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GRAPHICS: C+ (8) Mortal Kombat 4 in the arcades was very popular for its superb looking graphics, only surpassed by Virtua Fighter 3 (what isn't?). Due to the PlayStation's system limitations, much of the breathtaking detail from the arcade was lost in the conversion. No longer do the characters hold so much facial detail or such a high polygon count, but it's really the backgrounds have suffered the greater loss. These backgrounds are at a very low resolution, but being 3-dimentional, they are still interesting and interactive. Light-sourcing in MK4 is very well done and, in fact, maybe even better than in Tekken 3. I've noticed that in both home and arcade versions, the characters' motion in MK4 is not very fluid when compared to any other major fighting game. MK4 didn't need to be 3D, what the programmers did was maintain the feel of all the other MKs, wasting the 3D engine. The side-step button does nothing for gameplay, unlike Tekken 3. Most of the classic characters have returned and a few new ones were added. Unfortunately, all the new characters, except maybe for Quan Chi, are completely unoriginal and uninteresting. My guess is Midway is running out of ideas, since the new characters for MK3 and MK4 are equally unimpressive. The new PlayStation and PC exclusive endings are some of the worst I've seen yet, and I can't believe people are making such a big deal about them, I'd much rather have endings done with the game's graphics, such as the arcade and N64 ones. Let's hope MK5 makes drastic improvements to the 3D graphics engine.
MUSIC/SOUND: B- (8.25) The sounds were improved greatly from the previous MK, but that's not saying much, since they used to be quite primitive for their own age. Character speech, on the other hand, are still stupid cries that are said randomly. Whoever's responsible for those stupid lines that are constantly repeated by the characters should be murdered. If the corny character speech wasn't bad enough, the developers went out of their way to find the worst voice actors they could find for the ending sequences, which by the way, you should avoid seeing more than Medussa. Still, the only good voice sample you'll find in the series is Scorpion's famous "Get over here!" line. Shao Kahn is no longer in MK4, which is a dissapointment since he used to be the announcer, and is now replaced by... Some other guy. The music is neither good nor bad, it's the same repetitive MK music you've heard before, now with a more ancient chinese tone. Sound and music is overall pretty good, but the voice samples/acting are atrocious, bringing down the score considerably.
GAMEPLAY: C+ (8) Gameplay is as it used to be, though there is an occational camera zoom/rotation. Playing this game after playing just about any other 3D fighting game leaves you with much to be desired. It has less moves than MK3, so in depth, that puts it to about the same level as Toshinden, which is simply unacceptable in today's standards. The combo system was farther reduced from the previous, and should have just been left untouched. You can't do more than 40% percent damage in a combo without a stupid "Maximum Damage" sign showing up and being magically pulled away from each other to the opposite sides of the screen. To the game's advantage, the AI has been improved from the predecessors, which means you'll find an opponent who cheats less and thinks more. This time around luckily, you can choose your path to reach the boss by turning the column that contains the character portraits for a different set. Shinnok, the final boss, is for some strange reason, easier to beat than all the other characters. I found this bug very annoying since they replaced Shao Kahn (which was actually quite challenging) for a demented fool. The only real additions to gameplay are the weapons, which are useless, and the breaker moves. The side-step button is unexistent. More was taken out from gameplay than was actually put in. FUN AND REPLAY VALUE: B- (8.25) As always, there are many hidden features or secrets to be found in MK4. Even to that extent, there's not much to keep you entertained for long in Mortal Kombat 4. The gameplay is limited to "spear, uppercut, spear, uppercut...", but it's fun for a while if you have friends to play it with. The PlayStation version along with its N64 cousin includes a few special characters that were not found at the arcades, most notably, Goro. I'm quite pleased that he was added as a hidden character and as a sub-boss, as he is one of the coolest characters of the series. The other hidden characters are a rip-off of other characters (such as Noob Saibot being a rip-off of Tanya). The Fatalities are really awesome and will force you to play it until you see them all, this is just about the only thing that makes full use of 3D. Unfortunately since this game only takes you about 20 minutes to beat and is so simplistic, the fun will cease after no more than a week.
WORTH BUYING: PERHAPS Mortal Kombat 4 had potential to be a 3D fighting game. Unfortunately the programmers felt it would be best to keep the gameplay 2D, while at the same time making it look 3D to appeal to a wider audience. I guess they were trying to avoid working too hard on motion capturing. So many people were fooled by the 3D look that it was acclaimed as "the most popular fighting game" when it came out, and Midway made far more than a fair amount of money. For its home release, it is certain that it will be a top seller for a while, but why should you buy it? I encourage you to rent it instead and get all this game has to offer. OVERALL: C+ (8) More was removed from the series than was actually added. MK is beginning to wear off because the generation of gamers that once loved it has already matured and moved on to better things. The MK series will not survive much longer unless MK5 proves to be entirely revolutionary, which is what this game attempted on doing but failed at. To order Mortal Kombat 4, click on the button
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