Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

"One of the best fighters on PS2..."

Like most fighting games I have played, I was skeptical at first in weather or not to try this game out or not. I had never play a Mortal Kombat game before but I knew that the series had been one of the best selling series mainly for one thing, its blood. Now, this new game on the new systems allows for better graphics, better controls, and over all better blood. Immersed in the game, I discovered that there is an actual game behind the bloody mess that fills the screen. Its not only a game but it is the best fighting game out to date that will enable you to be the crap out of futuristic characters and have a good time with it.

There are more things involved in this game than with the normal 3D fighting game. Along with the highly detailed environments and the ability to break things in the environment lie the coolest characters then in any other game. In this game, with these cool characters, comes a whole new fighting experience. Instead of being set to a default type of fight stance, you are given 3 battle stances, 2 fists and one weapon. This has unlocked the ability to slash master combos on your opponents by constantly switching your fight stance. Is this a good new feature, YES! It doesn't make the game any easier in any way. If anything, it makes the game harder because your computer opponents will be able to unleash these combos on you too. The enemy AI in the game is very bright for the most part. In the standard arcade fight mode, you work your way up from easy enemies up to what seem like impossible ones. There is a challenge no matter what your background history to the game is.

The game's coolness is overpowering, like an unstoppable force. There are so many grater things packed into this one game than other fighting games have combined together. Between the ability to finish your people off with awesome fatalities and the ability to attack your foe with special moves. Fatalities are one of the coolest things ever put into a game. They aren't much but they just look so cool, I don't know why. I guess its just the fact that you can see your worst enemy get cut up into a million little pieces. The games fighting stances also make the game go quicker and cooler. It's a brand new thing that's never been tried in today's extreme fighting games. Fighting stances range from Karate to Judo to Snake to Dragon. Each character has their own unique style.

There are also bonus features on the disc including the music video by Adema and a making of Deadly Alliance video. The music video is a rock song by Adema with visuals of the group singing in the arenas of the game with screens from the game popping on and off the screen. In the making of the game movie you are shown what happens at the office in a day at work. You are shown all the debates on the games and development of the characters. Its actually quite funny. One other little bonus in the game is the history of MK movie. It takes you through the stages of MK from the beginning to up to date. It's a great way to keep track of what happened over the years leading up the release of Deadly Alliance.

Story 10/10
The Underworld is once again trying to take over the Outer world. The forming of the Deadly Alliance (and alliance made between Shang Tsung and Quan Chi) has led to the death of some of the Outer worlds best warriors and is planning to claim the rest with the help of their secret unstoppable army. The only hitch is that they can only revive the army with the souls of dead warriors. And in retaliation, Raiden gathers the best fighters in the Outer world to stop the invasion. Its up to you to make sure that the Outer world remains the way that it is. What makes this so different from other games where you are just fighting to fight, you are actually fighting for a good purpose and you know what that purpose is.

Graphics 10/10
This game probably has the best graphics that I have ever seen in a PS2 game. Everything is so detailed, down to the strands of hair. The movements of the characters are so fluent, that there is no brake up either when your doing a kick, punch, or a back flip. The special effects from the characters special attacks are also very impressive looking. Ice, fire, gun bullets, everything is accurate down to the very last detail. This is where MK:DA shines over the rest of the competition. But the best looking feature in the game is the blood and the fatalities. Bruises and blood spots are formed on the character's faces as they are beaten up. Blood fluently flows out of your wounds, depending how bad the attack is. For one of Sub-Zeros moves, he sticks his sward into his opponent's chest. The sword stays in their chest and slowly eats away at their life, like it would in real life (if we could withstand a huge 12'' wide blade to the gut ^_^). The game's fatalities are also most impressive. Every little chunk of blood, bone, and innards are so detailed, it's amazing. Each characters fatality is different from another's, so the game is always different.

Sound 9/10
The sounds in this game are very comparable to the sounds in Metal Gear Solid 2, detail wise. The sward clashing that is usually off in games is dead on, not a weak sound like normally. There are thuds when characters hit the ground and swoosh sounds for missed weapon attacks. There are squishy noises when the blood falls from the character's body and when the blood travels down the player's body. There are a variety of different types of music in the game including rock tracks and techno tracks. The only downside to the sound in the game is how the characters sound so mush alike when they are hit. Most of the guys in the game sound the same when they make there ''uh, uh, uh'' sounds. But still, that game team has put grate time into putting in grate music and effects.

Gameplay 8/10
I wish that I didn't have to mark down the game for this but it just seems necessary. Like in most games, you have a couple of options in game, usually an arcade mode, 2 player mode, a training mode, and that's usually about it. In MK:DA, there are so many extras that add to the game. There is a new mode called konquest mode and a new area called the krypt. Both features revolve around a new type of kurancy called koins. There are 6 types of koins, Sapphire, Ruby, Onyx, Platinum, Gold, and Jade. Each koin earned is used in the krypt to buy from 676 different koffins containing either concept art, cheats, characters, arenas, and more. How do you earn kurancy? You can earn your kurancy in arcade mode by beating each opponent each worth a different amount of koins. Also, every once an a while, you play a mini game such a ''Test Your Strength'' and ''Test Your Sight'' give you another chance to earn some koins. The other way to earn koins is to play konquest mode. This is the part of the game where everything is very slow and not very exciting. For each character, there are 10 training missions for you to do, which reward you with koins after completing them. As far as the game teaching you anything, I find that It's just a waste of time and takes away from the game. Another thing that you can do with your kurancy is using it in 2 player matches by betting it with your friends. The game for the most part is fast paced and exciting, apart from the konquest mode, and you never know what you will find in the krypt, this game is pure fun.

Controls 10/10
There's not much to be said about the controls. They are in the right position and allow you to do two types of punches and kicks. Nothing is awkwardly out of place and complicated to figure out. You have R2 as block and L1 as your change fighting stance button. This allows for fluent control of your character, and no tangle up of your fingers.

Replay Value: Very High
There's so much to do and so many different characters to do them with. You can spend hours on this game and never get absolutely bored with it. Beating the crap out of people can be fun, and this game is a great way of doing it with out getting into any trouble at school. It's a great way to let out all of your emotions from your crappy day at school or work.

Buy or Rent? Equal
I would highly recommend that you pick it up but if you aren't a huge fan of fighting games then you might not totally appreciate this game and might want to only invest $5 in it for a rental. But, If you enjoy the sensation of beating the crap out of someone for no reason, then pick it up. There is now way that you'll be able to finish this game in the amount of time that you get in a rent time, so if you're a perfectionist, don't count on whipping through this one to fast.

Over all, I'm happy to say that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is a success. There are so many great aspects to the game that really make it shine above others. Although there is a lot of blood in it, the game really shouldn't get to squeamish people, but it could. There is great enjoyment to be found in the game of Mortal Kombat:DA, and I think that every one should add it to their collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/03, Updated 03/05/03