(LAST UPDATE: 7/7/2009)
Developer(s): Midway
Publisher(s): Midway
Platform(s): Arcade,
Playstation, Nintendo 64, PC
Release Date(s): October 15th 1997 (Arcade), June 23rd 1998 (N64), June 24th
1998 (PS1), July 31st 1998 (PC)
Characters:
Scorpion,
Sub
Zero, Liu Kang, Jax,
Johnny
Cage, Sonya,
Reiko,
Jarek,
Rayden,
Tanya,
Quan
Chi, Fujin,
Shinnok,
Reptile,
Meat, Kai,
Goro, Noob
Saibot
Related Games:
Mortal
Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2, Mortal
Kombat 3, Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate,
Mortal
Kombat: Armageddon, Mortal Kombat: Deadly
Alliance, Mortal Kombat: Deception,
Mortal
Kombat Gold, Mortal
Kombat Trilogy, Mortal
Kombat VS DC Universe
Story: Thousands of years ago, during a war with the corrupt Elder God known as Shinnok, Raiden was responsible for the death of an entire civilization. To avoid a repeat of this event, as well as to protect all realms from Shinnok's threat, Raiden waged a brutal campaign and, at a heavy price, exiled his rival to a dark place known as the Netherealm.
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Review: The first 3D incarnation of the series, Mortal Kombat 4 featured some impressive graphics and animation for it's time. The gameplay still felt very much like it's 2D predecessors, even though to an untrained eye it might look like a 3D fighting game (which it was not). Character models were nicely detailed for the time, and it was a treat to finally see the MK series ditch the "lazy" digitized character technology and render some of our favorite MK characters in 3D.
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The most innovative gameplay feature of MK4 was the ability for each character to draw a unique weapon... If characters were hit, they dropped their weapons to the floor but could be picked up again be either opponent. Weapons and other items could also be thrown at opponents, doing major damage on contact. In addition to the new weapons, Mortal Kombat contained throw breaks that complemented Mortal Kombat's considered-cheap throwing system. The combo system in place was still based on MK3's sequenced button presses; however, most of the combos did not connect for more than three or four hits until you could pop the opponent into the air and juggle him or her with jump kicks and special moves.
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Overall, the gameplay was pretty fun for a while, but just didn't have the lasting appeal of other 2D & 3D fighters of the time. The character roster was also on the short side, as Midway once again wiped the slate clean; introducing many new characters and leaving out some of the beloved classics. The character selection was a mixed bag, but new characters like Quan Chi and Shinnok were convincingly evil fighters, fitting into the MK roster very well.
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- Review is for Arcade version of Mortal Kombat 4 - |
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7 / 10 |
Closing Comment: Overlooking a few gameplay flaws, Mortal Kombat 4 was an enjoyable sequel for casual and hardcore MK fans alike. Even though it was 3D, it stuck to it's 2D roots, which was a good thing for fans of the series... However, players that were looking to get a true 3D fighting game experience looked elsewhere. There were also other 2D fighting games that exceeded MK4 at the time in terms of gameplay and graphics, but it was an honest attempt from Midway at least. A sequel and improvement to MK4, Mortal Kombat Gold, was released in 1999. ~F.Yagami, Webmaster of TFG
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