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Each accomplished mission in Konquest, as well as each successful match in tournament, gives players various kombat koins. Using these, players will enter into the Vault and have literally hundreds of koffins to pick from. Each requires a set amount of coins to open, and contain simple items like sketches, photos of marquees and promotional items, but they also contain some fantastic goodies. Not only are there unlockable arenas, there are also videos that show either early game shots or one that was a phenomenal montage of all of Mortal Kombat 4 Gold's endings - along with a few stand-alone endings as well, like Scorpion's MK4 N64 ending and Baraka's demise in MK4 Gold. The cream of the crop has to be the unlockable characters, which feature a full-blown reptilian Reptile, a female apprentice to Sub Zero named Frost, and several more. Each come with their own Konquest storylines as well, which makes them much more than just a cheap gimmick. One problem with the Vault is that there is just so much that is pretty useless material, even die-hard Mortal Kombat fans will get tired of playing endless hours, only to unlock sketches of an arena or distant shots of the ugly toys that came out for the first one. The Konquest mode will also introduce players to Deadly Alliance's coolest and best implemented feature: multiple fighting stances. Each character has two melee styles and one weapon style. Now, the weapons here aren't useless as they were in 4, now that certain players can impale their opponents, which continually drains their life, or do some extremely snazzy acrobatic moves that result in blood gushing from every inch of the opponent. To help counterbalance the potential devastation of the weapons, the character who is using it will also take more damage when hit. While it would seem that the weapon mode would be the one most used, it's a testament to the developer's talent that all modes will be used. Each stance is extremely fun to use and can be focused on by itself, as each is potentially deadly on their own, or mixed with the other styles. The combos are a bit of a letdown since they can be extremely tough to pull off, especially when in Konquest mode and trying to do a string of moves that switch between all styles, because the timing is crucial and everything has a set pattern; as a result, the player can't really create their own combo like in Street Fighter. The combos aren't bad in tournament, since a few moves can be focused on, and pulling off such extended sequence of moves is extremely difficult with the computer constantly on the assault, resulting in your hands forming into claws when they go through a few characters in Konquest back-to-back. Deadly Alliance also features juggling, which is prominent with the weapons; being on the end of these is very aggravating. To help avoid being bounced around like a basketball, the sidestep feature is used to great effect as it actually works as an effective means of evasion, which is something quite a few fighters fail at. The character roster is a who's-who of the MK universe with an older and more gruff Sub Zero returning with his old counterpart, the beefed-up Scorpion, along with Sonya, a Vanilla Ice-looking Johnny Cage, Kano, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, a revamped and badass Kung Lao, and new characters like Muvado, Kenshi, outworld trainer Bo Lo Rai, and Li Mei. Unlockable characters are numerous and along with the aforementioned Reptile and Frost, there's Katana, Jax, and more. I was a little disappointed to see some signature moves taken out of the game. The one that is most apparent is the classic MK uppercut, the ones that always seemed to end a combo or stun move. Other moves taken out are Scorpion's teleport, all of Sonya's, Reptile's invisibility, and even Johnny Cage's nut-cruncher. Counterbalancing this is that the characters also gained some great moves; Sub Zero's slide now has him turning the opponent into ice and sliding on them across the arena, Scorpion summons hellfire to burn underneath his opponent, Sonya can blow a kiss of deadly poison to gag her enemy, and Kung Lau can do a drill of in-air kicks. The martial arts covered from the gamut from the popular to the lesser-known, with Karate, Akido, Pai Gui, and even a large amount of Kung Fu, including the Snake, Crab, and Crane stances, and these are just a handful of what's present. The fighting arenas were also improved as they are a great deal better than those found in MK3 and 4. Levels will range from fighting on a platform with a portal to outworld sucking in debris past the fighter, to fighting in Shang Tsung's abode with souls flying all around and in-between the combatants. Some will feature breakable objects like statues and columns that don't really affect gameplay, but they do look undeniably cool when they are shattered from a successful blow. The acid level from MK2 makes a return, but now statues spit it out from the sides, which hurts the fighters and serves as a means of keeping the combatants paranoid and in the middle. Just about all the arenas are nice to look at and are designed well, which as I said is a far cry from previous installments. MK's traditional gore is back, with blood pouring from parts of the body that it would seem unlikely for blood to even come out of. It can be toned down, or even off, so if it's too gimmicky for you, it won't be a distraction. A feature missed from the original is also back: Test Your Might, along with Test Your Sight, are both fun mini-games that can lead to more koins and serve to break up the pace of constant fighting, and can also be altered in their frequency in which they appear - definitely a smart move to include these. Another wise move from the developers were tossing out the Animalities, Babalities, Friendships, and whatever horrible ideas that MK3 introduced. Characters now have one fatality move per person, and just about all of them are satisfying. Deadly Alliance does a great job of treading the fine line between being a serious fighter that takes time and skill to perfect, and one that includes over-the-top gore and head splatters to keep the traditionalists happy. Aside from my complaints with extended and stance-switching combos, the only other problems I had was that the endings weren't nearly up to par with those from MK4, not to mention that they're heartbreakers for long-time fans of the series. Even the Vault's filler material wasn't all bad since gems like the Cooking with Scorpion video made the endless sketches worth getting - but still, if this makes another appearance in a future installment, toning down on the marquee and arena sketches wouldn't hurt. My other complaint, and one that is more along the lines of relevance with the combos than the goodies in the vault, is that the tradition of including a mediocre and overly difficult mini-boss is back and is one of the traditions they could've dumped. Goro was amazingly effective as a scary and intimidating monster that could bash brains out, but since then, the mini-bosses have been unimaginative and bogged the game down by making completing them too difficult as the actual bosses aren't nearly as difficult. Unblockable moves, repeating mini-intros and endings, along with exaggerated blows turns what could've been an interesting addition into a large source of irritation. In
the end, Deadly Alliance is still an exceptional fighter with a wealth
of moves and characters that present a huge array of combat styles. Whether the
player wants to commit fully and subject themselves to hand cramps by continuously
practicing the stance-switching combos, or if they just want to take a more leisurely
approach and learn a few moves per stance and intertwine them as they see fit,
the choice is theirs and it's a refreshing change of pace for the series. This
is a new day for the Mortal Kombat series and it definitely proves that
change isn't always a bad thing.
Graphics: 8.5/10 Control:
7/10 Overall:
8.5/10 [ top ] | |||
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