Mortal Kombat 5
Are you prepared for the fifth installment in the Mortal Kombat series? Hold on.. Nothing Can Prepare You!
Published: October 2, 2000
<04.26.01>
Earlier this month, we received new information regarding the production of Mortal Kombat 5. Originally, the game was scheduled to arrive in the arcades later in 2001. On March 6th, 2001, Midway Games Inc. announced that it will be ceasing its arcade operations by reducing its coin-operated video game work force by approximate 60 employees. These drastic steps were taken in order to cut overhead costs in light of the recent problems plaguing the arcade industry.
Midway isn't the only firm to back out of the arcade race. Capcom and Sega have made recent decisions in the past to cut their own arcade staff teams, or in the case of Sega, to cease operations altogether. Midway will continue to create their Touchmaster series of touch screen products for coin-operated use. As of this announcement, all known arcade games in development were switched over to console development.
Mortal Kombat 5, one of the bigger arcade games in development, will now head over directly into console development. As of right now, the Mortal Kombat 5 development team has reached a dramatic size - larger than it has ever been before. Ed Boon will continue to head development of the MK5 project, along with the rest of the core MK design team. Additionally, while we would expect to see Mortal Kombat 5 on all next generation platforms, we have been told that initial development for the game has begun onto the PlayStation 2 console.
On April 11th, 2001, Ed Boon continued to discuss Mortal Kombat 5 development during an online IRC chat in channel #mortalkombat. It was during this chat that Ed Boon discussed the current status of the game, and some of the features that will be making their way in the gameplay system. Ed Boon began the chat by stipulating that the fighting game will not be made available in 2001. Boon further went on to comment that if the game does not reach completion by 2002, the project could be in serious jeopardy.
As of right now, the only confirmed character to be in the game is Scorpion. It has been suggested by insiders that wherever Scorpion looms, Sub-Zero would follow. In spite of the fact that we've been hearing things about MK5 since late 1999, the game is still in the early preliminary stages. This may explain why the game will be delayed till 2002. Additionally, it has been suggested that all of the earlier features within the game have been literally thrown out the window, as the MK team has begun work with a brand new graphics engine. The game will not be in playable form at this years' Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
Characters within the game will now show signs of wear and tear during a fight, in order to add additional realism during a match. Weapons, which were first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4, will become more elaborate in the fifth installment. Each of the console games will be stored onto the DVD medium, so there will be no memory problems to worry about. Boon finally stipulated that we could expect a new teaser video for Mortal Kombat 5 within a few months. A similar teaser was released for Mortal Kombat 4 back in 1996.
Of course, the change from the arcade to the console platform now leaves serious doubts in just how the game will perform. Fighting games have always arrived in the arcades first, building an established reputation before heading into the console medium. Now, gamers can expect to see more and more of their favorite fighting games hit the consoles directly at launch. Additional games that we can expect to see on the consoles first, include Virtua Fighter 4 and Tekken 4.
Mortal Kombat has never fared successfully on the console platform in the past. One of the most recent console releases, Mortal Kombat: Special Forces was described as the nail-in-the-coffin for the famous fighting series. In spite of the fact that Mortal Kombat Gold, a 1999 Dreamcast release, was considered to be a carbon-copy of the MK4 arcade game and so much more, critics instantaneously bashed the game for it's lackluster animation and gameplay. The recent departures of John Tobias and other former MK designers have placed further doubt within the minds of MK fans.
Ed Boon and his team remain confident that the MK series will go onwards with this fifth installment. In spite of their recent success with The Grid, another arcade title produced in 2000, the team has decided to place their full attention at this fifth game rather than continue with a Grid sequel. While many critics would have rather seen the MK series end with MK4, Boon has boldly gone forward.
Mortal Kombat 5 will also have to contend with fast-paced competition from other 3D console fighters, namely Virtua Fighter 4 and the yet-to-be-announced Tekken 4. Virtua Fighter 4 is expected to be available later in 2001, giving it a full head start over the new MK title. In an ironic twist, former MK programmers including John Tobias will also be working on their own high-scale fighting game, said to have up to 20 million polygons per second. It is expected that this new game may go head-to-head against MK5 on the next generation consoles.
In spite of the odds and the negative press, the MK development team remains confident that a fifth Mortal Kombat game will be able to make its way into the market with positive reaction from the gaming community. A successful MK5 along with the possibilities of a third Mortal Kombat feature film may be able to turn the fighting game franchise around, back into a profitable powerhouse. We will keep you posted.
<10.02.00>
It seems that a new sense of optimism has finally hit the Mortal Kombat community; optimism that a fifth instalment of such a fighting game may bring the legendary franchise back to life. The question now, is whether such a game will be able to compete with the likes of Dead Or Alive and Tekken.
It was last year that a large piece of the MK pie was taken away with the departure of John Tobias, David Michicich and Josh Tsui; all who had key roles in the development of the previous Mortal Kombat games. With Tobias' departure, it was suggested that another Mortal Kombat game was 'impossible'.
Impossible or not, Ed Boon is readying for yet another instalment in what has been commonly described by the critics as 'the fighting game that just won't die'. Already, ideas about making the game 'widescreen', complete with interactive arenas and advanced graphics have been processed. So far, only Scorpion has been confirmed as the character to return to the series.
A new advanced fighting system will be implemented into the game. Weapons were first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4 with mixed results. It is expected that each fighter will now have up to 10 to 15 attacks with each weapon. Remember "Test Your Might" in Mortal Kombat II? It seems that a new "Test Your Might" challenge may be implemented in the fifth game.
In a recent interview with the MK Development Team, new pictures of Rayden were accidentally revealed to the public suggesting his presence within the game. Like it or not, MK is coming back in a big way. There are many hurdles that the series will have to cross however, before it can impact the arcades by 2001.
There are no confirmations that this game will arrive onto the PlayStation2 or other consoles at this time, but Todd Allen did mention the possibility of seeing such a game for the Dreamcast because of it's 2D capabilities for artwork contained within the game. At the same time, Allen continued to mention the lack of polygon performance with the Dreamcast, hinting at another platform that could handle both a high polygon count along with two-dimensional graphics. Can we say, PlayStation2?
<08.26.00>
It's been almost two years since our last update on Mortal Kombat 5. Could it be that we've finally lost all interest in this once "up-and-coming" fighting game? Quite possibly, yes. It was after Mortal Kombat 4 that an enormous influx of negativity began to hit this once beloved series.
Some say that it was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation; a motion-picture disaster that destroyed any hopes for the MK series to regain its popularity amongst the mainstream audience. Some say that it was a large amount of bad console ports that finally caused even the hardcore gamer to stray away from this legendary fighting game.
Once thing is clear: Mortal Kombat is quickly becoming a game at the low end of the scale. Fans of the game who once had proudly displayed websites promoting the series have now taken them down, or otherwise left them as desolate piles of non-updated rubbish amongst the information superhighway.
In the later years, it would be Midway themselves who would spark a large amount of negativity towards the series from gamers and the media alike. Ports of Mortal Kombat 3, along with console-based games such as Mortal Kombat Mythologies and MK Trilogy were largely described as absolute blunders in the industry; games that just couldn't match nor out-perform their arcade counterparts.
More importantly Mortal Kombat 4; a game that was supposed to bring the series into the new age of 3D polygon-based fighting failed, largely due to the cheap fighting techniques and combo moves present in the original games. Ed Boon; lead programmer of the MK series took an enormous risk in 1997 making the fourth instalment of the series a hybrid 2D/3D fighter. While the fighters themselves along with the arenas were fully three-dimensional by use of polygons, the actual gameplay was described as two-dimensional.
While the fights took place in actual 3D arenas much like those found in Tekken and Virtua Fighter, the actual movement of these characters was really amongst a 2D plane. While the final revision of MK4 would contain a sidestep feature, allowing for more true-arena fighting, many critics would describe the revision as being 'too-little and too-late'.
MK Special Forces was largely described as the nail-in-the-coffin for the series, since John Tobias and nearly half of the entire MK design team would leave Midway to pursue relationships with other firms. Tobias; the lead illustrator of the series was also the individual who constructed the deep storylines that had made the MK games so widely accepted. His departure from Midway would leave an ailing hole within the series.
Special Forces; a game that had the potential to bring the Mortal Kombat series into a brand new genre; action/adventure, would fail largely due to a complex storyline that was thrown out because of the departure. The remaining team would be forced to re-tweak the game fully by eliminating characters and levels. The game would be released this year as a bargain-bin title, and would face the force of all gaming reviews by the critics.
It was largely accepted amongst the MK community that when Tobias left, MK was finished. The remaining MK design team including Ed Boon have since gone on to create a new game; The Grid. The Grid has been described as a futuristic, "Running-Man"-like game show where characters must pay the ultimate price for the millions they can attain.
It was only this week that over at Ed Boons official site; noob.com, that a new animated picture had popped up on the screen. The animated figure displayed the numeric value "5" with Scorpion in the inset. Scorpion has been one of the more famous and recognizable characters within the MK series.
Below the "5" picture are the words "in development", further stating the fact that after full completion of The Grid, the team will move on to producing the next instalment of the legendary fighting game. One most however, question the principals involved in the creation of such a game. With half of the entire MK crew now gone, how in the world will a Mortal Kombat 5 get off the ground in one piece?
Unlike most other fighting titles which have recently started appearing on consoles right from the get-go, it can be almost certainly said that MK5 will appear in the arcades first, as Boon remains a loyal arcade supporter. The game will need a questionable amount of effort in the story department, with Tobias now out of the picture.
When MK4 was in production, it should be stated that Tobias was working on Mortal Kombat: Mythologies at the time, which incidentally caused MK4 to feature a storyline with less detail and more gaps within. It is obvious that a new addition within the MK design team will be required to fully take on the responsibilities of producing a detailed storyline.
Furthermore, the need for an artist with the skill of Tobias will be mandatory for such a game to succeed. It is still unclear as to why Boon and his team would still mobilize yet another MK project, even after The Grid proved to be an instant success. While it can be said from the start that Boon and his team will probably be working on a Grid sequel after the completion of MK5, it can also be said that a fifth failure in the MK series may force Boon to finally discontinue the series for good.
With any MK game that has ever hit the arcades, a PlayStation2 version will become almost a given. The game should for the most part, be a carbon-copy of the arcade edition if Midway actually sticks to their books. But with so many lackluster arcade-to-console ports in the past few years, it wouldn't be surprising to see this game already "dead in the water" as (if) it arrives onto the PS2 platform in the near future.
<12.28.98>
Well, a few months ago, the Mortal Kombat world shook when they found out that a fifth version of the game was in the works. Yes... a fifth version.
In the beginning of it's evolution, Mortal Kombat had set many standards for fighting games; standards that most games still follow today.
It was one of the most violent games of it's time (apart from Namco's Splatterhouse). People went insane over it's realistic graphical portrayal of violence.
The Blood was shockingly real.. you can truly see and feel how the characters had felt the shocking pain. It hurt.. bad. And people loved it. Then.. the parents came in.
In comes Sega Of America, who becomes the first company in history to set up a rating system for it's games. The first game to go through this rating process was none other than Mortal Kombat.
Nintendo on the other hand, decided to keep the blood out. This was a crucial loss for Nintendo, during a time where any system could easily win the battle for supremacy. Indeed, I was shaken, when I found out that there would be nothing more than a bloodless Mortal Kombat on the Super Nintendo. Ouch.. now that really hurt.
But you know what hurt more? It was the fact that the Genesis version sold nearly 65% more copies than the SNES version, even though the SNES version had better graphics, and better sounds. In the end, only EGM had agreed with me.
But enough with that.. let's move on. What has become of this once amazing series? At this point... the Mortal Kombat series, has dwindled into something of a mess. While Mortal Kombat II had stayed true to the style of MK, and was a worthy successor, MK3 failed miserably.
The gameplay was horrible and the fatalities seemed unrealistic and outrageous. Mortal Kombat had lost it's "zing". It was clear and evident that something had to be done to make this series better. In came in John Tobias to make the MK series into a lackluster Role Player/Adventure Game. In the end.. it took Ed Boon and his crew nearly 2 years to revive the dying series..
In came Mortal Kombat 4. My eyes went wild. The game's graphics were truly amazing and spectacular. I thought to myself "The franchise is saved!". Alas.. I was the only one who had thought that way.
Many considered the game bad.. to a point. People wanted more, and they felt as if they didn't get it. Both the PSX and N64 versions of the game got creamed by reviewers. And here we are now.. talking about an MK5.
What can we expect from an MK5? I just don't know anymore. Will they game actually be good? It's too soon to tell. One thing is clear: The MK world is in need of nourishment. And it needs it badly.
<09.25.98>
Mortal Kombat is one of the greatest fighting games period. It has dazzled audiences around the world, and continues to be a favorite in arcades. Ed Boon and John Tobias are already on work on a fifth Mortal Kombat game.
The game will first make it's appearance in arcades sometime in 1999, and then will be ported to the home consoles shortly after.
With the power of the PSX 2, you can imagine how dazzling this game will be. Expect it to be a carbon copy of the arcade version.
The PlayStation 2 version of Mortal Kombat 5 could go down in history books as the best Mortal Kombat game ever created. In the past, there have been only a few MK games, which have actually received this honour.
This includes MKII for the Super Nintendo, MK3 for the PlayStation, and MK4 for the N64, which is currently at the top of the list. Will Mortal Kombat 5 dethrone the N64 version of MK4 from the list? There's a very good chance that it will.
Things to look for will include excellent and fluid control, perfect and dazzling graphics, and excellent all around gameplay.
Earlier this month, we received new information regarding the production of Mortal Kombat 5. Originally, the game was scheduled to arrive in the arcades later in 2001. On March 6th, 2001, Midway Games Inc. announced that it will be ceasing its arcade operations by reducing its coin-operated video game work force by approximate 60 employees. These drastic steps were taken in order to cut overhead costs in light of the recent problems plaguing the arcade industry.
Midway isn't the only firm to back out of the arcade race. Capcom and Sega have made recent decisions in the past to cut their own arcade staff teams, or in the case of Sega, to cease operations altogether. Midway will continue to create their Touchmaster series of touch screen products for coin-operated use. As of this announcement, all known arcade games in development were switched over to console development.
Mortal Kombat 5, one of the bigger arcade games in development, will now head over directly into console development. As of right now, the Mortal Kombat 5 development team has reached a dramatic size - larger than it has ever been before. Ed Boon will continue to head development of the MK5 project, along with the rest of the core MK design team. Additionally, while we would expect to see Mortal Kombat 5 on all next generation platforms, we have been told that initial development for the game has begun onto the PlayStation 2 console.
On April 11th, 2001, Ed Boon continued to discuss Mortal Kombat 5 development during an online IRC chat in channel #mortalkombat. It was during this chat that Ed Boon discussed the current status of the game, and some of the features that will be making their way in the gameplay system. Ed Boon began the chat by stipulating that the fighting game will not be made available in 2001. Boon further went on to comment that if the game does not reach completion by 2002, the project could be in serious jeopardy.
As of right now, the only confirmed character to be in the game is Scorpion. It has been suggested by insiders that wherever Scorpion looms, Sub-Zero would follow. In spite of the fact that we've been hearing things about MK5 since late 1999, the game is still in the early preliminary stages. This may explain why the game will be delayed till 2002. Additionally, it has been suggested that all of the earlier features within the game have been literally thrown out the window, as the MK team has begun work with a brand new graphics engine. The game will not be in playable form at this years' Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
Characters within the game will now show signs of wear and tear during a fight, in order to add additional realism during a match. Weapons, which were first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4, will become more elaborate in the fifth installment. Each of the console games will be stored onto the DVD medium, so there will be no memory problems to worry about. Boon finally stipulated that we could expect a new teaser video for Mortal Kombat 5 within a few months. A similar teaser was released for Mortal Kombat 4 back in 1996.
Of course, the change from the arcade to the console platform now leaves serious doubts in just how the game will perform. Fighting games have always arrived in the arcades first, building an established reputation before heading into the console medium. Now, gamers can expect to see more and more of their favorite fighting games hit the consoles directly at launch. Additional games that we can expect to see on the consoles first, include Virtua Fighter 4 and Tekken 4.
Mortal Kombat has never fared successfully on the console platform in the past. One of the most recent console releases, Mortal Kombat: Special Forces was described as the nail-in-the-coffin for the famous fighting series. In spite of the fact that Mortal Kombat Gold, a 1999 Dreamcast release, was considered to be a carbon-copy of the MK4 arcade game and so much more, critics instantaneously bashed the game for it's lackluster animation and gameplay. The recent departures of John Tobias and other former MK designers have placed further doubt within the minds of MK fans.
Ed Boon and his team remain confident that the MK series will go onwards with this fifth installment. In spite of their recent success with The Grid, another arcade title produced in 2000, the team has decided to place their full attention at this fifth game rather than continue with a Grid sequel. While many critics would have rather seen the MK series end with MK4, Boon has boldly gone forward.
Mortal Kombat 5 will also have to contend with fast-paced competition from other 3D console fighters, namely Virtua Fighter 4 and the yet-to-be-announced Tekken 4. Virtua Fighter 4 is expected to be available later in 2001, giving it a full head start over the new MK title. In an ironic twist, former MK programmers including John Tobias will also be working on their own high-scale fighting game, said to have up to 20 million polygons per second. It is expected that this new game may go head-to-head against MK5 on the next generation consoles.
In spite of the odds and the negative press, the MK development team remains confident that a fifth Mortal Kombat game will be able to make its way into the market with positive reaction from the gaming community. A successful MK5 along with the possibilities of a third Mortal Kombat feature film may be able to turn the fighting game franchise around, back into a profitable powerhouse. We will keep you posted.
<10.02.00>
It seems that a new sense of optimism has finally hit the Mortal Kombat community; optimism that a fifth instalment of such a fighting game may bring the legendary franchise back to life. The question now, is whether such a game will be able to compete with the likes of Dead Or Alive and Tekken.
It was last year that a large piece of the MK pie was taken away with the departure of John Tobias, David Michicich and Josh Tsui; all who had key roles in the development of the previous Mortal Kombat games. With Tobias' departure, it was suggested that another Mortal Kombat game was 'impossible'.
Impossible or not, Ed Boon is readying for yet another instalment in what has been commonly described by the critics as 'the fighting game that just won't die'. Already, ideas about making the game 'widescreen', complete with interactive arenas and advanced graphics have been processed. So far, only Scorpion has been confirmed as the character to return to the series.
A new advanced fighting system will be implemented into the game. Weapons were first introduced in Mortal Kombat 4 with mixed results. It is expected that each fighter will now have up to 10 to 15 attacks with each weapon. Remember "Test Your Might" in Mortal Kombat II? It seems that a new "Test Your Might" challenge may be implemented in the fifth game.
In a recent interview with the MK Development Team, new pictures of Rayden were accidentally revealed to the public suggesting his presence within the game. Like it or not, MK is coming back in a big way. There are many hurdles that the series will have to cross however, before it can impact the arcades by 2001.
There are no confirmations that this game will arrive onto the PlayStation2 or other consoles at this time, but Todd Allen did mention the possibility of seeing such a game for the Dreamcast because of it's 2D capabilities for artwork contained within the game. At the same time, Allen continued to mention the lack of polygon performance with the Dreamcast, hinting at another platform that could handle both a high polygon count along with two-dimensional graphics. Can we say, PlayStation2?
<08.26.00>
It's been almost two years since our last update on Mortal Kombat 5. Could it be that we've finally lost all interest in this once "up-and-coming" fighting game? Quite possibly, yes. It was after Mortal Kombat 4 that an enormous influx of negativity began to hit this once beloved series.
Some say that it was Mortal Kombat: Annihilation; a motion-picture disaster that destroyed any hopes for the MK series to regain its popularity amongst the mainstream audience. Some say that it was a large amount of bad console ports that finally caused even the hardcore gamer to stray away from this legendary fighting game.
Once thing is clear: Mortal Kombat is quickly becoming a game at the low end of the scale. Fans of the game who once had proudly displayed websites promoting the series have now taken them down, or otherwise left them as desolate piles of non-updated rubbish amongst the information superhighway.
In the later years, it would be Midway themselves who would spark a large amount of negativity towards the series from gamers and the media alike. Ports of Mortal Kombat 3, along with console-based games such as Mortal Kombat Mythologies and MK Trilogy were largely described as absolute blunders in the industry; games that just couldn't match nor out-perform their arcade counterparts.
More importantly Mortal Kombat 4; a game that was supposed to bring the series into the new age of 3D polygon-based fighting failed, largely due to the cheap fighting techniques and combo moves present in the original games. Ed Boon; lead programmer of the MK series took an enormous risk in 1997 making the fourth instalment of the series a hybrid 2D/3D fighter. While the fighters themselves along with the arenas were fully three-dimensional by use of polygons, the actual gameplay was described as two-dimensional.
While the fights took place in actual 3D arenas much like those found in Tekken and Virtua Fighter, the actual movement of these characters was really amongst a 2D plane. While the final revision of MK4 would contain a sidestep feature, allowing for more true-arena fighting, many critics would describe the revision as being 'too-little and too-late'.
MK Special Forces was largely described as the nail-in-the-coffin for the series, since John Tobias and nearly half of the entire MK design team would leave Midway to pursue relationships with other firms. Tobias; the lead illustrator of the series was also the individual who constructed the deep storylines that had made the MK games so widely accepted. His departure from Midway would leave an ailing hole within the series.
Special Forces; a game that had the potential to bring the Mortal Kombat series into a brand new genre; action/adventure, would fail largely due to a complex storyline that was thrown out because of the departure. The remaining team would be forced to re-tweak the game fully by eliminating characters and levels. The game would be released this year as a bargain-bin title, and would face the force of all gaming reviews by the critics.
It was largely accepted amongst the MK community that when Tobias left, MK was finished. The remaining MK design team including Ed Boon have since gone on to create a new game; The Grid. The Grid has been described as a futuristic, "Running-Man"-like game show where characters must pay the ultimate price for the millions they can attain.
It was only this week that over at Ed Boons official site; noob.com, that a new animated picture had popped up on the screen. The animated figure displayed the numeric value "5" with Scorpion in the inset. Scorpion has been one of the more famous and recognizable characters within the MK series.
Below the "5" picture are the words "in development", further stating the fact that after full completion of The Grid, the team will move on to producing the next instalment of the legendary fighting game. One most however, question the principals involved in the creation of such a game. With half of the entire MK crew now gone, how in the world will a Mortal Kombat 5 get off the ground in one piece?
Unlike most other fighting titles which have recently started appearing on consoles right from the get-go, it can be almost certainly said that MK5 will appear in the arcades first, as Boon remains a loyal arcade supporter. The game will need a questionable amount of effort in the story department, with Tobias now out of the picture.
When MK4 was in production, it should be stated that Tobias was working on Mortal Kombat: Mythologies at the time, which incidentally caused MK4 to feature a storyline with less detail and more gaps within. It is obvious that a new addition within the MK design team will be required to fully take on the responsibilities of producing a detailed storyline.
Furthermore, the need for an artist with the skill of Tobias will be mandatory for such a game to succeed. It is still unclear as to why Boon and his team would still mobilize yet another MK project, even after The Grid proved to be an instant success. While it can be said from the start that Boon and his team will probably be working on a Grid sequel after the completion of MK5, it can also be said that a fifth failure in the MK series may force Boon to finally discontinue the series for good.
With any MK game that has ever hit the arcades, a PlayStation2 version will become almost a given. The game should for the most part, be a carbon-copy of the arcade edition if Midway actually sticks to their books. But with so many lackluster arcade-to-console ports in the past few years, it wouldn't be surprising to see this game already "dead in the water" as (if) it arrives onto the PS2 platform in the near future.
<12.28.98>
Well, a few months ago, the Mortal Kombat world shook when they found out that a fifth version of the game was in the works. Yes... a fifth version.
In the beginning of it's evolution, Mortal Kombat had set many standards for fighting games; standards that most games still follow today.
It was one of the most violent games of it's time (apart from Namco's Splatterhouse). People went insane over it's realistic graphical portrayal of violence.
The Blood was shockingly real.. you can truly see and feel how the characters had felt the shocking pain. It hurt.. bad. And people loved it. Then.. the parents came in.
In comes Sega Of America, who becomes the first company in history to set up a rating system for it's games. The first game to go through this rating process was none other than Mortal Kombat.
Nintendo on the other hand, decided to keep the blood out. This was a crucial loss for Nintendo, during a time where any system could easily win the battle for supremacy. Indeed, I was shaken, when I found out that there would be nothing more than a bloodless Mortal Kombat on the Super Nintendo. Ouch.. now that really hurt.
But you know what hurt more? It was the fact that the Genesis version sold nearly 65% more copies than the SNES version, even though the SNES version had better graphics, and better sounds. In the end, only EGM had agreed with me.
But enough with that.. let's move on. What has become of this once amazing series? At this point... the Mortal Kombat series, has dwindled into something of a mess. While Mortal Kombat II had stayed true to the style of MK, and was a worthy successor, MK3 failed miserably.
The gameplay was horrible and the fatalities seemed unrealistic and outrageous. Mortal Kombat had lost it's "zing". It was clear and evident that something had to be done to make this series better. In came in John Tobias to make the MK series into a lackluster Role Player/Adventure Game. In the end.. it took Ed Boon and his crew nearly 2 years to revive the dying series..
In came Mortal Kombat 4. My eyes went wild. The game's graphics were truly amazing and spectacular. I thought to myself "The franchise is saved!". Alas.. I was the only one who had thought that way.
Many considered the game bad.. to a point. People wanted more, and they felt as if they didn't get it. Both the PSX and N64 versions of the game got creamed by reviewers. And here we are now.. talking about an MK5.
What can we expect from an MK5? I just don't know anymore. Will they game actually be good? It's too soon to tell. One thing is clear: The MK world is in need of nourishment. And it needs it badly.
<09.25.98>
Mortal Kombat is one of the greatest fighting games period. It has dazzled audiences around the world, and continues to be a favorite in arcades. Ed Boon and John Tobias are already on work on a fifth Mortal Kombat game.
The game will first make it's appearance in arcades sometime in 1999, and then will be ported to the home consoles shortly after.
With the power of the PSX 2, you can imagine how dazzling this game will be. Expect it to be a carbon copy of the arcade version.
The PlayStation 2 version of Mortal Kombat 5 could go down in history books as the best Mortal Kombat game ever created. In the past, there have been only a few MK games, which have actually received this honour.
This includes MKII for the Super Nintendo, MK3 for the PlayStation, and MK4 for the N64, which is currently at the top of the list. Will Mortal Kombat 5 dethrone the N64 version of MK4 from the list? There's a very good chance that it will.
Things to look for will include excellent and fluid control, perfect and dazzling graphics, and excellent all around gameplay.
