Caltrops - Gamerasutra - MK:DV mini review + "What's New?" FAQ

Forum Overview :: Gamerasutra

by curst 02/19/2003, 8:34am PST

Fussbett wrote:

I wouldn't say it SUCKS, as it just shoots for a different, less "serious" style. MK is the (profitable) laughing stock of fighting games, and should not be used to cast judgement upon the genre.

It was the laughing stock for quite a while, yes. I daresay that the latest version is just as legitimately fun as Tekken 4, not only because of the inherent goofiness of the franchise but because they tightened up THE GAMEPLAY. At least somewhat. I guess you could argue that it's still targetting the lowest of common denominators when compared to the other big-name fighters, but I think they narrowed the margin quite a bit.

Then again, I hated MK's 3 & 4, so maybe I'm overstating the case since 5 is such an improvement upon them. When I think about it, I can't for the life of me figure out why Fabio holds up MK2 as some kind of high watermark in fighting games. I thought it was cool at the time but got over it quickly, whereas I still dig King Of Fighters, Real Bout Fatal Fury 2, Samurai Showdown 4, Waku Waku 7... Everyone played exactly the same aside from their three special moves. Instead of hoping to fake out your opponent so that you can unleash your super-combo, it was faking them out to land the uppercut.

MK 5 or MK: Deadly Alliance is actually a huge improvement in the series and has revitalized the franchise for a whole new generation.

"Revitalized the franc...." Is that an opinion of a game or a corporate mission statement?

The graphics are GREAT, it's very "outrageous" which the kids love, it's utterly simple to pick up, and the game play is actually very fun if you treat it as a party masher where the controller gets traded around the room. Also: drunk.

Hell yes. It's actually supplanted Tekken 4 as the brawler of choice at my apartments. Of course it'll likely be forgotten once Soul Calibur 2 wows us all with its lee+ weapons, but what the hell.

Now I'm the sort of misunderstood genius who, when by myself, will play the vastly more sophisticated Virtua Fighter 4 (it's the thinking man's DOA!!!) incessantly while murmuring things such as "don't worry, Vanessa, I still love you more than all of those DOA and CvSNK skanks, even if you have more muscles in your freakishly out-of-proportioned thighs than I have in my entire body". Yet I have only two friends who enjoy VF4 as much as I do, because VF4 rewards you for spending the time with one or two characters and learning how to maximize their potential, since everyone in the game knows SO GODDAMN MUCH kung-fu. Who the fuck wants to spend hours learning one or two characters? Pathetic geeks like myself. Most of the people I know want to try out any random person and be able to at least grasp the basics of using them, and MK5 does that very well.

If you want to get down to the nitty gritty of what's new: A bunch of new characters introduced while some get snipped (in the opening movie Liu Kang and his mullet both die). Each character has two martial art styles and one weapon style, the three choices are selected by cycling with the L1 button, and each style has a totally different movelist. The martial arts styles are a great addition and it feels like an effort to legitimize the fighting engine. Praying Mantis, Snake, Tai Chi, Kenpo, San Shou, Tong Bei, Shaolin, Muay Thai, Ba Gua, Aikido, and a million more. Of course the huge thrill I feel seeing Kung Lao whip out the Mantis hook hands is depleted when the Mortal Kombat herky jerky animation makes it's bold return. I swear, I don't know how they can look at DOA2/3 where moves flow into each other like water and decide that their animation system is fine. I DIGRESS. Characters have very simple-to-execute flashy special moves, and some harder-to-execute hidden tricks. The fatalities are very pretty but as pointless and difficult to execute as ever. There are many chores to do in the single player game because they've locked up thousands of extras from your sight. Useful things like extra characters and frustrating stupid shit like concept sketches await your KOMBAT KOINS which you earn through fighting. The enemy AI seems cheap as hell at first, but I haven't played against the AI for more than 5 rounds maybe.

The styles are a great idea. Since I had no idea that 90% of them even existed (what in the fuck is Ba Gua? Tang Soo Do? Lui He Fa Ba?! Are they just randomly stringing syllables together?), I can only assume they're portrayed in a realistic fashion. You're right, of course, about DOA's superior animation, but I thought MK5 did at least a "fine" if not "great" job.

Also, no one should ven worry about the shame one might normally feel by resorting to a hint guide/FAQ. Fuck that. Immediately grab a guide of some sort to what is in the Krypt and use that to unlock all the 'important' extras, namely the hidden characters and levels. After my first ten or so attempts at discovering all the exciting photos of MK1 arcade machines and comic book drawings, I got sick of wasting my coins. I'm sorry - KOINS. I doubt anyone will have the inclination (and I *know* nobody will have the time) to replay the game enough times to earn the vast sum of money required to unlock every last goddamn item in the krypt.

As expected, blood flies everywhere while fighting, and it even drips down the players during the match. Pressing R1 when in your weapon style (with most characters) will attempt to stab your blade into your opponent. If unblocked, the sword or dagger(s) will be left into the opponent, spraying blood, for the duration of the round. They lose health continually. Nothing is better than sticking your two Sais into a friend's kneecaps at the beginning of a match.

I hate the dripping blood. It's bizarre seeing someone lying flat on the ground, and still watching the blood drip "down" from their face to their feet. It looks like an inept attempt at recreating the Terminator 2 liquid-metal special effects.

But impaling is da shit. I often do that instead of bothering with the worthless fatalities. Speaking of which, at least in the original MK, you got bonus points for killing your enemy. This game should've given at least a little incentive for the player to suffer through the boring-ass SUPER NECK STRETCH!!!!! of Quan Chi and so forth.