Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

"Ah, so Midway cares after all..."

Introduction
----Before playing this game, many a gamer had played the despicable waste that was and is Mortal Kombat Advance. Though Midway themselves did not have much to do with this game, they did appear to not care which direction their powerhouse franchise was heading. When the news of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance arrived, there was immediate speculation as to whether or not Midway could resurrect some respect and get the job done right. When the first screens tumbled in, all the people could do was gasp, and wait. Was it worth the wait? You dang skippy.

Story - 7/10
----Plot? You've got to be kidding. Then again, this is Mortal Kombat. The epic tale of each individual is intact, if not frayed and a bit patchy in places. The main focus, however, is on two evil dudes. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have become ''friends'' in a scheme that is thus known as the Deadly Alliance. Though each character has their own ending, every kombatant has intertwining scenarios with the rest of the gang. This gives you a sense of wanting to beat the game with every character, to satisfy your quest for knowing the ''what happened to'''s and the ''what about'''s.

Gameplay - 9/10
----Mortal Kombat has always been a game about painting the ground with multiple coats of gore. New characters, moves, and things of the like have really kept this franchise going in a semi-organized manner.

Though lacking much of what Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is on the consoles, such as the ''Konquest'' mode and a multitude of fighters, the Game Boy Advance version is quite a treat in itself. The frame-rate is nice, and there is no 1960's robot choppiness. The main attraction lies, really, in its Krypt.

The Krypt is a place of 120 Koffins, and within each is something that can be unleashed, such as more Kurrency (MK Money), or a new character, or something else. In the most likely of cases, the kontents of a Koffin be just a new color (kolor?) palette for a character. You won't have any idea how much replay value this adds to the overall package unless you play the game for yourself. With so many different things to unlock, you'll be playing through either of the MKDA's Kurrency-attaining modes: Arcade, Survival, or Link.

Linking up with a friend (or enemy) is quite fun to do. Either way, someone is going to walk away not only a loser, but out some Kurrency. That's right - every time you play against another in Link mode, you can bet some money on yourself. When the stakes are high, it's nice to win... and oh so horrible to lose.

As Kurrency plays such an integral role in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, you will be spending almost all of your time trying to attain great amounts of the stuff. The amount of Koins you get is very important.

Everyone wants to ''manage'' themselves, and in MKDA Midway has allowed you to create a User Profile, where statistics such as the number of wins and losses are tracked. This is highly useful when trying to show someone how good... or bad... or bad in a good way... you are. But that's about it.

In battle, each character, of course, is armed with their own arsenal of deadly moves. Not only does each character have a nice array of normal attacks, but one can also use various weapon skills as well. These are very fun to use, and great for finishing a combo, or opening one up with. Every kombatant also has two different styles of fighting, thus they have two different move sets. Though neither are all that large (like in Tekken Advance), it offers a new sense of strategy to the dulling franchise. For example, Scorpion can battle in either Hapkido or Pi Gua, while Shang Tsung fights in the Snake or Crane styles. Switching from either of the two techniques is a snap, and the universal attacks (moves that can be used no matter which kombat style you're using) act as a nice bridge to cross when you're trying to decide what to do next.

The controls are actually easy, and it's simplistic manner is adequate for any gamer. Though you may find yourself a bit mad at the [respectfully] small directional pad, it's really not a big deal. The controls are so responsive that you'll be able to at least almost correct your mistakes. My advice on this is to come in to the issue with an open mind, and not thinking that the controls are going to be clunky and ignorant to your needs.

Fatalities are present, though not really. Limited to one per character, you're no doubt going to feel like you're just a catalyst for mismanaged feelings over at Midway. The prospect of not being able to finish your opponent off with more than one different move will, sooner than later, wear off, and you'll be just fine with what you have, because it's always satisfying to do something horrible to an enemy.

The characters in this game are each pretty much different from the other, though characters like Frost and Sub-Zero are quite alike. The kombatants in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance are Frost, Scorpion, Kung Lao, Sonya Blade, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, Li Mei, Jax, Kenshi, Kitana, Sub-Zero, and Kano - a total of 12. And no, the God of Thunder, Raiden, is not in this game. Maybe the fact that Liu Kang is missing somehow ties into the possible upcoming third Mortal Kombat movie? Hmm...

Graphics - 9/10
----Midway has taken a tentative step into the unknown with their Game Boy Advance version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. In a sense, nothing has changed - each playable fighter from previous installments looks only slightly different, in which they all seem to be a bit more bulkier. The pseudo-3-Dimensional graphical battle interface is a double-edged sword; if you liked the 2D graphics better, than you're S.O.L. There is no option to turn it all back to the way it used to be. For the most part, however, you should enjoy what Midway has done here.

Simply put, you (this may sound weird) can't not give the developers credit for sticking their head out of the box and peering around. Deciding to leave the blood on the floor and not making it disappear was a neat addition, albeit a barely noticeable one.

Easily, this is the most unique-looking fighter on the Game Boy Advance to date. Beautiful backgrounds and a hefty amount of different environments are represented nicely, and the fact that this baby ain't choppy makes it all even better.

All in all, the visuals are different for Mortal Kombat's handheld life, but the idea of the display is welcome. The only problem with them is that some things look too granular - there's no way that faces can be distorted to look like they do from time to time in this game.

Sound/Music - 9/10... in quality, anyway...
----This game could possibly have the most boring music in any fighter to date. Really. The only up-side to the music is the pitter-patter of blood hitting the ground. Various voices scream, roar, and agitate constantly... If you like that kinda thing, than all the power to you, because, well, at least it sounds real.
Whatever you can expect from a fighter is present, though. Each hit results in a pleasant thud or crack, but you probably won't be hearing any of it as the sound should, like I said, be off. A fighting game needs some good beats, and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance just doesn't have them.

Replay Value - 9/10
----Even if you're a fighting fanatic only, you'll be coming back for more of this game weeks after you set it down... well, if you set it down, that is. The presence of 120 Koffins waiting to be bought with your hard-earned Koins will be with you until the kontents have been taken from all of them. Though some of those Koffins are practically useless, you'll still feel like you've accomplished something, and that is a good thing.

If you've got someone who has a copy of MKDA, too, then I advise you Link up. It's a great feeling when you take your friends' money... Er, in a sense, anyway.

Also, the User Profile is a superb thing to show off when it looks good. It may not seem so, but when you do realize it, the User Profile hits you hard with a sign that says ''I have my own layer of depth!'' And so it does. A perfect record is hard not to resist... but then again, you could always shut the system off. But that's not the point!

Buy: 94%
Rent: 5.5%
Don't Bother: .5%

Overall - 9/10
----At a glance, Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance may seem like a fighting game that you should borrow off a friend who was dumb enough to buy it. But when you ask to keep it and your friend says no, what do you do then? That's right - once you play this game, you'll want to buy it. Period.

I, like so many others, did have my doubts. But after chipping in an hour and a half of actually playing the game, I couldn't turn it off. MKDA is a product that'll bring you in with its unique graphics, amazing replay value (for a fighter, anyhow), decent story, and good, albeit useless sound.

Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance is a great addition to any fight-gamer, especially to the handheld area. MKDA is a title that will go down as one of the best portable fighting games of the early decade, come 2010.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/17/03, Updated 02/17/03