And some of that inspiration obviously was
good for publisher Midway. The game, like its
arcade , raked in tons of money and garnered
brethrenreams of publicity, good and bad,
that shot the title into superstar status, and
eventually, even into Hollywood.
But although the game and its sequels had
hordes of loyal fans – and still does – by the
time MK3 and MK Mythologies rolled
around, many gamers were tiring of the series
and lackluster games didn't help matters.
Meanwhile, other fighter series like Tekken, Virtua Fighters, and Bushido
Blade have plunged into the 3D realm headlong, taking players well past
the
tried-and-true, fast-paced, bloodfest gameplay of the MK series.
Now comes Mortal Kombat 4, finally moving the series into the world of
3D –
but just barely.
To tell it straight up, this isn't much different from any other MKs you've
played. And depending on your tastes, that's good and bad.
This Nintendo 64 version is a nearly perfect arcade translation, perhaps
even
better. It brings fully polygonal fighters and 3D arenas to the table,
and even
lets players switch between 2D and 3D for their fights.
The background story remains the same. Mortals must battle immortals to
save Earth from the clutches of the fallen elder God, Shinnok. It's all
told with
real-time cutscenes rendered in the game's engine. The cartridge even
features voice overs for the characters, a nice touch on a system that
doesn't
usually get too many voice effects.
Pick your poison from among 15 fighters before you begin. You'll find all
the
old favorites like Scorpion, Johnny Cage and Sub-Zero, all texture mapped
in
full 3D. Hidden players that weren't available in the arcade are there
too, like
Goro and Meat.
When it gets down to gameplay, its fast, furious and fun, but don't expect
any quantum leaps forward. It's still Mortal Kombat, and fighting mechanics
remain, mostly, unchanged.
Each character, of course, has it own particular attacks, and some have
weapons they can throw. Raiden, for instance, can teleport, shoot lightning
bolts, spin in a torpedo, or throw his special weapon.
And what would MK be without the fatalities? This time, they're gorier
than
ever: Body parts explode, heads are lopped off, bodies are eaten alive
– you
get the idea. The 3D environments create even more possibilities, though,
as
you can toss opponents into fan blades or spike pits. Giant boulder can
be
hurled at your enemies.
In the midst of all this blood, its hard to deny the game looks arcade
perfect.
The 3D, polygonal characters look amazing, as do the light sourcing and
particle effects, all while keeping a very high frame rate. The game is
a treat
for the eyes.
But while MK4 looks good and is even bloodier than before, it's still the
same
old MK. Yes, players can switch from 2D to 3D with the touch of a button,
and yes the players and arenas are polygonal. But it's the same old characters
with the same set of moves, which means much less depth than other current
fighters.
Still, MK4 easily is the best fighting game on the Nintendo 64, and possibly
the best of the whole MK series. It's a shame the gameplay wasn't ramped
up
as much as the graphics, because MK4 could have been an inspiration for
what lately has been a lackluster lineup for this system.
Bottomline: If you're either a Mortal Kombat fan or a Nintendo 64 owner
who's been waiting for a decent fighter, this is your game. If you're neither
of
the above, never mind.
To go to the cheat menu do the following:
Go to the options menu and and put the cursor on continues and hold
blk+run. Hold it until you hear a voice say outstanding. you will be
taken to a menu where you can turn on fatalities 1&2, stage
fatalities(so when the words Finish Him come on all you have to do
is
down and press high punch), and Endings(the games shows the ending
after
the first match).
Frank A. Waszut
Tricounty@webtv.net