Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Classic characters return for ‘Kombat’ sequel “MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY ALLIANCE” For GameCube, PlayStation2 and XBox out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY BEN ANGSTADT THE (iAMECOCK “Mortal Kombat,” the game that started the debate over video game violence, is back once again. We all remember the commer cials from years ago, in which lone youths ran through the streets, simply crying the words, “ ‘Mortal Kombat’!” But now, mention the series to the average gamer, and the reac tion is more like, “‘Mortal Kombat’?” After a strong start fol lowed by two weak showings in in stallments three and four, plus a pitiful venture with “Mortal Kombat Advance” for the Game Boy Advance this past year, a new “Mortal Kombat” hardly seems ex citing. The story is simple: Series sta ple bad guy Shang Tsung is back from the Netherrealm, and has killed Liu Kang, the Earthrealm’s greatest warrior. He’s teamed up with newcomer Quan Chi, a sor cerer with a desire to conquer the world, and together they want to start a new Mortal Kombat tour ney to eliminate the rest of the world’s greatest warriors. Thankfully, things are a bit dif ferent this time around. “Deadly Alliance” is the first game in the series to attempt a 3-D fighting arena, which is a nice change of pace. Additionally, each of the 12 fighters available at the beginning, plus the 12 unlockables, feature three distinct fighting styles that players can switch between dur ing a match by simply pressing a button. The multiple fighting styles are a much-needed touch of original ity; the rest of “Deadly Alliance” borrows heavily from its contem poraries: the combo-heavy game play of “Tekken,” the weapons fighting of “Soul Calibur,” the “re alistic” female-body physics of “Dead or Alive,” plus the level de sign of “Virtua Fighter.” Even with the game’s copycat aspects, however, one thing sets “Deadly Alliance” apart: it’s “Mortal Kombat.” Most of the clas sic characters, such as Scorpion, Raiden, Sub-Zero and Jax, return. (But where are Goro and Baraka? Shameful.) Plus, all the fatalities that fired up U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman so many years ago are back and as over the top as ever. The character designs are smooth and detailed, and the level designs are beautiful and varied, so the overall game-play looks better than ever, less a few buggy fight ing animations. “Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” also includes an inno vative system of unlocking extra features and hidden characters. Credits are earned each time a match is won, and additional cred its are earned through completing training missions, which actual ly gives the player some incentive to play through the training and learn the basics. These credits can be cashed in to retrieve one of the more than 650 bonuses. Unfortunately, all is not peifect in the Earthrealm. Like all of its “Mortal Kombat” predecessors, “Deadly Alliance” has a separate button for blocking, so players don’t simply push back on the coh trol stick like they do for every other fighting game in the world. This feels completely unnatural, and while this technique is hard to master, it is nearly impossible to win a match at the higher-diffi culty levels without effectively blocking attacks. The handful of awkward ani mations and the ridiculous diffi culty of some of the combos get an noying, but fortunately, even with these few shortcomings, “Deadly Alliance” still succeeds because of solid game play and the classic “Mortal Kombat” atmosphere. So pull out the controllers and round up a few friends, because “Mortal Kombat” is back and bet ter than ever. . Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail. com # # Two Main Sessions: Registration begins www.summer.gwu.edu May 21-July 2,2003 April 2003 email: gwsummer@gwu.edu July 7 - August 15, 2003 phone: 202.994.6360 THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY --—---WASHINGTON DC GW is an equal opportunity institution. Barry Scott: a tribute to Martin Luther King Tuesday January 14,2003 At 8:00pm Russell House Ballroom fj 777 71JO i-1 rwf more inru. ^ f/J j W f//^J *7 #//i Vi a « I vnnwri iWTjmzZ']iiT‘ri ; FmiW4Mrnvr: i^mmy