Review: Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (XBX)

I like to think gamers have grown up; ten years is a long time in the world of videogames and thankfully in most cases software has evolved directly proportionally to those playing it over the last decade.  Most, of course, doesn't mean all, and for good or bad there are still some developers (and of course, publishers) quite happy to be still producing games rooted squarely in the early 90's.  Last year's Spy Hunter, then, did very little above what the original did in the 8-bit era, and whilst entirely playable you couldn't help but think that all Midway did was to enforce a third dimension on the visuals and keep the gameplay firmly in the old-school category.  Recently, the PlayStation 2 title Defender, also from Midway, offered a similar experience - a fine 2D game remembered fondly thrown awkwardly into the 21st century without any real thought on how to make the game stand up against better current-day alternatives.  Of course, the originals of both aforementioned games were way beyond the last decade, but one other Midway game wasn't: Mortal Kombat.

Everyone remembers Mortal Kombat, even if they weren't 'into' games at the time.  Remember, back then gamers were perceived as sad, lonely spotty teenage boys that spend their spare time shared neatly between the latest Computer and Video Games magazine and the latest Arcade-Perfect Megadrive conversion - gaming wasn't trendy, it wasn't popular, and certainly didn't interest girls.  A gory beat-em-up with realistic digitised (remember that adjective?) fighters and [literally] blood curling sound effects wasn't ever going to change that way of thinking either, and even then (before the days of GTa) the Daily Mail was more than happy to throw a front page at "This Sick Filth" and attempt to get it banned.  The Nintendo's SNES version was crippled, sadly, unlike it's Sega rival's game, and without the blood and guts that the big N had persuaded Midway to remove, Mortal Kombat wasn't half the game it should have been.
 
Of course, Nintendo have changed their ways recently, the presence of adult (and remember kids, adult doesn't have to feature sex and violence) titles such as Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil and Metroid Prime are going some way to convince older gamers to invest in their current console.  Academic trivia aside, though, as this is the Xbox version of Mortal Kombat we're looking at (although the title is available across all of the major consoles and in fact is entirely intact on the Gamecube).  Mortal Kombat: Dark Alliance, then, is the game Midway wanted to make 10 years ago but have always been restricted by technology, featuring some old favourites (Sub-Zero, Scorpion et al), plenty of moves and a decent open-ended combo system; and guess what?  It's great.

Don't get me wrong - it's not Soul Calibur great.  It's not even Dead or Alive 3 great; but as a modern day example of the Mortal Kombat ethos, it works a treat.  Let me explain.  Fighting games live or die by their mechanics - the way the fights actually work - the combo system, the variety of moves - the depth and the level of mastery one can achieve.  Sure, titles like Dead or Alive 3 possess some awesome graphics too, but after the initial visual wow factor has seeped away it's all down to whether or not the game has captured you in the gameplay sense that determined how good the actual game is.  Luckily, then, MK: DA (as it shall be known, slightly poetically, hereon) offers not only a massive selection of moves but also a depth not seen before in the series, even defensively Midway have included practically every known fighting staple: blocking, evasions and reversals all play a major part.
 
However, the expanded move-list is mostly down to Midway's inspired decision to implement three distinct move sets into each character - one of which is always weapon based.  This is great on a number of levels: on the most shallow it means that you've suddenly got three times as many moves to play with, but thinking ahead it also means that you've just as many moves to learn - to know off by heart - to master.  Different move sets are more effective against different opponents and their particular move sets, and an additional layer of gameplay occurs when you realise that although the weapon-equipped set allows you to deal greater damage you're less protected against attacks yourself: balance is required, and although you won't fully appreciate this at first, like with the different forms in Orta, you'll eventually have to master each set and when to switch to another (the sets are rotated via a quick tap of the L trigger) - certainly, you won't expect to be able to familiarise yourself with more than just a couple of fighters such is the amount of moves and styles you will need.

Away from the fighting things look good from the offset - the menus are attractively placed throughout a 3-dimensional area - everything loads fairly swiftly and there appears to be plenty to do.  There is, in fact, and beside the de facto Arcade mode, there's something Midway have called Konquest mode (and there's plenty more of those K words) which is a massive 'quest' which plays out very much like Soul Calibur's Mission mode (although MK:DA's is more linear) where you'll be trained up in all the different techniques required to master the game, and more importantly earn Koins.  These koins come in different colours and can be used to purchase items from the Krypt such as new costumes, extra stages and so on - don't be mistaken though - the Krypt is massive - it's a series of gravestones in a huge dark hall and you scroll around until you pick one you fancy (or can afford, given that the different colours of koins you can collect are mutually exclusive).  You can't tell what the prize will be until you've actually spent the cash, and the game's (graceful) auto-save means that you'll have to stick with what you get.  All your items, cash and what-nots are stored in your own 'account' which is quite brilliantly accessed by your own unique code - simply enter your keycode (which is a series of face buttons) and your game save is automatically used - there's no clunky menus full of names and there's no chance of your little brother loading your game up and spending your koins.  A simply fantastic idea, Midway.
 
In the game things are equally impressive - graphically it's super smooth (and locked at 60fps) and whilst it's not the sharpest looking game (it's slightly blurry) the animation is exquisite and the character models are solid and convincing.  The trademark Mortal Kombat blood and gore is present and correct (of course) and is context-sensitive: hit your opponent in the face and he/she will recoil clutching their bleeding nose for a second.  Whilst no-one was expecting this to be a hugely realistic-looking game (and it's not) these little niceties do go someway to creating a more believable stage.  There's plenty of eye-candy too: blood remains on the floor, there's some gorgeous smoke and fire effects and the "Finish Him" fatalities are good to see, even if they're limited in number (and soberness).  I don't particularly like the selection of music used - harsh metal raaawk really isn't my thing, but the sound effects in game are solid and well produced and it's always good to hear those familiar samples: "Get Over Here!" sounds just as crisp and clear in 5.1 Dolby Digital as anything around, and of course acts as a link to the previous games in the series.

The MK: DA package is a thorough one: there's DVD-style extras, including an interesting (if slightly self-opinionated) look at the other Mortal Kombat games (neatly side-stepping Mythologies, natch) and a wonderful set of Soul Calibur-style character demonstrations if you leave the main menu alone for long enough.  In game variety is taken care of by the wide range of opponents and techniques, but there's also the button mashing sections (breaking wood, for one) that intersperse the game.  There are a few niggles, of course - whilst the arenas are varied and attractive it seems a waste to have the fights enclosed in invisible walls, especially given that most of them feature some nasty looking outer area, be it fire or lava, and that the Mortal Kombar games haven't in the past been afraid to show your combatant meeting a grissly end, but apart from that a few slightly misbalanced moves, there's nothing really actually wrong with the game.  Whilst the whole Mortal Kombat thing hasn't matured greatly over the last 10 years, Dark Alliance is certainly a better produced, more grown up fighter than anything that's ever left the Midway stable.  For fans of the series it's the best there is, and for those looking for an alternative to Dead or Alive it's a worthy contender.  Good stuff.

Rating: 8 / 10

Words by Alex Carroll