Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

When I first heard about this game, I was admittedly uninterested.Mortal Kombat's last attempt at 3-D fell short so why should MK:DA be any different? Overall MK just seemed dated and I doubted MK:DA would be any good. Was I ever wrong.Since I own an XBox, fighting games are hard to come by and as such I decided to rent MK:DA. For starters, this attempt at 3-d works quite well as it is a true 3-d fighter.Graphics are lush and beautiful.The game also has alot of replayability as a new feature, the Kyrpt has been incorperated.Much in the vain of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2's shop mode, you can buy hidden charecters, new outfits, artwork and even videos among other things with Kredits earned in the game.

As for the storyline, its probably the best and most gutiest yet.In the three minute intro to the game we find out that Quan Chi has escaped from the Netherealm and has discovered the infamous army of the dead Dragon King.Of course this does Quan Chi little good as all the soliders are dead, but what is dead can be revived.For this, Quan Chi forms an alliance with Shang Tsung("Deadly Alliance"), who's powers with soul transplantation can be used to resurrect the army. This new alliance first must elimate those who could pose a threat to their plans.The first is Shao Khan.They approach him, declaring a false alliegnece to him and then charge at him while he's sitting on his throne.The next scene a loud scream is heard and Khan's helmet falls, covbered with blood.Next the Alliance travels to Earth to eliminate Lou Kang.Kang takes on Tsung and gains the upper hand but is then hit from behind by Quan Chi.Tsung takes the oppertunity and snaps Lou Kang's next, killing him.He then absorbs his soul.The intro concludes with images of Tsung resurrecting the army and Raiden telling the remaining Earth fighters"We must stop this Deadly Alliance"

The cast is nice and varied with returning favorites(No Lou Kang obviously) and some new charecters.The old charecters have recieved some very nice resigns.As for the fighting, each fighter can switch to one of two different fighting styles or one weapon style.This adds great variety to the game.

I went and bought this game immediatly after returning the rental.I highly recommend this game, especially to long time MK fans. 5/5

Ahh yes we have just recently entered The PS2 era and Mortal Kombat has risen from the grave after a terrible experience of Mortal Kombat 4 and appalling side scrolling Mortal Kombat Mythologies Sub Zero and Mortal Kombat Special Forces so how does Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance on PS2 compare...Absolutely amazing that's what yeah we have have Mortal Kombat back in 3D and this time it is a much better experience then Mortal Kombat 4 cause the visuals look stunning and now characters can pull out weapons with a simple button as well as different types of martial arts along with a training mode too.

The game seems eager to severe its ties with previous installments by immediately killing of Liu Kang in the opening movie. "Yes!" I exclaimed, having once been fond of Kang until his transition to mediocrity in MK3, and his further transition to just plain annoying in MK4. "Thank God a development team finally had it in them to kill off their main character!" Now please let him stay dead! Luckily, he did … at least, as far as Deadly Alliance was concerned.

Shang Tsung makes a return to the series as part of the titular "Deadly Alliance." He and Quan Chi have combined forces to once again threaten Earthrealm, and you know the rest. After a notable absence in MK4, Tsung's return is a welcomed one until 1, I caught a glimpse of his new design (what is with the shoulders?), and 2, realized he lost the power to shape shift in game (although, he still morphs in the intro.) Needless to say the two sorcerers make up the final two battles of the game.

Deadly Alliance makes the jump to 3D. Well, real 3D. As in revamping the fighting engine to take advantage of the Z-axis. Players can now sidestep freely (a la water downed 8-Way Run from SC), and to survive against the AI one must learn to sidestep. Jumping remains possible; however, like other 3D fighting games, its significance has dropped drastically from the 2D games. In Deadly Alliance, I jump mainly to avoid "earthquake" moves.

The sidestep ability adds a layer of depth (and flavor) to the returning dial-a-combo system introduced in MK3. Giving the AI a new venue for frustrating the player—where UMK3's AI ran up and launched the appropriate counter attack, Deadly Alliance's AI simply side-steps and combos (or, some lucky characters get to perform perfectly timed "Reversals".) An additional enhancement comes in the form of three styles available to each combatant (2 unarmed, 1 weapon). The 3 styles, plus the 3rd dimension makes Deadly Alliance play worlds apart from its 2D counterpart – kind of a strange marriage between DOA and SC minus the depth and fluidity. Don't get the wrong idea, however, we're still playing Mortal Kombat.

There's a notable oddity with Deadly Alliance's AI: the more consecutive victories the player racks up, the more difficult the AI becomes. So after 7 wins, Kano will miraculously be able to spin through 2 fighting styles to perform his Reversal move (in precisely 0.2 seconds) and then unleash his most potent branching combo. In that same fight, he'll demonstrate the physics engine does not apply to CPU characters since he can block low attacks with a high block (?!), and then he demonstrates his uncanny ability to side-step every attack, to unleash yet more branching combos for an impossible fight. However, the moment you lose and continue, Kano makes the amazing transformation into "sitting duck man" where you can waltz up to him and punish to your heart's content.

Returning characters include Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, Jax, Johnny Cage, Kano, Kitana, Kung Lao, Quan Chi, Raiden, Reptile, Scorpion, Sonya, and Sub-Zero. None of whom feel even remotely like their 2D counterparts, and several have lost their signature moves. Shang Tsung no longer shapeshifts. Raiden no longer flies across the screen. No more handstands for Sonya. Don't expect Reptile to turn invisible. And forget about Jax's mid-air backbreaker or "Gotcha!" Maybe that's just as well. The signature moves that make a return (Scorpion's Spear, Kitana's fanwave, Sub-Zero's Freeze, etc) feel very very different. In the 2D games, truthfully, the characters differed only in Fatalities and special moves. Now that the characters have gone their separate ways and earned a level of distinctness, the game shifts its focus more on the dial-a-combos than individual special moves.

A new game typically means new characters, and this game gets an ensemble of mostly "bleh" characters including Bo Rai Cho, the overweight trainer with the ability to puke on command; Li Mei, the scantily clad warrior out to save her village; Mavado, a nobody in a trench coat with a few industrial sized rubber bands; Hsu Hao, the Village People reject; Frost, a female Sub-Zero; Nitara, the vampire in the wrong game; Kenshi, the only interesting new character who, incidentally, is blind; and Drahmin, the rotting demon with absolutely no combos.

The new sub-boss, Moloch, continues the trend of over-sized sub-bosses made difficult because the programmers decided to just program in a few immunities and high priorities. For example, one of Raiden's branching combos makes his opponent stumble backwards. Moloch never stumbles, so Raiden's combo deals a fair amount of damage leaves him a sitting duck to Moloch's abuse. However, that's not what makes Moloch nearly ruin the entire gaming experience that is Deadly Alliance. The fact that Moloch has a whopping half-dozen moves in his entire arsenal makes the fight rather boring. Compounded with the fact that when in range, Moloch is content to poke with his uber-high priority, tracking "quick punch." This is the worst sub-boss in the entire Mortal Kombat franchise; furthermore, it is the single most monotonous fight in fighting game history.

Lastly, most of the games secrets come in the form of "the Krypt" which Midway has loaded to the brim with extras. A great concept, except Midway over-indulged themselves and crammed too much into a 26 X 26 grid of things to unlock (requiring somewhere in the neighborhood of 250,000 Koins to unlock everything.) While characters and alternate lurk in a few of the 676 coffins, most house artwork, silly pictures, photos, etc. Plus the occasional "Hint" and empty coffin just in case you're not frustrated enough.

All in all, a flawed but welcomed addition to the Mortal Kombat family. Perhaps the best Mortal Kombat since UMK3 (arcade.) Most importantly, it delivered a new experience, and the next generation of Mortal Kompetition.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

Evil sorcerer Quan Chi has escaped from his confinement in the Neverrealm and has formed his 'deadly alliance' with the deadly Shang Tsung.Together they plan to resurrect the army of the long forgotten dragon king and have total domination of the two realms unless the resistance can stop them.

This is absolutely brilliant for the audience it appeals to.The fight scenes are in no way toned down as you play them,treating us to seemingly none stop blood letting and wetting our sadistic appetites no end.This comes to ahead when the game allows you to perform a 'fatality' on your opponent,where you get to dismember any certain vital body organ,causing your agitator to die the slowest,most painful death you can imagine.

There is a veriatable array of colourful characters to choose from,my particular favourite,were I put on the spot,probably being Scorpion,who has the ability to yank his opponents to and from him and can do wicked wonders with his two swords.

Delightful fun,and,in some ways,a rather guilty pleasure.****

"Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" is perhaps the most thorough and complex fighting game that this long-running series has seen yet. The Playstation 2 video game console has some of the most impressive titles of any actively popular system today, and I am glad that "Deadly Alliance" has been allowed to grace it.

Fighting games, "Mortal Kombat" in particular, have come a long way since the days of 2D platform combat, where the two combatants are confined to a narrow stretch of area on the screen and fight to the death. Now, most games today have expanded to all-out arena fighting and with "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance," the fifth installment in this incredibly bloody and successful series of games, "Kombat" has been taken to an all new level of gameplay.

As an avid player of "Mortal Kombat" since 1993, I am pleased to see that this title takes full advantage of a revamped fighting engine, but still manages to remain faithful to the old school way of kombat. But like any of the previous titles, this "Kombat" doesn't skimp on the blood and brutal, yet spectacular displays of outlandish martial arts chain-combos.

But in this level of joy, I've neglected to inform about how +deadly+ this title is. Along with the massively improved fighting system, there is also the introduction of the "Konquest" mode, which is a sort of story mode within "Deadly Alliance." Like any low-budget kung-fu flick that we have ever seen, it has a worthless plot and you assume the identity of any of the fighters available and you complete a quest.

And like the plot of the general game (which is equally thoughtless), where the sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have entered into a +deadly alliance+, you, the player, has to stop them before they can reanimate the Dragon King's undead army. So you can choose any one of the available characters, including some familiars like Scorpion (my favorite), Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade or Jax, or play as any of the newcomers like Bo' Rai Cho, Mavado, Li Mei, or Hsu Hao.

As with any previous "Kombat" game, the difficulty reaches ridiculous heights as you embark on your "Game of Death"-style quest to the top in regular arcade mode. Much of the difficulty is brought on with the introduction of style-branching combos or "chain" combos, where a single deft move against you can cross three different fighting styles - two fighting styles and one weapon style - and if timed correctly, could deplete you of about half your health. (Just as a random example, I could be my #1 fighter Scorpion and be kombating against Johnny Cage, who would hit me up with a style-branching combo, which would cover Cage's three styles of Karate, Jeet Kune Do, and Nunchaku, and I'd be half-dead in one single movement.) This intense level of uneven difficulty is just ridiculous to me, as it might make it impossible to complete the arcade mode.

This deadly new enhancement in "Kombat" is also indicative of the game's greatest flaw, which could require the manual dexterity of someone with the quickest hand-eye coordination, which many of us in the game-playing community have yet to be graced with through our human evolution. (This would also prove to be an even bigger b**ch on the "Deadly Alliance" sequel, "Mortal Kombat: Deception," which was released in 2004.) In addition to that, mini-games are also scattered throughout the arcade portion of the game, which serve as a way to achieve rarer "kurrency" and provide a welcome break to the kombat-related carnage.

Alongside that main criticism, not many of the new characters are that interesting, particularly my personal displeasure with the fighter known as "Drahmin," an Oni that is a walking, rotting corpse in this game, or Nitara, who's a female vampire. And let's not forget the end boss, Moloch - let's just say that neither Goro, Motaro, or Kintaro had anything on him - Moloch would later be outmatched by the ridiculously hard Dragon King in "Deception."

Aside from these grievances, "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" is a worthy addition to the series and is an excellent display of progress over the years.

7/10