Mortal Kombat 4
Reviewed by David Walsh
Over the past 5 years, Midway and Williams Entertainment have been making their
smash hit fighter, Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat has given fighting fans a new
vocabulary. Now, FATALITY and BRUTALITY are an everyday word. Now, in the fifth
installment of the game, there's been a few turns. The game jumps into 3d--a big
enhancement, and fighters were now given weapons. Mortal Kombat 4 was a huge
success in the arcade.
Graphics 9 out of 10
As stated above, Mortal Kombat 4 designers plunged their game into 3 dimensional
worlds and fighters. This can usually make or break a game. The Tekken series would
be nothing without the 3d, but sometimes these conversions go bad, such as the FIFA
Soccer series. When it made the change, it went from bad to worse. We'll discuss the
people first.
This feature, the 3d people, let us see the full body of the fighters. You can see the
players' muscles, as well as body features. Look at Tanya's and Sonya's firm,
luscious... muscles! You can notice that all of the Kombatants look a lot more muscular,
and well proportioned, which the previous games lacked.
The other graphic enhancements are put into the backgrounds. The previous games
had backgrounds as flat as Meg Ryan--but like Meg Ryan, they still looked preatty good.
You can see how good the backgrounds are, if you fight in Reptile's stage. The eye in the
background and the walls along side really define the power of 3d and the N64. The reason
I didn't think it deserved the full 10, was because it was choppy when you push the buttons
real fast like a drunken old man.
Music and Sound 9 out of 10
There isn't a lot "music" in Mortal Kombat 4, but there is the sound of the punishing
pounds, pushes, and power of the fighters. The classic "ugh" and "ow"'s are still in the
game, but with a little more emphasis. You can still hear the announcers sick voice
saying "FIGHT!" and "FINNISH HIM" and the all-mighty, "______ WINS..FATALITY!"
I also like how all the guys, and girls have there own voices. Scorpion's famous "Get
Over Hear" is different than Kai's "Wuwuwuwu." The fatalities have their own unique
sounds, like when Sub-Zero does his Spine Rip, and when Cage does his Torso Rip
fatality, which can be found and downloadable at a major Magazine's web
page--"cough-GAMEPRO-cough."
Game Challenge 10 out of 10
The good thing about this game, is the variation of challenges. You can put it on easy,
all the way up to insanely hard. This make the game as hard or as easy as you want.
If you're a beginner, you can make it very easy, so you can learn the moves and finishers,
and then graduate to a harder level. It will take a while to take the dive into the most
difficult level.
If you like playing these games to do the finishing moves, you're also going to take a
little time with that also. Some are easy (Fujin's Fatality is Down, Down, Down, High
Kick), some are average skill level (Jarek's Fatality is Forward, Down, Forward, High
Kick), some are a bitch trying to master (Reiko's Fatality is Forward, Down, Forward,
Low Punch + Low Kick + High Kick + Block). Congratulate yourself if you do master
Reiko's Power Kick.
Game Play-Fun 9 out of 10
Ever since Mortal Kombat 3, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, critics have been saying
"the gore is getting old." They're regretting that now. The gore is back for more, and
looking better than ever. To Mortal Kombat fans, like me, there is a feel of renewness
(if that's a word) that makes the game funnier. Who knew seeing a spine ripped out of
the body in 3d was so awesome compared to a 2d rip? The game will give the player
a sense of refreshness.
Rumble Pak 8 out of 10
Talk about renewness, this defiantly helps. All you fans of the rumble pak out there
(I could care less, unless it's feeling a gun go off in GoldenEye 007), this feels cool.
You feel the rumble when you get punch (a slight rumble), kick (a bigger rumble), and
the brutal uppercut is used (a huge rock). The game is still great without the Rumble
Pak (maybe better). Unless you have other Rumble Pak-compatible games, don't rush
out to buy it.
Frustration
Well, the only way you can frustrated, is if you really, really...REALLY stink. You can
put the Difficulty at super easy, an it should be no problem. And if you still get
frustrated, the N in N64 means Nintendo...
Replayability 10 out of 10
The bueaty of the N64 is that you can support many players. With 2-on-2 matches,
and other multiplayer matches, you can play this game forever, if you are a true
fighting fan. Also, if you do like doing fatalities, and finishers, you can brag to all
your friends about how good you are by getting every finishing move and code
in the book.
Codes 11 out of 10
Mortal Kombat 4 has a ton of cheat codes in it. The Mortal Kombat series has always
had a number of cool cheats to perform, so check out World-of-Nintendo's code section.
From Fatalities, Payer Moves, and extra options, this game is jam packed
Overall 10 out of 10
What more is there to say...this game kicks some serious ass. I totally love this
game--even Fighter haters will love this one. The improvements made over the years
have molded this game into the best. Too bad this is the end of the legacy (just like
the Chicago Bulls) sniff, sniff.