Mortal Kombat : Deadly Alliance

The Mortal Kombat series has survived the transition to three dimensions, console jumping, bad film licensing and even worse, bad spin-offs. It has survived the resignation of co-creator John Tobias, the fickle nature of the average gamer and the comings and goings of trends. Much like one of the bloodied and battered Kombatants of the game, it always managers to return. After the 1998 release of Mortal Kombat 4, the last main installment of the franchise, there was doubt that we would ever see another game bearing the title 'Mortal Kombat'. Despite it's enterprising into the realm of film and television, the quality of the games only seemed to get worse, accompanied by a steady decline in sales. Was Mortal Kombat video gaming's newest franchise fatality?

Not if Ed Boon has anything to say about it. In 2002, Midway released Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the latest chapter in the blood thirsty saga. A collective sigh of relief could be heard from critics and punters alike; Mortal Kombat was back, and bigger and badder than ever. Designed exclusively for consoles, Boon and co. approached the project from an entirely new angle, building a new 3D game engine from scratch, expanding the mythology and abolishing lame gimmicks such as Friendships and Animalities. Instead, Deadly Alliance is a stylish return to the gritty martial arts that was the genesis for videogame violence and the very reason the ESRB was established.

It seems that 2 of the most infamous villains in the series - Quan Chi and Shang Tsung - have formed a 'deadly alliance' in order to resurrect the dormant Dragon Army in a last effort to conquer the Earth Realm. In order to put an end to their schemes, the Earth's protector, the Thunder God Raiden, assembled a group of the Earth's deadliest fighters, including old schoolers like Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs and Johnny Cage as well as newcomer Frost and series fave Sub-Zero. Also back along for the ride is Kano, Kitana, Kung Lao and the man himself, Scorpion. The rest of the story is, with few exceptions, pieced together by characters individual bios and endings that are unlocked in the classic arcade mode, as well as the brand new Konquest mode. Fans of Mortal Kombat lore will no doubt enjoy the story, but everyone knows that beat 'em ups are all about the action.

So does Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance deliver the goods? The answer is YES it does - and in spades too. The games new engine is great, each fighter has 3 fighting stances, comprised of 2 martial arts and one weapon. Stances are selected by scrolling through with the L trigger, combos executed by the dialing method found in popular beat em up's such as Tekken. No character shares a martial art, and some martial arts work better against others meaning that an element of strategy comes into play. The fighting itself looks gorgeous, accurately mimicking real world fighting styles (such as Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do) with all the flair and brutality that you would expect from the modern day kung fu flick. The character models are finely detailed , ornate gowns flap in the wind and bruises and swelling occur after repeated blows to the face. Blood trickles and drips from clavicles and runs down fingers, thanks to the physics of the blood and the articulate frame of each character model. Not to mention fierce gushes of blood that stain the floor surface and are tracked around by the roaming feet of the combatants. All complimented with some pretty backgrounds and flashy special moves. The fatalities, although there are but 2 per character, are disgusting enough to remain entertaining and detailed enough to truly warrant an M rating.

The sound is largely functional, with the exception of Raiden's narration. Scorpions 'get over here' remains as well as some amusing trash talking from Jax, but other than that, the sound is comprised of bones being crunched, flesh being fiercely impacted upon and metal clashing on metal. Satisfying sounds for a beat 'em up, accompanied by some atmospheric and vintage Mortal Kombat beats.

The controls have been well thought of and laid out, you won't be trying to remember which button does what attack and so on. The only minor grievance I had was the scrolling through stances, which can in some circumstances, be the difference between who wins what round, or better yet, who lives and who gets violently murdered on the spot. That aside the controls are tight and spot on.

The game features 4 modes of play, a practice mode, for you to mercilessly beat an immortal opponent until you get your combos right, the classic arcade mode, and the new konquest mode. Konquest is a training ground for individual fighters, it takes you through all their combos and specials and also gives you the back-story for the not only the warriors themselves, but some interesting anecdotes on the origins of martial arts, even if most of them have been fictionalized. Another new addition to the series is the Kurrency system. In arcade and Konquest you earn money for each match won for you to spend at the Krypt. What is the Krypt you ask ? It is where one can buy new costumes, stages, characters, bios, videos etc. for you to use at your leisure. There are in excess of 600 Koffins to unlock in the Krypt, so for those of you that always feel the need to get everything done in a game, you have quite the fight ahead of you. And if playing against a friend is your thing you will be spending ours battling your mates in the versus mode, waging Kurrency and testing the limits of your friendship in blood soaked battles.

So is this the Mortal Kombat we've all been waiting for since Mortal Kombat II? No. It is something more, something grander. Something bloodier. It's the 3D fighter that both Cube owners and fight fans have wanted for a long time. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance - the best selling fighting game of 2002 - is a worthy challenger to the King of Fighters and a nice addition to any gamers library. If you're old enough...