In 1992, Midway released a simple fighting game called “Mortal Kombat”. And it was good. It was fast, it was bloody, it revealed a disturbing social trend that people liked to inflict inhumane amounts of pain upon each other, but that was glossed over when Reptile was unlocked. MK swiftly achieved the High Throne for fighting games, and held it for quite a time. Sadly, after the DOAs, Tekkens, and Soul Caliburs came into the market showing that a fighting game could be something more, MK was painted as a one-trick game, and the more rounded gamers shifted it off to the side. Now though, after some time in the lab, Midway has returned with Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and a desire for their lost crown.

First, the backstory. Unable to control the tournament by themselves, the sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have joined forces to vanquish the contestants of Mortal Kombat and gain immortality. Here’s where one of the first kinks comes in. The game starts with a roughly 3 minute FMV, chronicling what I just summarized above AND making a rather interesting plot twist, in that a MAJOR character is killed off. I don’t like to broadcast spoilers openly, so if you really want to know, right-click and highlight the next few lines to find out who gets whacked.

Liu Kang. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi ambush him at the Shaolin temple and assassinate him.

I told you to USE A COASTER!!!

On that note, a solid core of old-school fighters is returning to the game, among them Raiden, Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Jax, and Johnny Cage. Yes, yes, yes, Cage is back. In addition to the alumni, there are new guys like Mavado, a member of the Red Dragon, rival clan to Kano’s (who is in the game too) Black Dragon. Blind Kenshi, another new character, was tricked into releasing his ancestors’ souls from their resting place, the force of which blinded him, and stuck him with the quest of vengeance so he and his ascendants can be at peace.

What sets Deadly Alliance apart from the rest of the MK library is that this is the first one of the series released straight to console, without spending time sucking up quarters in an arcade. Which is somewhat of a shame, because the fighting setup here would draw in players like nobody’s business. The graphics and environments are just…well…is “mind-gooing” a word?

Question: How do you spell “aaauuuuggggghhhh..”?

The characters and arenas have more detail than a Swiss watch, it’s frightening. And speaking of frightening, the gore-fans will have some fun with this game. Deadly Alliance uses a “progressive physical damage” feature, which in short means that the more you beat on your opponent, the worse off he’ll look. No more “I hit you five times in a row, a lot of blood spewed out, but it’s all gone and you’re not cut at all, how about that?” Now, as you whale on the fool that dared challenge your supremacy, he will bear visible wounds from when you draw blood, wounds that will worsen and loose more blood as the floggings continue. Further, the blood doesn’t just make a splotch on the ground and disappear. It stays an active part of the scenery, smearing around as your fighters move across the battleground.

Another bonus is the fighting styles. Each fighter has three individual, real-life fighting styles (Karate, Kung Fu, Tai Chi, so on and so forth), that you can switch between in mid-match. Further, each character has their own particular weapon, some variant of a sword, staff, or dagger, which can be brought out mid-combo and used to strike that final shot. Basically, if you are the kind of guy always looking for the Death Star, one-pattern-kills-all combo, this is the kind of game for you. The possibilities are nearly endless, and readily accomplishable. The moves are the standard close-in/projectile mix, but require just a couple D-pad taps and a button to pull off. Case in point, one press of the L button brings out the character weapon.

So evil together, ba-ba ba baa…

All told, Deadly Alliance looks to be a fantastic play. The speed, the graphics, the carnage, it all comes together into a great force for…you know, “mind-gooing” really is the only thing that fits. I’ve literally spent time in classes thinking about the kinds of combo attacks I could pull off playing this game. You’ve got my attention, Midway. Please don’t drop this one, I won’t be able to take another shot.

Mike Twomey