. Also depending on how much damage you (or you opponent) has taken, you get bruises and cuts on their face. At the end of the match, if it's been a close one, you'll get a real good look of a rather bloody and battered face - replete with bruises under the eyes, bloody noses etc. Cool, very cool indeed.
And as I said, for once, all this eye candy and nice ideas and features aren't wasted on a cr@p game. They just help to improve it further. In fact the more I think about it, the more I think MK DA is probably the best 3D fighting game on the PS2 - hmmm, yeah it probably is.
And most amazing is that fact that I am a self-confessed MK hater - that’s what comes from writing the Official strategy guides for every Mortal Kombat game from MK2 onward – including the utter cr@p MK Mythologies. I’ve played more Mortal Kombat that any human being should legally be allowed to, and because of this, I have a real hatred for the series as a whole. Yeah the original game was something new, and at the time it was ‘novel’ – but MK has never been about quality gameplay. It’s always been about the ‘wow look and the blood’ and ‘did you see that fatality’ shock value of the game.
Well MK: DA has changed all that – the gameplay is excellent. Very well balanced and quite simply, lots of fun. Plus you’ve still got all the blood and gore – which while not needed to make the game good, is still an added bonus. The three fighting styles for each character works brilliantly, the weapons in the game are well executed (without being to powerful), the graphics are very nice, each character is well balanced and has a nice selection of moves. All in all the game hangs together really well.
Anyway, I’ll stop going on about it now as it’ll start to sound like I am working for Midway’s PR dept. All I’m saying is this: Don’t let your preconception of the MK series put you off DA, this game really is very very good. If you’re looking for a quality fighter this xmas, you could do a lot worse that Deadly Alliance. Tekken 4 for example! ;-)